NBA EXPANSION: SEATTLE KODIAKS

[mattharveysc]

I know it's been awhile since i've posted anything, but I thought i'd take a stab and show you all what i've been working on for awhile.

With the NBA growing, I wanted to create an original expansion team that would be back in Seattle.

I know the Sonics are legendary, but I want to do something different.

With the Kodiaks and the color scheme I chose, I wanted to keep it close to Seattle.

Yellow - To pay respect to the old Sonics. Blue & Grey - Ties to the Seahawks and the Mariners.

I would love your comments and critiques of how I could make this overall design better. Thank you all.

[Burmy]

1. Looks WAY too much like the Grizzlies (and the Kodiaks name would be too close to that).

2. After what Howard Schultz did as Sonics' owner, there's no WAY that Starbucks' name ever goes on a Seattle NBA product again.

[Jake88]

I don't know much about basketball, but heres what I think. First the wordmark/fonts are extremely generic. I'd rather see something more serifed, or maybe with the rough styled lines that the bear has. The other thing I want to critique is that there is no yellow (or grey) in the (again) generic styled uniforms. All in all, other than the primary mark (which looks great) this is just a generic looking team.

[seattlesonicsofsacramento]

Unfortunately this team seems much too like the Grizzlies, in color scheme and nickname, and since there will be no other NBA team in Seattle other than the Sonics, I think this would make a much better identity for the Seattle NHL expansion team. In that case, without having to pay homage to the Sonics, you'd be able to take out the yellow, which hopefully would allow the Seattle Kodiaks to exist in the same league as the Boston Bruins.

As for this concept, I like the use of the skyline as a further way to reference the Sonics without them actually being the Sonics. You're going to hear from a lot of people who are de facto against two-tone wood floors, though, and so I'd recommend some grey instead, which is one of the official colors you chose and yet doesn't really appear on the court. There's a lot of empty space above and below the court too, which is usually filled by hashtags in what looks like an NBA template.

Now, for the uniforms. It seems as though they're only blue and white? Maybe a look the Toronto Raptors could adopt if they rebranded as the Huskies, but your team is supposed to be yellow, blue, and grey. Where's the yellow and grey (besides in the logo on the shorts)? Not to mention these uniforms look very generic, and maybe you were trying to stay away from the Sonics' iconic arched jerseys, but this design just isn't working for me (the presentation is sharp though).

[FlyingLamprey]

Agreeing with all the previous comments with a couple things to add, though I really like where this is headed.

I'm assuming it's an error that the top logo uses black instead of navy since the other versions are navy. If it's not, try to keep it consistent across the board.

On the court I wouldn't have just "Seattle" on one side and "Kodiaks" on the other; it leaves a lot of empty space which feels kinda off to me. Try putting "Seattle Kodiaks" on both sides and see how that looks.
And if you can figure out something, a secondary logo wouldn't hurt. Maybe something along the lines of the old Vancouver Grizzlies logo with the bear slashing the G, or maybe the Raptors claw circle logo.
Beyond that I really like what you have. The bear logo looks good, the name's great, the uniforms look good aside from coloring (plus a unique sublimation pattern you got going on there), and while I'm not crazy about skylines, it looks really good on that court.
And giving the arena a different name shouldn't be too hard (assuming Starbucks would not fly well), there are plenty of big companies in the Seattle area- Microsoft, Amazon, Alaska Air, T-Mobile, etc.

[Evil G]

If there's going to be a Seattle NBA team, it's going to be the Sonics.

Also we already have the Grizzlies.

[ejcooper31]

I think as a portfolio piece this is great. The logo looks very NBA to me. I would try to incorporate some of that gold in the jerseys to make them more cohesive with the type and logo.

[hockeyny13]

way to similar to the grizzlies. The uniforms seem way way to bland.

[CLEstones]

The logo is fantastic. Great work with the logo.

However, my gripes are similar to those of what other people have echoed. There is already a "bear" type nickname in the NBA. And although that isn't a huge conflict, it becomes a conflict when the other bear team has the same yellow and navy color pallet. In a league where similar color pallets run rampant, having ANOTHER navy and yellow team wouldn't work. I think you should stick with the forest green, golden rod, and brick red color pallet. Its unique to the NBA and compliments well.

[Swahealey34]

As a sonics fan a new tea in seattle would be nice however it will always be the sonics this is a great logo but bring back the sonics

[CDixonDesign]

All too often we forget to remember that this is the "concepts" section. We blur the line of reality here, so just commenting that the Sonic will be the only team ever in Seattle isn't very constructive. His vision is a team in Seattle called the Kodiaks. Let's keep it constructive.

While the color scheme does draw similarities to the Griz, It's an underused pallette. I think the wordmark is a bit too cut and dry. The line between the wordmark and logo seem to separate the two elements, and make them seem disconnected.

[CLEstones]

All too often we forget to remember that this is the "concepts" section. We blur the line of reality here, so just commenting that the Sonic will be the only team ever in Seattle isn't very constructive. His vision is a team in Seattle called the Kodiaks. Let's keep it constructive.

While the color scheme does draw similarities to the Griz, It's an underused pallette. I think the wordmark is a bit too cut and dry. The line between the wordmark and logo seem to separate the two elements, and make them seem disconnected.

Agree on most counts except for the underused color palette. Gold with Navy/Blue is used by Indiana, Golden State, Denver, Memphis, and New Orleans (to an extent).

[mattharveysc]

Thank you all for your comments and critiques. I do appreciate it.

With that said, each design I make is thought through very carefully. Yes, some things may seem bland or not thought through, but I feel that they do work. Maybe not right at that moment, but once it's thoroughly broken down and looked at closely I feel the design does all work together and compliment each other.

Also, I agree. When the NBA goes back to Seattle... It will be the Sonics. I'm a Jazz fan; since the day I came into this world. But for me, I still miss the Sonics, and especially miss the Jazz/Sonics rivalries.

This concept is exactly that; a concept, an idea, a challenge. It's not easy to come up with a new team idea to place in a city that had such a legendary team.

But I do appreciate all your comments and feedback.

Here are the changes I made to the Uniforms and Court. What do you think of these?

[CLEstones]

The only other thing I see is that the logo looks kind of like a heart. I don't know why I just noticed it now. I don't think it takes away from the logo by any means... its a fantastic logo. I just noticed it. You may want to minimize the right side/bear's back to lessen the heart shape.

If not, its not a big deal. The logo is still excellent.

[JPDesign]

Still don't like the similarity of Kodiaks to Grizzlies. The swoosh under the wordmark feels generic. It think what would help immensely, if you're set on that font choice, would be more cohesion between the wordmark and the bear head. They feel like two separate things right now.

On the court, I've never been a fan of two toned wood. I like the way the mountain/skyline looks. Definitely more unique than what Cleveland did, but I worry about the small details a bit. Maybe try to simplify it.

As for the uniforms, you went from piping that was very similar to the Atlanta Hawks, to armpits that are very similar to the LA Clippers. Also, this new design feels disconnected from the rest of the brand. You have a very clean typeface and a somewhat jagged logo, but then your uniform is all swooshy (for lack of a better term). Again, the three pieces (uniform, logo, and wordmark) feel very disconnected.

[CLEstones]

Still don't like the similarity of Kodiaks to Grizzlies. The swoosh under the wordmark feels generic. It think what would help immensely, if you're set on that font choice, would be more cohesion between the wordmark and the bear head. They feel like two separate things right now.

On the court, I've never been a fan of two toned wood. I like the way the mountain/skyline looks. Definitely more unique than what Cleveland did, but I worry about the small details a bit. Maybe try to simplify it.

As for the uniforms, you went from piping that was very similar to the Atlanta Hawks, to armpits that are very similar to the LA Clippers. Also, this new design feels disconnected from the rest of the brand. You have a very clean typeface and a somewhat jagged logo, but then your uniform is all swooshy (for lack of a better term). Again, the three pieces (uniform, logo, and wordmark) feel very disconnected.

To build off of this... is there any way to incorporate the skyline or mountains into the shape of the wordmark to help with cohesion?

[seattlesonicsofsacramento]

As for the uniforms, you went from piping that was very similar to the Atlanta Hawks, to armpits that are very similar to the LA Clippers.

I thought it looked like the Hawks, but I didn't want to go check. I think basketball uniforms are much harder than football ones to create because of the lack of a history of striping patterns, not only because the sleeves are (or should be) non-existent but also on the shorts. The post-2000s NBA is trending hard in minimalism too, so there's only so much you can do with a uniform design. This is sort of my way of saying that, even though I like the changes made to the colors used in the uniforms, I agree that the design still isn't nailed down for me, if only because I'm wanting it to evoke a Kodiak or Seattle but don't find any design elements to hold onto.

I think all of the court changes are an improvement, but there is still that two-toned wood floor.

[Burmy]

I still think it looks too much like the Grizzlies...but I see where you're coming from.

That said, I think "Seattle" should be on at least one of the jerseys (maybe both)...

[wn3]

Well the biggest problem I have is that there's not a wild Kodiak within 1500 miles of Seattle. It makes about as much sense as the Seattle Mexicans (or, you know, the Memphis Grizzlies for that matter.)

[woody86]

I agree...a kodiak is not very representative of the region. Also, the coloration reminds me a lot of the Cal (Berkley) Bears. If you wanted to make it more unique, you could call them the Seattle Spirits after the Kermode or "Spirit" Bears that live in BC (closer to Seattle). You could have a tan/green coloration. Just some thoughts, take them for what they're worth.