OKC Thunder Re-Brand

[ramsjetsthunder]

As a Thunder fan, the only thing i'd change is take off the home diagonal jersey striping and take off the lines above Thunder on the away jersey. I love the billboard and apparel concepts too.

Also, can we see that roundel by itself?

[jrcollis714]

What's the connection with the bull?

It's a bison, and it is to represent the "thunder" from a herd as it moves. Really nice work on this. This is definitely a huge upgrade to their current garbage! Great work.

[H11K]

BOOM, Love it. Awesome work my friend.

[jdp]

I'm not really liking the bison brand, actually. With the state outline and the star, it comes off as cluttered. Perhaps if the bison were filled in, and the state left empty--as another post suggested--but the state just doesn't seem to fit in the space. Not to mention, if it is meant as a brand, should the star touch the rest of the shape? I think that might make it look more like a branding iron.

[hokiefan99]

looks great

[Carolingian Steamroller]

Not sure how diagonal pins would work but boy is the rest of it solid.

[Artmanc3po]

Probably the most exciting NBA concept I've seen in memory. Modern yet evokes Old West themes, ties in colors and meanings behind "Thunder" very well. This successful franchise deserves a strong identity like this.

[JHill1225]

As always Brandon nice work, I follow you on Behance too

[BrandMooreArt]

i put up some early concept sketches today.

[jdp]

i put up some early concept sketches today.

[... images ...]

That is a good position for the state outline.

[gibbsb24]

uhh, not really feeling it, but the color retouching is nice

[tBBP]

I left some feedback over on your Behance project; I'll also leave some more here.

First things first: you went through an incredible (to say the least) amount of research on this. It definitely helps to be thorough...one never knows where or how he or she may happen upon design inspiration. A name as abstract and ambiguous as "Thunder" really gives one as much room as desired to be as creative as possible--no "box" really exists. And since the team's current brand identity invokes no semblance of "thunder" whatsoever, you were really able to disassemble the whole thing and rebuild from the dirt up. Everything almost seems to fit into a "system" of sorts--you don't see that very often in sports design. (It's one thing to create great logos, another thing to make them all tie together. It's also one thing to create great uniforms. But it's something else entirely to make all that fit within a cohesive system, wherein certain elements not only build upon each other, but can also be interchanged with each other AND still be strong enough to stand on their own, particularly when it comes to merchandising--another element to consider when crafting a successful brand identity system.)

Overall, I think you did a top-notch job of visually communicating the thoughts, emotions, and ideas you were going for, so in my eyes, the brand identity in itself is a success. That said, there's a few things I'd like to see you try before I'd call it a fully integrated system (in my mind, anyway). Now, let's get technical...

You kept the most distinctive parts of OKC's current identity: the state flag blue and the "sunset" orange-crimson, as well as the navy. Several have said that they preferred the flag blue color be the primary; I agree with your stance ony using the dark navy as the base since 1) it connotes the idea of a stormy sky much better than the flag blue and 2) it provides MUCH greater visual contrast with the other elements. I'm not, however, entirely sold on the off-white color. I get that it helps enforce the western thing, but I think eliminating it for pure white would make the whole thing cleaner (& solve the inevitable "cream on top of white" issue that would pop up with the white t-shirt merchandise--you can even call it "lightning" if you like, haha). That said, the emotional tie Okies have for the flag blue makes it perfect for fan gear, though.

I LOVE the idea of the branding iron as inspiration for the illustration style for the bison/state logo. This is the one thing I want to see you expand further into this identity. Someone mentioned extending the points of the stars to touch the state to help hammer home the branding iron aspect..I agree with that. (But I can also see why you made it as it is now...creative liberty.) I believe that mark alone can serve as a primary logo--it's strong enough in its simplicity, and because its one-color it can be applied in any color AND as part of another logo altogether. Which brings me to this point: I believe, unconventional/unpopular as it may seem, you could stick that inside a circle--connected like a branding iron of course--and wrap the ~ OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER ~ script around it, like you have with the basketball supporting logo. Speaking of which...that one is BEGGING for the feathers. Cliche though it may be, this is one instance in which it'll really hammer home the "Oklahoma" aspect--it's something uniquely theirs. As a matter of fact...I'd try all of what I suggested with the bison logo in a roundel, surrouned by the aforementioned text, and connect five feathers (five players on the floor) to the bottom. From that you could then pull pieces as individual logos. You already have one, the bison/state logo. You could even do a basketball-with-feathers logo in the same branding-iron illustration style. The only part that wouldn't really fit, unless you want to make it fit, is the OKC/lightning bolt logo (which I really like the bolt on the K in that one).

All those ideas above is why I also am not hot on the font choice. (Then again I'm not the biggest fan of block fonts--you know that. ) I think porting over the Industria font they use now would fit right into this, as the curves and angled interior corners would play well with the curves and sharp corners of the bison--plus it's (for the most part) monoline, so it'd fit right into the branding-iron illustration aesthetic, and preserve some continuity with the current identity as well.

I really like the idea of the "rainstorm" diagonal pinstripes...that said, I also think it'd hammer that idea home better if the lines were dashed like they are in the write-up on your Behance project; it'd read better as "rain". You could then even sublimated those into the navy and sunset uniforms as well (the Atlanta Hawks may well set a precedent for uniform sublimation in the NBA).

That's what I got...awesome job on that. Definitely one of the best NBA rebranding projects I've seen, and at any rate the most comprehensive I've seen in a long time.

[BrandMooreArt]

thanks for that run down Buc, your opinion means a lot to me and i'm glad you liked it overall. i think you are able to see exactly what i was going for and able to pull out the whole story of the concept. i think you're the only guy that has seen the light blue for what it is - a pop color. which i think its actually stronger when used sparingly, and like you said, you can use the hell out of it on apparel.

i know what you mean with the cream over white thing, that would also bother me. my solution to that would be for the team to more strictly enforce the extra pieces players wear. or better yet, let Nike make some matching cream equipment. so all that extra white that Westbrook likes to wear, either give it to him in cream or one of the other team colors.

you also nailed the buffalo branding iron concept when you said "creative liberty". that floating star i thought was both the best way t execute it, AND practical with a branding iron. the iron i used in the inspiration has negative space in it as well. not everything actually needs to be connected as i found when doing research on those irons

you're in my head! the thing with the feathers, the roundel, i tried all that stuff out on paper and just didn't like it. i think what you laid out there could be good, but i wasn't able to execute it to my liking. but, the last thing i wanted to do was use a roundel as a prominent mark, or have a ball in one of the main logos. thats just cliche' at this point for teh NBA

i agree, Industria could be used and still sell the branding iron look. the reason i went with a modified version of United was just because i wanted something thick, and "tougher" looking. i feel like if you're going to do a 1 color logo, it has to have some good weight to it. Industria could be thickened, and i wouldnt be completely opposed to it, but the specific OKC letters of United provided a better base i thought.

i love the idea of breaking up the rain stripes! i think im ready to let this project go because i put so much into it, but if i ever make changes, i will definitely do that.

thanks again Buc!

[whoisjulio]

That collar is the Reebok/Adidas style. I'd bet money Nike won't adopt that style when they take over in 2017.

[Dwinters24]

As someone from the outside (not from OKC, not a huge NBA fan) looking in, this project really captures the essence of what an NBA team from Oklahoma City should truly look like. Nothing better than having a strong concept/ideation behind these great designs. Come on now, the sideways rain is genius! Check out the full project on behance, it's worth it.

[Tygers09]

I would eliminate the lightning bolt from OKC, and superimpose the buffalo logo in front of an arched OKC. Then that would be great primary logo. Keep the arched thunder with lightning bolt for word font on the jerseys.

I have always been a fan of the navy/orange (or burnt orange also) color combination. So this is another example of why I like it.

[Shumway]

I caught bits and pieces of this on Dribbble the other day, but it's nice to see the whole thing. I love what you've done overall here, with a few nitpicks. I'd like to see the lighter blue a little bit more. I think it works great as an accent, or "pop" as you appropriately put it, color, but I think it could be a little more prevalent. Buc's idea for the rain on the home set is brilliant, I have to say. While this goes against what I just said regarding the sky blue, I do love the simplicity of the [mostly] orange and navy alternate uniform. Great stuff, as always.

As a side note, I love the sketch on the billboard. It's actually my favorite part of the whole thing.

[twdean13]

AWESOME!!

[ty072179]

Very cool concept!

[jdp]

ty072179 - I see that is your only post, but, just so you know, it's frowned upon when you add your concepts to someone else's thread (unless given permission to do so).