Toronto Raptors rebrand

[BBallSuperFan]

Hey guys, new poster here. I have some info on the logos that have been considered as "rejected". Those were not designs by SidLee. They were made by a member of the Raptors Republic called gametime. Sportsnet has realized this error.

[illwauk]

For those interested, some of what MLSE turned down in favour of the brooklyn-esque ball:

The Raptor emerging from the Maple Leaf is spectacular! How they passed that up for the bland roundel, I'll never know...

Probably because they actually want to get away from dinosaur imagery. I don't quite hate that Jurassic Park was the inspiration for the teams' identity the way I used to, but I can still understand why they'd want to phase it out.

[Gothamite]

I honestly don't.

[SCL]

For those interested, some of what MLSE turned down in favour of the brooklyn-esque ball:

The Raptor emerging from the Maple Leaf is spectacular! How they passed that up for the bland roundel, I'll never know...

Probably because they actually want to get away from dinosaur imagery. I don't quite hate that Jurassic Park was the inspiration for the teams' identity the way I used to, but I can still understand why they'd want to phase it out.

It's an overreaction to the animated logos of the late 90's. They want to be as subtle as possible to avoid any semblance of corniness. I think they could pull off a classy and un-animated raptor, not sure why something so devoid of creativity had to be the solution.

[Gobbi]

I still think that the best choice they could have made would be to use "raptor" in the sense of a bird of prey rather than a velociraptor. This would have tied in to the whole Drake thing considering his logo is an owl and it would have allowed them an easy way to distance themselves from the 90's dinosaur theme without having to use a generic basketball logo.

I think I heard about that idea when the rebrand was announced and was hoping that would be the route they were going to take.

[M4One]

I don't think it would have made sense to keep the name, but change the meaning behind it. It might be a name that screams 90's, but they've been that way for 20 years. No real reason to change that now. As for the logo, I get the minimalist look they are going for, but using the fan tweak of adding the claws, would have made it 100x better.

[Gobbi]

I don't think it would have made sense to keep the name, but change the meaning behind it. It might be a name that screams 90's, but they've been that way for 20 years. No real reason to change that now. As for the logo, I get the minimalist look they are going for, but using the fan tweak of adding the claws, would have made it 100x better.

To me, by going the minimalist route and removing virtually all traces of the dinosaur, they are essentially removing the meaning behind it. That's why I was on board for changing the meaning behind it if they're not going to embrace the original meaning. I agree that the claws make it way better though.

[IceCap]

I still think that the best choice they could have made would be to use "raptor" in the sense of a bird of prey rather than a velociraptor. This would have tied in to the whole Drake thing considering his logo is an owl and it would have allowed them an easy way to distance themselves from the 90's dinosaur theme without having to use a generic basketball logo.

I think I heard about that idea when the rebrand was announced and was hoping that would be the route they were going to take.

Sorry, I have to disagree. When most people hear "raptor" they think of the dinosaur. That's clearly still the meaning they're going with.

[alxy8s]

Has a team ever changed what their nickname referred to like that? The only comparable thing I could think of was Devil Rays to Rays, but that obviously included a name change.

[Gothamite]

And the (Devil) Rays didn't actually abandon their fishy name, they just made it stand for something else at the same time. Which is why they still have a petting tank in the outfield, and wear a fish patch on their sleeve to match the twinkly sun on their chests.

Trying to have it both ways, which I would highly recommend Toronto not do.

[jaha32]

For those interested, some of what MLSE turned down in favour of the brooklyn-esque ball:

The Raptor emerging from the Maple Leaf is spectacular! How they passed that up for the bland roundel, I'll never know...

The raptor emerging from the maple leaf looks like it belongs in the same logo package as the animated jersey-wearing raptor logo. I like it, but if they are changing things up to go away from that look, it would seem like a lateral move.

That raptor head within the the basketball would be nice if they managed to make the outer neck curve along the same path as the ball. This imperfection bothers my eye. Also the way the basketball lines are cut off by the raptor's face looks a bit sloppy as well. A few tweaks, as well as making the two stars maple leaves, and that'd be may favorite in the bunch.

[VancouverFan69]

Saw this on the main page under the "architect" Chris Creamer's post about real world incorporation. Surprised no one posted it yet.

Someone did just added a small alteration and VOILA 100% better! (Still looks like Memphis 2nd logo hooked up with BKN's main logo)

The bottom one looks a lot better. Purple and red are the Raptors' true colours. No need to rip off the Bulls and Trail Blazers.

[Camden Crazy]

They're morons for not going with Dinoleaf.

[TruColor]

They're morons for not going with Dinoleaf.

I don't know...I think that thing sucks, to be honest.

[Camden Crazy]

They're morons for not going with Dinoleaf.

I don't know...I think that thing sucks, to be honest.

It isn't perfect, but much better than all the other options IMO. Not a fan of this trend of bland, simplistic primary logos.

[Gothamite]

They're morons for not going with Dinoleaf.

I don't know...I think that thing sucks, to be honest.

It's the best of a bad bunch.

As much as I dislike the new branding, those fan concepts are even worse.

[2001mark]

A few thoughts a few weeks out from this local fan...

- Now feels way too near & sadly close to the idiot Blue Jays - Black Jays rebrand a few years ago... I am not looking forward to walking the streets of T.O. with more lifeless black caps & jerseys. The Blue Jays smartened up, hopefully the Raps will again in 3-4yrs.

- The rondel is already aged imo. Rid the roundel, this logo actually looks very cool on the 'flag' sans circle. If they/someone could throw up maybe black coloured font for 'TORONTO' & 'RAPTORS' around a silver/purple centered ball that'd be cool.

- Friends & I are hoping now that the jerseys can knock our socks off... that & the floor design could help a lot. The Raptor claw logo we've had never got much branding traction, no one loved nor hated it - it just literally seemed to come out of nowhere without emotional attachment either way - & perhaps this new logo could slide into that niche.

Sad but truth.

[dgnmrwrw]

That raptor head within the the basketball would be nice if they managed to make the outer neck curve along the same path as the ball. This imperfection bothers my eye. Also the way the basketball lines are cut off by the raptor's face looks a bit sloppy as well. A few tweaks, as well as making the two stars maple leaves, and that'd be may favorite in the bunch.

Couldn't agree with this more. It might have made a nice logo, maintaining the 'dinosaur' imagery while still going for the simple, traditional style they seem to have preferred.

[truepg]

I've arrived at the conclusion that the new ball mark is a rather good logo - as a secondary to the primary of the current claw logo.

[jrodsep]

They should have gone with Ice Cap avatar and rebrand as the Dinobots.