Milwaukee Bucks Logo Re-Design

[jaha32]

I like the first one a lot! But what if you rotated it counter-clockwise a bit as if it were dunking as a biped? I feel like that would give it those quirky and anthropomorphic qualities.

Thanks! I hear what you're saying about having it stand more up and down than across. I'm trying to compromise between having it stand up (which creates more space between the buck and word mark below) and filling in that space below.

Count me in the camp (if there is one) that prefers the ballin' buck. I mean they're both great (and as you said, Greg, definitely different from current NBA logo compositions), but I prefer option A just based in its nostalgic tie to the beloved Bango (both logos feature a deer with a basketball).

I wonder if you might somehow explore styling a new Bucks wordmark based on the old pre-90s one, with a "Milwaukee" script similar to the one on the throwback jerseys. And, I must ask this: are you wanting to emphasize "Milwaukee" over "Bucks" here, and if so why so? (Not necessarily a criticism; just trying to gain some insight into your creative mind here.)

I do see a way in which you might be able to formulate a "crest" logo out of the ballin' buck...I'm seeing enough of the logo from the neck forward, hoof, ball and all, to insert into something or a rectotriangular shape (that ain't a word, but follow me here) similar to what the Bucks currently use which itself, intentional or not, evokes the same shape of that of the Wisconsin State Route signage. You could even have the hoof and ball breaking the shape to add some more dynamism to it.

Just throwing that out there...I'm curious to see where this goes.

Thanks, Brandon! I think I've committed myself to standard text rather than a script although I'm sure a script would have potential to complete this thing. I like your question about emphasizing "Milwaukee". My initial idea was definitely to have "Milwaukee" more prominent than "Bucks", similar to how it was in the original Bucks logo. I noticed that on the Bradley Center court, they actually eliminated "Bucks" from the baseline and the franchise seems to be focusing more on "Milwaukee" as of late. Also, with the Bucks in desperate need of a new arena to stay in Milwaukee, I thought there is now more reason than ever to focus on the Milwaukee aspect. So I had a bunch of thoughts on it. However, when it came time to put this logo together, "Bucks" worked better with the composition just because it's shorter, so after all that, I may just go with "Bucks".

I've played around with a few ideas and liked none of them, but I'll explore maybe placing a red triangle or something in this like they currently use. It could bring the two eras of Bucks together in one.

not sure how i feel about the "lay up" buck - what about a "dunk" style instead?

I'm going to stick with the layup. With hooves and no claws or paws to grasp the ball, I like how the ball rests atop the hoof.

Love the first logo - something I've thought of doing before but could never execute it in the way you did. I will offer some humble comments on it, however.

-I think it needs to be more vertically based. Right now it is reaching forward rather than toward the basket. Even if you aren't doing a "dunking buck" logo, it would still be jumping higher to do a layup.

-I would also have the ball more outstretched. It might be less anatomically correct, but I think it would better convey the image of going up for a layup. Also, it helps distance the ball from the face. I find that results in the logo looking cluttered in the facial region.

Having said that, this is an amazing concept that would give the Bucks the best logo in the association.

Thank you! You and Heitert both noticed how this thing is lunging forward more than upward, and it's just a composition thing. I've attempted lowering the buck so it can be jumping upward, but the hooves get lost in the lettering and then I have outline issues with the buck and lettering using different outlines widths/colors. I'm going to look into at least creating a gap between the antler and ball. I think you're right about that clutter.

Depending on how much more time I put into this, right now I'm looking at arching the text below the deer to fill that gap.

[AG82]

looks great!

[Go Red Sox!]

not sure how i feel about the "lay up" buck - what about a "dunk" style instead?

I'm going to stick with the layup. With hooves and no claws or paws to grasp the ball, I like how the ball rests atop the hoof.

Absolutely agree. A dunking buck would look forced, no matter how bad, or in your case, great the execution eventually is.

[jaha32]

I made a few changes to this. First, as macalestercots noticed, the facial region was kind of cluttered so I added some separation between the outlines on the antlers and ball. It's very subtle.

I kept playing around with ways to get the buck and letters to better interact, but any time Bango was placed within another shape or letter, it ruined the agile flow and the appearance of movement. In some cases he seemed to be mounting the word mark and I definitely didn't want that. Ha. So I'm content keeping the composition pretty much the same as before.

The other change is the word mark. I added serifs and a few other notches to get away from that super bland look. Hopefully it's an improvement. I still wanted to keep the letters rather simple, something I could realistically see a franchise that's been around since the late 1960's using. I experimented with arching the letters, but I liked the straight italicized letters which seemed to better compliment the forward facing buck. And I decided to get rid of the large MILWAUKEE word mark because it didn't fit as well, even when shrunk.

I'm keeping both the ballin' buck and charging buck. Both seemed to go over well, and since it's a concept, both can stay.

[Go Red Sox!]

Gorgeous! In my view, that's the perfect font for a team like Milwaukee. Not too dainty or modern, yet pretty appealing – also because it's italicized. Just the right typeface for the a team like the Bucks! The two Bangos look great. Stunning work as usual!

[tBBP]

I made a few changes to this. First, as macalestercots noticed, the facial region was kind of cluttered so I added some separation between the outlines on the antlers and ball. It's very subtle.

I kept playing around with ways to get the buck and letters to better interact, but any time Bango was placed within another shape or letter, it ruined the agile flow and the appearance of movement. In some cases he seemed to be mounting the word mark and I definitely didn't want that. Ha. So I'm content keeping the composition pretty much the same as before.

The other change is the word mark. I added serifs and a few other notches to get away from that super bland look. Hopefully it's an improvement. I still wanted to keep the letters rather simple, something I could realistically see a franchise that's been around since the late 1960's using. I experimented with arching the letters, but I liked the straight italicized letters which seemed to better compliment the forward facing buck. And I decided to get rid of the large MILWAUKEE word mark because it didn't fit as well, even when shrunk.

I'm keeping both the ballin' buck and charging buck. Both seemed to go over well, and since it's a concept, both can stay.

That much better...that much much better.

Now what up with some uniforms and a court???

[Shadojoker]

That Finger roll Buck is the new classic! !

[JMtexan09]

Seriously Milwaukee need this! The logos and wordmarks are the improvements as long as it remained with original colors of the team! I am so glad I joined this site as a member!

[WavePunter]

Go with a truer scarlet to really brighten the red up and help it pop on the darker green.. otherwise, awesome work!

Edit: also, if you switched the back legs of the buck (which is bent vs which is extended), it would be more accurate of a truer layup.. I LOVE what you did with the positioning of the legs though.. really looks like a human's legs as they leap up for a layup, excellent job! But I think if you want to keep the ball in the buck's left hoof, maybe extend its right leg and bend the left..

[B Nizzl]

Such a great concept! I love the nod to the classic Bucks logo with the "layup buck" as it has been deemed. Maybe we can get this into the hands of the new owners to prompt them to make a change. This is definitely an upgrade.

[mbannon92]

Love what you did with the typeface. I really dig the combination of slab and angled serifs.

The placement of "Milwaukee" in the logo is bugging me. It's too cramped on the left side. Have you tried right aligning it with "Bucks"? Not sure how it would look with overall centered alignment of the composition, but it's worth a shot.

I agree with WavePunter on switching the rear legs--I didn't notice it before, but it's an easy fix, so IMO it would be worth it.

[jaha32]

Thanks again for all the input!

@Buc, if I'm feeling ambitious I may get around to jerseys, but as of yet I haven't even brainstormed ideas.

@WavePunter and mcbannon, good eye on the leg positioning. Don't know how I mixed that up. Although Bango's time out performances have always been more into dunking acrobatics than fundamentals, he should know how to do a layup correctly. Hopefully when I revisit this it's as simple as swapping the leg highlights. On that red, I don't know the Bucks true pantone colors, but I did lighten the red just slightly in the second post. On the positioning of "Milwaukee", I like to keep it centered above "Bucks". The only way I could un-crowd the left side would be to slide the whole buck upward or leftward. We shall see.

[mcrosby]

I'd like to see a cursive wordmark, like a beer label. The curves/points of the antlers would work well with a typeface like that as well.

Beautiful logos.

[jaha32]

I'd like to see a cursive wordmark, like a beer label. The curves/points of the antlers would work well with a typeface like that as well.

Beautiful logos.

Thank you. I think if I were starting this from scratch all over I'd probably explore a cursive script from the get go, but for now I'm going to stick with this font, although it is pretty angular, whereas the deer is smooth flowing.

In this latest update I switched the back legs on the layup version so his technique is correct and moved the deer slightly in an attempt to un-crowd the area between the legs and letters.

[sonny]

I like the font. Clean and classic. I also would love to see a clean version of this. Great job!

[Hasheem]

very nice how you were able to make it whimsical and strong at the same time

[mbannon92]

Perfection. I'd love to see a full package with an alternate logo, unis and court!

[jaha32]

Perfection. I'd love to see a full package with an alternate logo, unis and court!

I doodled a few alternate logo ideas today, but nothing I really liked jumped out at me yet. I kind of hate drawing antlers. ha.