The 1993 LA Clippers Redesign that Never Was

[Digby]

it was all times roman vs ostentatiously Art Deco in terms of 1993 typeface choices. Dark times for those of us of a modernist bent, but things came around.

[FinsUp1214]

For some reason that wave + basketball had always reminded me of something...five minutes ago I finally figured it out: 

 

 

Not exact design of course, but very similar idea and from the league as well. Could that have possibly been cleaned up and recycled?

[MCM0313]

10 hours ago, FinsUp1214 said:

For some reason that wave + basketball had always reminded me of something...five minutes ago I finally figured it out: 

 

 

Not exact design of course, but very similar idea and from the league as well. Could that have possibly been cleaned up and recycled?

Wow...so, this idea began with an All-Star Game logo, then was cleaned up and recolored for a rebranding, then when the rebranding didn’t go down, part of the color scheme was pocketed for a coming expansion. I didn’t realize there was so much creative recycling. Guess it’s a good thing - some ideas are too good to leave behind, even if now isn’t the right time for their implementation. 

[The_Admiral]

every time I check this thread I say "I'm not gonna post it, I'm not gonna post it," but I broke, I'm postin' it:

 

 

[GhostOfNormMacdonald]

4 minutes ago, the admiral said:

every time I check this thread I say "I'm not gonna post it, I'm not gonna post it," but I broke, I'm postin' it:

 

 

Soooo... uh, context?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 minutes ago, Maroon&Gold said:

Soooo... uh, context?

 

It's right there! How else do you answer questions about your handwriting?

[Gothamite]

19 hours ago, the admiral said:

 

 

Never bothered me! And this font, I feel, is ~*iconic*~ of the '90s:

 

and, from the following year:

 

Deco had a bit of a resurgence in the early 90s. 

[Gothamite]

3 hours ago, MCM0313 said:

Wow...so, this idea began with an All-Star Game logo, then was cleaned up and recolored for a rebranding, then when the rebranding didn’t go down, part of the color scheme was pocketed for a coming expansion. I didn’t realize there was so much creative recycling. Guess it’s a good thing - some ideas are too good to leave behind, even if now isn’t the right time for their implementation. 

It’s absolutely a good thing, sometimes you just need to find the right context to use your good idea.

 

I know a handful of professional writers, and they all have notebooks stuffed with lines of dialogue and plot points that will eventually find a home. And when I was producing plays I had designers pitch me the same concept for subsequent shows. One time a scenic designer had a clever idea for building levels in our theater, and he pitched it and pitched it until we finally had a show where it worked. 

[Sodboy13]

3 hours ago, Maroon&Gold said:

Soooo... uh, context?

 

This is a legendary excerpt from a 2003 deposition of then Clippers owner Donald Sterling, as part of a lawsuit Sterling and his wife co-filed against a woman he'd had an affair with, in an attempt to reclaim property from her.

 

Read that sentence as many times as you need to process it, it's a bit much to handle on the first go.

[Digby]

I like the “sir, this is a Wendy’s” meme construct best but I can’t deny Sterling really elevated it.

[JLJ]

On 5/16/2020 at 11:03 AM, the admiral said:

every time I check this thread I say "I'm not gonna post it, I'm not gonna post it," but I broke, I'm postin' it:

 

 

I thank the basketball gods everyday for V. Stiviano.

[kimball]

On 5/16/2020 at 3:28 PM, Sodboy13 said:

 

This is a legendary excerpt from a 2003 deposition of then Clippers owner Donald Sterling, as part of a lawsuit Sterling and his wife co-filed against a woman he'd had an affair with, in an attempt to reclaim property from her.

 

Read that sentence as many times as you need to process it, it's a bit much to handle on the first go.

 

It's a bit too much to handle any time.

[UnclearInitial]

Art Deco-ish baseline fonts that had very little in common with the wordmark on front of the jerseys was all the rage in the 90’s NBA. Not surprising it found its way on the logos too

 

[B-Rich]

Speaking of Art Deco and Batman...

 

On 5/15/2020 at 10:28 PM, MCM0313 said:

Also, @B-Rich: are YOU Batman-rich? Because you could probably make a pretty compelling argument that that is the source of your username.

 

Nah, I'm quite comfortable,  but not Batman-rich.

 

My user name is a derivation of my actual name; which if you look at my posts around summer 2013 (which tie in to my photo avatar) and do a little Googling, it's pretty easy to find out my real name.  Shoot, from my history of posts the people on here already know a lot about me; but it's no big deal-- I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.  

 

Kinda funny, though -- my first name IS Bruce, and in 1989 I WAS Batman  (for one night at least

[BenchOnaQUEST]

On 5/15/2020 at 4:23 AM, Brian in Boston said:

        

 

    

In my opinion, this is the branding direction that would best serve the Los Angeles Clippers. Bring back the alphanumeric font and overall design from their early LA uniforms. For a color scheme, return to the Sky Blue and Orange from their days in San Diego (in fact, celebrate the franchise's entire history by using the particular shade of Orange from their time in Buffalo), and - as an accent color - the shade of Blue from their first three seasons in Los Angeles. Then, as far as a logo is concerned, lean into nautical imagery. If they're going to hang onto the Clippers name, they shouldn't be afraid to own nautical iconography in their logo. From their proposed new arena in Inglewood, the Clippers will be just six miles from the Pacific Ocean.      
 

 

I love the S.C. (Sports Club) Corinthians logo with the anchor.

In fact, I have a design with it. It's actually in LAC colors. Check this out:

 

https://imgur.com/a/J6kKm7n