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Raptors Getting New Uniforms, Tweaking Logo in 2021


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It seems like they really run with the national team angle. Using national colors and making it almost like an Olympic team uniform. That being said, the addition of purple make the overall aesthetics better. Stylistically/brand wise they're in a bit of a pickle. They should just bite the bullet and reintroduce purple and be done with it

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18 hours ago, rjrrzube said:

I see "NORTH" and immediately think it's some high school jersey. 

 

It was especially bad when they were playing "Town" in the State Championship.

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12 hours ago, uniguy22 said:

 

Bottom line though, they sell so much merchandise with both the current set and throwback that I still believe not going back to purple isn't leaving any money on the table. Having said that, I wouldn't mind seeing purple used just as an accent colour, but never touching red. The purple and red just clash when they touch.  

 

If they are going the chevron route, I wouldn't mind incorporating purple back into the scheme sort of like this quick mock-up I did in Paint. Makes them a little more unique than all the other red and black teams. Drop the silver from their colour scheme and replace it with purple. 

 

 

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12 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

It seems to me that the bigger issue here is that the Raptors seem to be living with a name it no longer wants. It feels as if this club has embraced  its name like an unhappy marriage, locked into a commitment that’s no longer exciting, but is unwilling to do anything about it. With the last few designs, it was as if the organization was designing around the name.  You could put any word on those jerseys and it tells the same story it does now. Replace the claw with a maple leaf, call them the Northmen and get it over with already.

 

Serious question, is there evidence of that being true? I got the sense that between their extremely popular throwback look, Drake's 'fandom' giving them more attention in public eye, and the recent championship that the name Toronto Raptors isn't going anywhere. And it shouldn't because its a fantastic name
 

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31 minutes ago, ScubaSteve said:

 

Serious question, is there evidence of that being true? I got the sense that between their extremely popular throwback look, Drake's 'fandom' giving them more attention in public eye, and the recent championship that the name Toronto Raptors isn't going anywhere. And it shouldn't because its a fantastic name
 

Don't get me wrong. I don't think the name is going anywhere. And even though I suggested a (clearly not popular) name alternative, that's really not what I'm suggesting they do.

 

I'm suggesting that the Raptors are a team whose name has very little to do with its visual identity. You could easily swap the claw out for a star or a maple leaf or any other sort of iconography and hardly notice -- the raptor imagery is almost inconsequential to the brand. The embrace of "North" and the chevron jerseys has the look of a team that's testing out an entirely different identity. They're not going to do it; as many of you pointed out, there's equity in the Raptors name. It just seems like everybody realizes this but the team itself, which seems indifferent.

 

Maybe that's just a general trend in sports branding these days, especially in the NBA. The Timberwolves have evolved in much the same way. The Wolves roundel on the team's shorts is almost accidental. Removing it would do almost nothing to the visual feel of the set. It's like the uniforms were made for Brand X. "Insert your logo here."  

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1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

the raptor imagery is almost inconsequential to the brand.

You asked what a chevron has to do with raptors. Nothing much. They have been part of the uniform since the Vince Carter set though. So it's a good direction to lean into. Plus they won the title in the "NORTH" chevron look. Replace "NORTH" with "RAPTORS" and you have a good way to reference the franchise's high point with the unis going forward. 

 

As for the name...how much "raptor-ness" should they include in the brand? The 90s went overboard. Not just with giant dinosaur logos, but dinosaur tracks on the court. And as much as people clamour for that look? It was 90s excess and would loose its specialness if it were an everyday thing. 

 

So again, to what extent should the name be incorporated into the brand? I would say the chevron unis with a "RAPTORS" wordmark and the claw logo on the shorts are all you need. 

After all the Celtics built one of the strongest brands in sports and their unis didn't have a shamrock or leprechaun on them. And the recent trends to include more Irish Gaelic imagery have only made their brand cheesier. 

 

So I think there's something to be said with showing restraint in how much you work a team name into the identity. The Raptors don't need to look like a bunch of goofs with dinosaur themed tank-tops.

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28 minutes ago, IceCap said:

As for the name...how much "raptor-ness" should they include in the brand? The 90s went overboard. Not just with giant dinosaur logos, but dinosaur tracks on the court. And as much as people clamour for that look? It was 90s excess and would loose its specialness if it were an everyday thing. 

 

So again, to what extent should the name be incorporated into the brand? I would say the chevron unis with a "RAPTORS" wordmark and the claw logo on the shorts are all you need. 

After all the Celtics built one of the strongest brands in sports and their unis didn't have a shamrock or leprechaun on them. And the recent trends to include more Irish Gaelic imagery have only made their brand cheesier. 

 

So I think there's something to be said with showing restraint in how much you work a team name into the identity. The Raptors don't need to look like a bunch of goofs with dinosaur themed tank-tops.

Yeah, let's leave the Jurassic Park cartoon one for the throwback bin. The brand as it stands now is probably the strongest the team's had, visually; I don't see much need to drastically change it.

 

If they really want a dinosaur logo, there's more restrained ways to use the body of a raptor for a logo than a snarling dribbling cartoon character; especially if they go with a more modern depiction of one, which can also use imagery of a bird of prey.

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Most team nicknames are relatively inconsequential to the look, especially basketball when logos are usually a small part of the uniform.  Furthermore elements on the uniform get gimmicky (bengal stripes, timber trim)

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51 minutes ago, IceCap said:

You asked what a chevron has to do with raptors. Nothing much. They have been part of the uniform since the Vince Carter set though. So it's a good direction to lean into. Plus they won the title in the "NORTH" chevron look. Replace "NORTH" with "RAPTORS" and you have a good way to reference the franchise's high point with the unis going forward. 

 

As for the name...how much "raptor-ness" should they include in the brand? The 90s went overboard. Not just with giant dinosaur logos, but dinosaur tracks on the court. And as much as people clamour for that look? It was 90s excess and would loose its specialness if it were an everyday thing. 

 

So again, to what extent should the name be incorporated into the brand? I would say the chevron unis with a "RAPTORS" wordmark and the claw logo on the shorts are all you need. 

After all the Celtics built one of the strongest brands in sports and their unis didn't have a shamrock or leprechaun on them. And the recent trends to include more Irish Gaelic imagery have only made their brand cheesier. 

 

So I think there's something to be said with showing restraint in how much you work a team name into the identity. The Raptors don't need to look like a bunch of goofs with dinosaur themed tank-tops.

 

Yeah, you're right. I'm likely still stuck in an era where teams -- particularly those devoid of the historic lineage of the Lakers or Celtics or Pistons — employed visual looks or pursued redesigns that were more directly associated with their names: the Wolves' tree trim, the Magic's sublimated stars, the Rockets' shorts of Yao Ming era. I realize this isn't universal. The Raptors' embrace of "North," though, seemed like a wholesale and willful move in a direction away from Raptors. 

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18 hours ago, pepis21 said:

I wouldn't be mad to see their new uniforms based of their current City uniforms instead of chevrons:

FGL_332918061_01_a-Toronto-Raptors-Nike-

They could use Raptors wordmark as well.

Whatever they do with the New Jersey's I hope they use that little triangle banner thing on the back of the jersey above the name. I don't know why but I love it and it just fits the raptors so well

IMG-7122.gif

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5 hours ago, leopard88 said:

 

It was especially bad when they were playing "Town" in the State Championship.

To be fair, those town jerseys paid homage to Oakland and it was gonna be their last game in Oakland so I guess they had to dress for the occasion (assuming you're talking about game 6)

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37 minutes ago, pelicanfan said:

Whatever they do with the New Jersey's I hope they use that little triangle banner thing on the back of the jersey above the name. I don't know why but I love it and it just fits the raptors so well

 

I just realized using six triangles for the banner might be more than a mere coincidence on those jerseys (instead of going with the seven that were used in the inaugural unis)...Toronto is "The Six" after all. 

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29 minutes ago, pelicanfan said:

To be fair, those town jerseys paid homage to Oakland and it was gonna be their last game in Oakland so I guess they had to dress for the occasion (assuming you're talking about game 6)

 

I am.  The context for the Warriors is slightly more defensible, especially given the homage to Oakland and to the "City" jerseys from the 60s.  That said, I still didn't like them.

 

For the record, my distaste for jerseys of that type extends pretty much across the board (e.g., Wizards "District' jerseys, Blazers "Rip City" jerseys, Pistons "Motor City" jerseys, etc.).

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17 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

It seems to me that the bigger issue here is that the Raptors seem to be living with a name it no longer wants. It feels as if this club has embraced  its name like an unhappy marriage, locked into a commitment that’s no longer exciting, but is unwilling to do anything about it. 

 

I don't get that impression at all. If anything, they doubled down on the Raptors name when they removed Toronto from the road uniforms in 2003 and then tripled down by not having any full-time Toronto jerseys at all in the current set.

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Just now, Lights Out said:

 

I don't get that impression at all. If anything, they doubled down on the Raptors name when they removed Toronto from the road uniforms in 2003 and then tripled down by not having any full-time Toronto jerseys at all in the current set.

I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. And you're probably right. I was just suggesting that the name seems almost incidental to the uniform. Like, you could replace it with "Icicles" and it would have the same feel. Nothing about it to me says "Raptors" visually. It felt like a move away from being a sports brand to a fashion brand. 

As we've since discussed, there are plenty of examples where a team's visual identify bares little resemblance to its name. I just felt the Raptors, despite what the name says on the jersey, have veered so far from what their name represents to render it meaningless. 

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45 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

True, but it just goes to show that the look a team wins a title in is not always their best one or the one they should be wearing full-time.

I mean you had to find one of the worst championship winning uniforms of all time to prove the point, but sure 😛

 

Regardless, your attempt to construct a false equivalency between the Padres and brown and the Raptors in purple didn't go unnoticed. It's really not the same thing at all. 

 

Are the Raptors' 90s uniforms popular? Yes. We're entering the peak of 90s nostalgia. It's that decade's turn on the nostalgia wheel. 

 

Should the 90s uniforms be worn full time? No. The uniqueness of them would be lost, and the sheer 90s excess would become overwhelming, if worn every night. The look works as an occasional throwback because the brashness of it is special once and a while. 

 

Is purple more popular than red and white? Eh...no? This isn't a case like the Padres or Chargers where you can look in the stands and see the fanbase primarily rocking the old colours.

Raptors home crowds are primarily decked out in the red, black, and white gear. There are fans rocking the purple throwback stuff, but it's not nearly on the level as the Chargers fanbase in powder blue or the Padres fanbase in brown.

 

You REALLY don't seem to understand or care what Toronto fans like. You've defended the Ballard leaf when Leafs fans have said it represents the team's worst years. You've defended the Black Jays look when Jays fans say the current identity is perfect for them. 

 

And once again you're out to lunch on Toronto sports. I've been a fan since the literal start of this team. I was the target demo when they released their logo and uniforms. And I suffered through this team being a joke, being irrelevant, and being ignored. 

When I watch the Raptors? I'd like to remember them as NBA Champions. Not as the team opposing teams played the Barney the Dinosaur theme for. Not the team Vince Carter missed the shot against the 76ers for. Not the team Vince tore the heart out of. 
 

So yeah, keep the purple for the occasional fun throwback night. That's it though. Lean into the red and white chevron look and let that unique but simple identity be the team's signifier from now until forever. 

 

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