VampyrRabbit Baseball Logo designs thread

[VampyrRabbit]

So, this is going to be a top down brand refresh for the Colorado Rockies, with new parts being unveiled, tweaked and perfected. This thread will see the debut of new templates for uniforms and other articles of clothing, and by the end, a full set of concepts, along with reasoning explaining the design choices shown.

Edit - well, this was a CR thread, but now it's a Baseball logo design thread, just wanted feedback on logos and I think this way will help me perfect them in order to build to probable all MLB team series in the not too distant future.

 

[VampyrRabbit]

So, why the Rockies? Well, except for a change in the shade of purple used, the team has had more or less the same look since starting in the MLB, and it's not only a look that strays close to the White Sox, it's also one that is pretty dated IMO.

So, a brand refresh is well overdue.

First off, the purple stays, but with a new shade, and is joined by Pretty Columbine. The green used on the Coors Field logo will be used as an accent colour on the secondary logos, and while it won't appear on any logos, gray will still be the base colour of the road uniform and alternative road uniform pants. And on those uniforms, Pretty Columbine and Gray will always be separated by purple.

 

As opposed to Tampa Bay and Arizona, two teams that also had purple as a main colour when they started, I wanted Colorado to have a cool colour scheme as opposed to the gradient and the copper the other two have respectively. It was also a choice to distinguish the team from the other major sports teams based in Colorado, who all have warm colours in their scheme.

 

I decided to reduce black to a supporting colour,  appearing as an accent colour on the secondary logos. I didn't want to get rid of it entirely, but I wanted to push the concept of the Rockies as a foremost purple team, with the colour of the state flower of Colorado as support. Between the Diamondbacks, Rays and Rockies, I thought the Tampa Bay (Thunderstorms) and Arizona (Copper compounds) had more of a reason to use the colour than Colorado did, so black takes a back seat.

PART ONE - THE CAP EMBLEM

 

 

For the main cap emblem (home and road caps), I decided to just go with an R, and incorporated a baseball with trails similar to the current Rockies logo. On the ball, inspired by the Brewers Barley Ball logo, the arch detail from the Coors Park logo comprises the baseball stitches, and in the negative space between the two legs of the R is a purple mountain outlined by columbine. 

I wanted to incorporate a baseball in one negative space and a mountain in the other, and Coors Park is worthy of being represented in the teams logo, and I wanted green in the teams colour scheme somewhere, as it's a very Colorado colour.

So that's the main cap emblem, next it's the main logo!
 

 

[VampyrRabbit]

 

And here is the home sleeve patch, with the fly ball with the details from the Coors Field logo as stitching on a home plate, in front of three purple mountains. The CO lettering is also on the logo, with a drop shadow in order to keep some black in the colour scheme.

Next, the road sleeve patch.

[coco1997]

I think you're really onto something with the flying ball occupying the negative space inside the "R," and I love the idea of the green latticework forming the stitches of the baseball. However, the shape of the "R" looks a little awkward to me. I know you're trying to do something really different, but I can't help but think the ball would work better inside a Colorado "C." 

[VampyrRabbit]

19 hours ago, coco1997 said:

I think you're really onto something with the flying ball occupying the negative space inside the "R," and I love the idea of the green latticework forming the stitches of the baseball. However, the shape of the "R" looks a little awkward to me. I know you're trying to do something really different, but I can't help but think the ball would work better inside a Colorado "C." 

Thanks for the feedback! I think we can all agree that at this stage, the Rockies could do with something different and that's why I went with an R. I tried with a C, and here is the result.

 

I also came up with a home script, based on the font used for the Coors Field logo.

 

Not sure to go with a different font for the road script or use the same one as the home.

 

[VampyrRabbit]

 

 

 

Road script, Wordmark and Baseball wordmark. Decided to go with a matching script for the home and road.

[johne9109]

Everything looks really good except for the R logo, but I wouldn't abandon it completely. I think with some retooling it could work. It's mainly the shape of the R you went with. It feels very outdated; like it's straight out of the 70's or 80's. If anything hold onto it for a feauxback uniform? Look forward to the rest 

[DTConcepts]

I think the 'R' logo is 100% worth salvaging, especially the idea of working the silhouette of a mountain into the lettering. The ball fits the space as-is, but I'd suggest shrinking its size by about 10%. I also think the overall shape of the 'R' would be improved if the mountain silhouette at the bottom was made of hard angles instead of flowing curves.

 

It's a critique I have of the main logo, too. The current silhouette looks more like Denver Intl. Airport than the Rocky Mountains themselves, and I truthfully thought you intended it that way upon first glance. The Rocky Mountains are, well, rocky, and are much sharper and angular than most other North American mountains. I think representing that would benefit the overall look, at least in the main logo. The photo below kind of shows what I'm trying to say, at least in regards to the DIA/mountains comparison.

 

That said, all the designs are really well done as-is. Your reasoning behind the design choices is also really thought out, and shows the effort you're putting in here. I'm excited to see what the next update will be!

[VampyrRabbit]

19 hours ago, johne9109 said:

Everything looks really good except for the R logo, but I wouldn't abandon it completely. I think with some retooling it could work. It's mainly the shape of the R you went with. It feels very outdated; like it's straight out of the 70's or 80's. If anything hold onto it for a feauxback uniform? Look forward to the rest 

Thanks! I'm going to try and retool the R logo and make it look more of a modern shape. It probably could work for a fauxback uniform with a suitably 70's script.

 

15 hours ago, DTConcepts said:

I think the 'R' logo is 100% worth salvaging, especially the idea of working the silhouette of a mountain into the lettering. The ball fits the space as-is, but I'd suggest shrinking its size by about 10%. I also think the overall shape of the 'R' would be improved if the mountain silhouette at the bottom was made of hard angles instead of flowing curves.

 

It's a critique I have of the main logo, too. The current silhouette looks more like Denver Intl. Airport than the Rocky Mountains themselves, and I truthfully thought you intended it that way upon first glance. The Rocky Mountains are, well, rocky, and are much sharper and angular than most other North American mountains. I think representing that would benefit the overall look, at least in the main logo. The photo below kind of shows what I'm trying to say, at least in regards to the DIA/mountains comparison.

 

That said, all the designs are really well done as-is. Your reasoning behind the design choices is also really thought out, and shows the effort you're putting in here. I'm excited to see what the next update will be!

Thanks! The next set of updates will take into the rockiness of the Rockies and improve the sleeve patch logo, and I'll keep working on the R logo.

[VampyrRabbit]

 

Revised home and road sleeve patch, with the fly ball in front of purple mountain majesties and beneath a columbine sky.

 

On 2023-06-06 at 4:25 PM, johne9109 said:

 If anything hold onto it for a fauxback uniform? Look forward to the rest 

 

I originally planned for just the four uniforms (home, road, home alt and road alt), as thats the most any team really needs, but a fifth fauxback could be fun.

 

A 70s style script with a Denver Bears esque underline, using the Moodboard font.

[VampyrRabbit]

So, this was going to be a thread about The Rockies rebrand, but decided to make it an all Baseball logo design thread instead, mostly so I could work on different teams at the same time and get feedback, identify styles, and improve my work.

Anyhow, here is a concept for the main logo for the Miami Marlins.

 

The logo here is a Factory Pomo style Fish concept. If you were wondering what Factory Pomo is, then here is a primer, and here is another one. Basically, along with Grunge and the bits of Memphis Milano that stuck around after 1991 like chunks of peanut butter to the top of your mouth, it was one of the defining styles of the late 80's and the 90's. Once you know it, you know it. In sports, probably one of the best examples of FP was the original primary logo  and the nameplate on their original jerseys for the Toronto Raptors, who got on that train when the style was at its hottest.

As a style of the nineties and a descendant of Art Deco, a FP Style Marlins crest seemed obvious. The logo has the high contrast, angular shapes and a tall Art Deco style typeface (Cavalier for MIAMI) common to FP. The font used for MARLINS is Belgrad, and for a slight jarring sense to add to the high contrast, the baselines of the MARLINS type is straight.

In addition to the main colours of teal, black and white, I added pink (gills and inside mouth) and blue (eye), I felt those colours had to be on the logo somewhere. The shades are a more Art Deco than the full Vice colours the Heat used.

I designed the emblem to sit on a black background or have a black outline. As a uniform patch, it was intended to sit on the sleeve of a black baselayer, Iike the 1996 -2002 teal pinstriped sleeveless home, which in my view is the definative variation of that uniform.

The Marlins could be the team that carries the FP torch in the NL. As for the AL, their then parent company went all in on FP in their home city a few years before a rebrand, but only a trace of FP was in that rebrand. What could have happened if they had went all in?

C+C would be cool.

 

[VampyrRabbit]

Today it's an update for the Diamondbacks.

 

 

 

So what we have here are updates to the main logo and the 2006 db snakehead logo. The originals are two of the best logos in the game, so not much is changed. The inside outline on the main body of the A is removed, so that the secondary and the support colour are kept separated, with the support being confined to the tongue and four peaks. For the db, the edges are now sharpened and the tongue now has a coloured interior, to bring it inline with the main logo.

I went back to the purple, teal and copper, the best colour combination that Peyote can buy. The purple is a shade called Phantom Night, the teal (Zodiac Night) is a brighter shade than the Arizona Turquoise the team originally used as the print color, and Copper Kettle keeps them separated. The deep red represents both Copper(I) oxide and also cuprite.

The Diamondbacks have two great logos, and tweaking them slightly to bring them in line with each other and bringing back the mescaline drenched colours for the renovations to the Hangar would be a great move.

C+C would be cool as always.

[coco1997]

Great work! I love the idea of making the D-Backs' "db" more angular to fit with the classic "A" logo. I also really like the particular colors you've chosen. I hope you end up doing some uniform concepts.

 

I'm not as sold on your new Marlins logo, but it definitely has potential and I appreciate the inspiration behind it. 

 

 

[VampyrRabbit]

On 2023-06-25 at 3:45 AM, coco1997 said:

 I hope you end up doing some uniform concepts.

That's going to happen, just working on a template.

As for now, a few takes on two real life logos.

First up, the Nats.

 

 

This is a take on the 2005-10 logo with the bevelling matching the thinner outline in width and a slightly narrower D. The reds are more "cherry" shades, and with a navy closer in colour to that worn by the Homestead Grays.

 

[VampyrRabbit]

 

This is a take on the 2012-2018 cap logo that was worn by the Rays as part of their Fauxback uniform, and the only part of that uniform that wasn't a shameless ripoff of the Padres. I modified the sun so that it was less reminiscent of the roof of the Trop as seen from below, gave the logo a double outline in purple and gold, and the main body of the logo now has the TB gradient, with Guava joining Yellow, Green, Cyan and Purple in the gradient.

For the other colours, the purple from the original Devil Rays scheme is darkened and joined by Gold, not only representing the sun, but also an approximation of the colour of the Cownose Ray.

C+C would be cool!

[coco1997]

8 minutes ago, VampyrRabbit said:

 

This is a take on the 2012-2018 cap logo that was worn by the Rays as part of their Fauxback uniform, and the only part of that uniform that wasn't a shameless ripoff of the Padres. I modified the sun so that it was less reminiscent of the roof of the Trop as seen from below, gave the logo a double outline in purple and gold, and the main body of the logo now has the TB gradient, with Guava joining Yellow, Green, Cyan and Purple in the gradient.

For the other colours, the purple from the original Devil Rays scheme is darkened and joined by gold, not only representing the sun, but also an approximation of the colour of the Cownose Ray.

C+C would be cool!

I really like this! The addition of orange/guava to the gradient is a nice touch, and the pale gold outline around the logo is really interesting. I probably would've never thought to done that. 

[VampyrRabbit]

On 2024-01-23 at 7:13 PM, coco1997 said:

I really like this! The addition of orange/guava to the gradient is a nice touch, and the pale gold outline around the logo is really interesting. I probably would've never thought to done that. 

 

Thanks, I was nervous about messing with the gradient as it's a feature that the Rays should own and it's one of the best parts of the branding, so the decision to add Guava to the mix as a nod to the nickname of Tampa was not something I did lightly, but I think it's a worthwhile addition. I also added the colour as I wanted another hot colour to add to the mix so there were two cool colours (purple and blue) and two warm colours (yellow and guava) in the gradient.

I was going to just have the one outline, but decided on two as the gold didn't work that well touching the blue and green in the gradient and wasn't that distinct from the yellow to guava part, so I decided to have the dark purple and gold outlines. It was also a move to balance out the colours on the logo, with the sunburst at the bottom of the logo.

For today, cap logos for the Guardians.

 

 

These were inspired by the shape of the Guardians of Traffic, with a C surrounded by a G.

C+C would be cool.

[walkerws]

Rhis fits the team. I like that the typeface matches the numbers better

[coco1997]

What if you turned the white part of the logo into a wing a la the helmets on the Guardian statues? Right now the white just kind of looks like a blob, but I think there's some potential here. The shape is just about right. 

[MJD7]

I've been meaning to comment on these:

 

• Rockies: I dig the wordmarks and the inclusion of lavender. The "subtitle" font for the "Baseball" wordmark looks too close to the Diamondbacks' old "Matrix" font to me, and doesn't really fit as well for the Rockies in my mind. I think the update to the "home plate" logo in removing black was a good one, and the new mountains are an upgrade, as well. I'd be curious to see how the fauxback would look as part of a whole uniform.
• Marlins: This is probably my favorite one you've done so far. It does feel inescapably Miami and inescapably '90's at the same time, and your explanation of "Factory Pomo" brings to light why that is. I'm not entirely sure the logo would feel like it fits among the rest of MLB, but on its own I really dig it. The marlin itself is a nice blend of the current fish and the original.
• Diamondbacks: I've never really liked the "db" logo, so I didn't even realize it had rounded edges on the outlines, but sharpening it up to match with the "A" logo improves it a lot. I'm not entirely sure that purple, red, teal, & copper would all work together in a Diamondbacks set, but your attempt is as valiant as any towards making it work.
• Nationals: Nice, solid update of the "DC" logo. I like the idea of going with a more cherry shade of red for Washington.
• Rays: I love the idea of combining the gradient with the fauxback logos, as it's an idea I've had myself. However, I'm not entirely sold on the gold, as I think it distracts a bit from the gradient. Maybe the sunshine shape inside the "b" could remain yellow, although I'd prefer the brighter, more lemon-y shade the Rays currently use, and the outline could become white?
• Guardians: Just as sharpening up the "db" logo really helped for Arizona, I think it could do the same here. I actually really like the Guardians' current "C" logo, so I wonder if there could be a way for you to achieve the same effect using it. I also like @coco1997's idea of incorporating the wings into the white space, but I wouldn't want it to be too distracting.

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing more, as well as maybe seeing how some of these would translate to uniforms!