OKC NBA to announce nickname, logo, colors September 3

[daschuck77]

Represent with the new OKC Thunder fail sigs!

http://boards.sportslogos.net/index.php?sh...p;#entry1009927

When you can't out class the slug, that is sad.

[daschuck77]

From the Press Release:

Bennett announced the team?s uniform design is being finalized and will be revealed in late

September as players arrive for training camp. Additional graphic designs are also underway. ?The

wordmark and shield, although a proud historic landmark for the team, should be viewed as an initial

primary logo as we work towards additional graphic development of our team identity,? he said.

So it might change?

Way to half ass it and mail in a logo guys.

[Seadragon76]

To call this an epic failure would be the understatement of the year. the 432nd time somebody used that tired phrase in this thread.

Fixed that for ya.

Really what is this the deal about this prhase, "Epic Failure"? Or the individual words, epic, and fail?

I want someone to answer this.

It's an internet thing. If I tried to explain it, your head would explode... So would mine.

The logo itself just makes me laugh. You can't tell me this is the best they can come up with? As a old Sonics fan, this is a fitting punishment for Bennett and his troop of cowards for what they did to Seattle (And don't give me this 'Initial Primary' crap. That's a bad logo. Period).

[mfoster]

this is a fitting punishment for Bennett... That's a bad logo. Period).

This is the same Bennett that reportedly thought that the Oklahoma RedHawks logo below was fitting of an NHL crest. I don't think Bennett is smart enough to realize he's being punished. He's oblivious to his surroundings, something that runs through the Gaylord clan.

I said it earlier in this thread, this is the same acceptance of mediocrity that drove me out of the state. If not for the current oil & gas boom, the state would be stagnant...

[petrel]

As a monster fan of the WNBA, I really resent the comparison of the OKC logo to a WNBA logo. I know my WNBA logos, and all of the logos from the teams in the W are much better than that whatever-it-is that OKC is using.

You can even see some magical smoke in the Mystics logo (the worst in the W) if you squint hard enough. As for the Dream, they abandoned any attempt to capture "Dream" in the logo and went for an old fashioned ABA style logo that is pretty damn stylin'. OKC instead turned to a style called "modern glop" that's become increasingly prevalent since the 1990s.

All I gotta say is "who's laughing now?" That logo might be the worst logo in professional sports, period. If I were Clay Bennett, I'd fire everyone on the graphics team.

[Audiodrama]

As a monster fan of the WNBA, I really resent the comparison of the OKC logo to a WNBA logo. I know my WNBA logos, and all of the logos from the teams in the W are much better than that whatever-it-is that OKC is using.

You can even see some magical smoke in the Mystics logo (the worst in the W) if you squint hard enough. As for the Dream, they abandoned any attempt to capture "Dream" in the logo and went for an old fashioned ABA style logo that is pretty damn stylin'. OKC instead turned to a style called "modern glop" that's become increasingly prevalent since the 1990s.

All I gotta say is "who's laughing now?" That logo might be the worst logo in professional sports, period. If I were Clay Bennett, I'd fire everyone on the graphics team.

Ohhh. So YOU'RE their fan. Gosh, I was wondering who they were talking about.

[TruColor]

I wanted to do a comparison of the Warriors vs. Thunder colors, since we're going to hear a lot of that I'm afraid. However, it doesn't look like the Thunder's colors will have the same emphasis as the Warriors' do; we'll have to see for certain once the Thunder unis come out.

I don't have the Thunder Pantones yet...but I am about 99% sure I've got the Blue, Yellow and Navy correct, and about 75% on the Orange. These will be updated once I get the official information:

If my estimates are correct, then all of the actual colors will be slightly different between the two (except for the White, for you smart-alecks out there!). And as I mentioned, the predominance of the colors seem to be different. Still, I wonder why they had to go with a color-combination that is so similar...it's not like there's only 8 colors in the crayon box or something.

Hopefully they'll de-emphasize the Navy...we sure as heck don't need another Double Blue NBA team...

I'm bumpin' my own post since the Thunder's colors are now all official (i.e., I now have all of the official Pantone values).

I was correct regarding the Blue (Sky Blue) and Yellow, and was just a tiny bit off on the Dark Blue. With the Red, I knew it was one of two different colors, and I originally picked the wrong one (!).

[goforbroke]

I am genuinely upset about this. I've been looking forward to this, wondering what their colors and nickname and logo would be for literally 2 years since they started hinting the Sonics might move.

I feel insulted and I'm really actually sad. All "epic failure" jokes aside, and maybe I'm just taking my logo obsession to an unhealthy level by taking this so personally, but this is really just tragic.

I don't think I'm the only one that was really looking forward to this, and for the team to really slap us in the face by saying eh we'll just throw some :censored: together at the last minute... its really messed up. Its a disgrace.

Its like when phantom menace came out. this is something we really really wanted to see for a long time, and for it to be so bad and so half-assed is just really an insult and its makes me very upset.

the nickname is OK, but when this logo leaked I wanted SO bad to believe it was fake or just a secondary. I'm stunned.

The team and the owner can go F themselves with this logo.

[NMLSooner]

Maybe Bennett is not the idiot everyone claims he is. Maybe he doesn't have a keen eye when it comes to picking out a logo. Everyone has different gifts. Maybe, unlike us, he has a life beyond whatever colors a basketball team wears.

[Gothamite]

I wonder how hard they were looking for an identity, or how high an established firm priced them. I would imagine two months is enough time for the big firms to produce a logo, right? Especially when it's such a priority?

As I mentioned earlier, there's been no indication at this point whether or not this logo was designed by an actual independent graphic design/branding firm. It may well have been designed by artists at NBA uniform and equipment partner adidas. Recently, the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Hornets have gone that route.

All of which are vastly superior to this.

Those are all recolors of existing logos, as well. So if you're right, they're capable of producing halfway decent recolors (in the case of the Hornets an actual upgrade) but clueless when required to start from scratch?

I really hope they eventually pull a Bobcats and show us the rejected (and better) designs.

[SCL]

Maybe Bennett is not the idiot everyone claims he is. Maybe he doesn't have a keen eye when it comes to picking out a logo. Everyone has different gifts. Maybe, unlike us, he has a life beyond whatever colors a basketball team wears.

I'm sorry but what a shill. As an effective CEO your role is to hire individuals to help in areas where you may not be your best. If he was sound basketball CEO he would have realized that making money in the NBA is wrapped up in team identity and fan gear. If Bennett knew this was a weakness- as you claim- as a leader he should have picked the brain of NBA adevertising and marketing gurus...they clearly would have told him that this identity package will not sell at the level it could have. Imagine how well the name Barons with the colors black and gold and a good logo would have sold. A smart business man would not have allowed this to happen. As an owner thus far, Clay Bennett has been horrible.

[gosioux76]

This just really has the feel of a placeholder logo. The wordmark is an afterthought, and it looks like they would have thrown any of the trademarked names on top of it at the last minute should they have changed their mind about "Thunder."

I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being the secondary next year, after a year of continued brand development.

I just can't imagine how you would design a uniform around such limited elements, not to mention the character-less wordmark. They could always go the route of Phoenix, Utah and the current Orlando set I suppose, all of which seem to be almost generic in terms of brand identity.

[goforbroke]

Just so we know we are not alone.... a poll of (i assume) NBA fans but not necessarily graphic design enthusiasts are voting on Yahoo blog "Ball Don't Lie"

Do you like the OKC nickname and logo?

Yes: 19%

No: 58%

Meh: 25%

19100 Total Votes

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont...?urn=nba,105328

No sure why that adds up to 102%, but clearly this is not going over well. 15,000+ people have voted either NO, or MEH. And I have a feeling that if the vote was just on the logo and not the nickname as well, the YES voted would be way lower. I think a lot of people don't hate Thunder as a name, or have at least come to terms with it.

EDIT: From http://www.kfor.com/global/story.asp?s=8947652

"How much do you like the name "Thunder?"

Survey USA phoned 500 here in the Oklahoma City area to ask; do you like "Thunder" a lot, a little, or not at all?

The results were as follows:

39% - a little

35% - a lot

23% - not at all

3% - not sure

And when we asked those same viewers if they planned on buying merchandise with the team's logo on it they said:

31% - somewhat

26% - not very

24% - very

19% - not at all

and these are the OKC fans that REALLY want to love this logo.

[BostonBlazer]

I don't mind the team name "Thunder." But the logo for it sucks. If I were to design that logo, it'd be much different (mostly because I'll be listening to a lot of VNV Nation while designing it so it'll be more dramatic).

[McCall]

There is no identity at all in this logo. If there is one, it's Golden State's. They took THEIR colors (very similar at least) and THEIR mascot's name, threw it together and claimed it there identity. The random, generic crap from the 90's thrown together with an overused font (city block) used for the city initials, over a abrstract "ball as a sun" sheild-type shape, with the nickname placed on top at the oddly looking arced angle of the top of the "shield". Nothing in this logo says thunder or oklahoma city (except of course for the words themselves, yada yada... ). All this says is some rec league team sponsered by the local fast food chain. And it is very frustrating because there is excellent work put out on this site, by people who understand that the logo is trying to convey something about the city or the name or both, and try and try until they come up with the best possible way to do that, and then get constructive criticism from others, and make improvements until you have something great. Ya know, the "process of brand creation." Maybe someone should've told them this. It's just a shame that someone, or a group of people, who actually get to do this for a living settle for this crap without a second thought, while others here, who truly love to make this stuff and well, too, have to settle for only showing it to their peers on an internet forum. This site really neeeds to get out, because the talent here could really make some much needed improvements across the board.

[CZzyzx41]

At first I spent a lot of time getting upset over this stupid logo.

Then I remembered...this is Oklahoma City. What did we expect?

[AAO]

“We now have a name that represents the organization,” said general manager Sam Presti. “That's a great feeling. The nickname and logo bring to life so many different things. The colors were well thought out. We now have a brand we can start to identify with. It's a great day for the fans and the community.”

LOL

“It's hard to keep a secret, but we are proud of this,” Bennett told the crowd inside Leadership Square. “We are really excited by your reaction. We will build this brand into one of the great brands in the league.”

LOL...I HOPE SO

and Kevin Durant's mom:

“Thunder sounds great,” Pratt said. “The logo looks really good compared to other logos (in the league). And we may see something different on the uniforms. Clay said this was the initial logo. I like it. It's nice.”

LOL....SHE THINKS IT BLOWS TOO

[CubsFanBudMan]

I posted these in the other OKC thread, but one poster's description of the scene at the press conference reminded me of another Thunder's unveiling at a mall.

When this 1987 logo for the CBA's Quad-City Thunder:

was replaced in 1995 by:

... the crowd was silent. No clapping and everyone just kind of wandered away (and went back to shopping, presumably).

Anyway, in 2000 they killed "Thor":

Can't imagine the reaction was much different for that move.

Anyway, with all the hatred of the OKC look, anyone think any of these CBA logos would be better? My opinion is biased by sentiment (as in, the original will always be my favorite because of memories from my youth), but I actually think the middle one might get the edge over OKC in my mind, even with the minor-league-esque cartoon, obligatory white guy, and '90s font. And I didn't even like it when it came out 13 years ago.

Just trying to gauge it from an objective standpoint.

Personally, I think the OKC "shield" and font is way too '90s NBA. Either that or logo design has just passed all of us by...

[Artmanc3po]

Coupled with the Rays rebranding, it's been a mighty, mighty bland year in logo launches.

But let's hear it for sky blue, navy and yellow. Thank you very much (insert rimshot). Oh, and did you see we also have red? Thanks again. We'll be here all season (groan from guy in crowd).

[$teauA]

I'll be as lenient as possible here. When the horrible "Thunder" wordmark is erased from the top of the logo, what remains is I guess pretty decent, that doesn't mean I like it in any way shape or form but it's ok for now I guess. However when the "Thunder" wordmark is added as well as the "Oklahoma City" wordmark like they presented it at the unveiling yesterday it just blows ass.

BTW who thought it would be a good idea to have OKC on the logo itself then have a wordmark on top of the logo that says Oklahoma City