MiLB Re-Brands: Bakersfield Blaze

[bohob]

Let's start with the obvious, the current logo set is sub-par. The team's current color scheme consists of black, orange, red, and yellow. I decided to drop the black, since there three other black-red teams (High Desert, Lake Elsinore, and Visalia) and another black-orange team (San Jose Giants). I went with a red/orange/yellow scheme that I think is more fiery. The primary logo consists of a custom wordmark with flames and a flaming baseball streaking behind it. The supporting marks are a B (for the hats) and a fireball/baseball (a sleeve patch). I also have the jersey wordmark for the home jerseys. I will get the road wordmark done soon. C&C please.

[DelayedPenalty]

The B is nice, but the rest, especially the yellow ball, make it look a little too beer league softball-ish.

[bohob]

Despite the fact that I think you are being overly literal, I can see why the yellow ball could give you a softball connotation. But how is the rest "too beer league softball-ish"? Please explain.

[bohob]

UPDATE

Here are two different options for rendering the ball. The top version adds white, and the bottom version uses an orange ball wit ha yellow highlight. Hopefully, these look less like softballs.

[vicfurth]

The script and hat are awesome.

I think the softball league feel comes from the simply rendered flames around the baseballs. It's like "ooh, I'm a flame look at me".

Maybe take a page from the Miami Heat and incorporate the flame and ball together more? Also, I'd consider adding black to the logos but not the uniforms.

[north dakota]

I agree, it kind of does look like a softball logo to me, but I still like it.

[bohob]

UPDATE:

I tried to incorporate the ball and flame more cohesively in the bottom version, whereas the top is the version from the last update with the white ball. C&C please.

[dgnmrwrw]

Another good set. These both look pretty nice. I think the bottom version is a bit better, thanks to the more interesting shapes in the flames around the ball. It's just more dynamic.

However, I do think that this set could use some contrast, either in overall color scheme, or in the way that the current colors are implemented. Basically, the white and the orange in the wordmark almost blend, and that makes us lose all the nice little ins and outs and flames in that great wordmark. (Superb work on that, by the way.) I know you don't want to use black, but you could add something like a dark purple to the scheme--using it for the stitches in the baseball and what's now the orange inline on the wordmark. That would add a lot more contrast and definition.

[bohob]

Here are a couple color options:

[aci]

I'm a fan of the top left design, personally. It seems to pop.

[vicfurth]

Like the top left still, but it's missing something. I'd add black to the script where the orange is now

[crashcarson15]

Either of the left ones. However, something in me really loves the contrast of the charcoal.

[bohob]

I am pretty sure I will go with the charcoal, but it needed more orange. The right side has two options for adding a little extra to the wordmark. C&C please.

[JayJaxon]

Bottom right is a winner in my book. The Bakersfield text looks out of place compared to the rest. But I'm not really sure what to do about that. Maybe just omit it all together and just have BLAZE as the primary with no mention of Bakersfield. It's not the way I like to go on these things but it might be better in this case.

[crkraider22]

Bottom right for sure. Maybe you could put the thin white outline between the red and orange on the ball like how you have it on the wordmark.

[mania]

I think you're on the right track with the bottom right... how about red laces in the ball to tie it in a little better with the rest of the set?

[TalktoChuck]

The bottom right is great, and as Jay said the Baskerfield text looks really out of place. There doesn't seem to be a good place to put it either, so it might just be better to leave it out all together.

[Discrim]

as the lameness that is the actual Blaze identity's already been addressed about as nicely as one can put it, this is a pretty damn good overhaul. I was thinking darkening the red to about a maroon or burgundy might work.

[dgnmrwrw]

I agree that the bottom right is the best. It's got the best balance of colors and the best use of them. I'd really like to see that separated orange highlight from the B and the tail wherever else it can be properly implemented (especially on the ball, if possible), because it looks great.

The "Bakersfield" type does get lost, but it's a tough call. The only things I might recommend would be to do it in charcoal and scale it up as much as you can.

[bohob]

I took one last stab at the Bakersfield text in the primary, which has an extra little orange highlight on the B. Any more would be overdoing it. The supporting marks are the B and a flaming baseball. The cap options are pretty self-explanatory; I used the first six in the uniform concepts. The home and away uniforms have contrast raglan sleeves and piping, paired with trucker-style caps. The home alternate uses a red jersey and solid red cap. The away alternate was originally the primary away uniform, but I thought it might not work out too well with the high temperatures in California. Alternate 3 uses the B logo as a crest and features a block serif typeface for the numbers. Alternate 4 features an orange jersey with the crest on the right side and the number on the left. I did this because the logo has such a strong directional feel, it looked weird the other way. The pants on Alternate 4 have a patch of the Blaze wordmark on the hip. C&C please.