Results tagged ‘ Brandiose ’
Mama, Don’t Let Your Alternate Logos Grow Up to be Cowboys
“If it bleeds it leads” is a well-known journalism trope, and those of us who make a living in the cutthroat world of Minor League baseball blogging ascribe to a similar saying: if it’s a logo then it’s a go-go.
Therefore, I have no choice but to begin today’s missive with the latest and greatest images to emanate from the world of MiLB. On Saturday, the High Desert Mavericks unveiled a pair of high-definition alternate logos:
Colors are a state of mind, man.
Sez the team:
“After 21 seasons in the Victor Valley, we felt it was a great time to introduce new logos which reflected both the Mavericks team identity and our strong connections to the High Desert community,” general manager Eric Jensen said. “Our new ‘HD’ logo allows the whole High Desert to feel represented when they’re wearing Mavericks apparel and incorporates the unique physical attributes of this region.
“Likewise, the new cowboy logo represents the rugged resilience of those who reside in the desert while providing a historical tie to the Maverick name.”
I was fortunate enough to be able to visit a Mavericks game last season, but somehow I neglected to notice physical attributes such as a green sun. I did, however, notice the ruggedness.
Another team I visited on that trip were the Lake Elsinore Storm, who have recently announced a very good reason to make a return visit. Following April 22′s ballgame, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will perform a free show.
This has to be one of the best deals of the season — where else can $9 buy entry to both a professional baseball game and a rock n roll spectacle?
Sez the team:
The concert, set to begin approximately 30 minutes after the game ends, will be held in celebration of Storm owner Gary Jacobs’ birthday. Jett, known for “I Love Rock N Roll,” is scheduled to perform a 90 minute set with her band on a stage placed behind second base.
Hey, Lake Elsinore, please do me a favor and offer Rocky Road ice cream during the ballgame. It would mean a lot.
But now let us return, one more time, to the world of logos. On Monday the Reading Phillies announced a great new idea, one that sees them teaming up with Brandiose in order to teach the art and science of logo design to a new generation.
It’s called ’9 to the Nines.’
And since it’s been a press release quoting kind of morning, let’s do it one more time:
As a kid, did you ever dream of wearing uniforms like the pros? Jason Klein and Casey White of Brandiose are the guys who design the official logos and uniforms for Major League Baseball teams. The duo will be coming to Reading, PA to give the kids of the Olivet Boys and Girls Club a firsthand look at how baseball logos come to life. Brandiose will also be collaborating with the kids to design their very own logos for the Baseballtown RBI League.
Jason and Casey will take the kids through the same creative process they take teams of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball through by discussing the parts of the community the kids cherish the most. They will then work with the kids to bring those ideas to life in logo form. Kids will sketch their ideas at the event, with Klein and White compiling the ideas into a major league look for each Baseballtown RBI League team. The kids’ logos will be unveiled in time for the Baseballtown RBI League’s 2012 Opening Day.
And — hey! — if any kids want to submit a Ben’s Biz logo that could be used for 2012 and beyond then you know where to find me. That’s right, alone and in front of a computer.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
Wahoo’s On First
Well, the moment you’d (presumably) all been waiting for has arrived:
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the latest and therefore greatest entrant into the venerable Southern League, now possess a visual component.
Primary Logo
I must admit that I find it amusing that the Wahoo has a hook in his mouth. Wouldn’t that imply that death is imminent, despite the determined demeanor?
No! According to the press release, this “tenacious” Blue Wahoo is shown “breaking away from a fisherman’s line.” He has lived to scowl another day.
The cap logo features “a Blue Wahoo circling a baseball bat forming the shape of a ‘P’ for Pensacola.”
The logo’s color scheme is described thusly Neon Red, Gulf Coast Royal, Blue Angel Navy, and Tin Roof Tin make up the club’s official colors, celebrating the textures and colors of the Emerald Coast. The Blue Wahoos are the first sports team to adopt Neon Red, a tribute to the neon signs that illuminate Pensacola’s beachfront establishments.
It seems that quite a few people aren’t buying this “neon red” terminology, however, at least if Facebook and Twitter rumblings are to be believed. Why not call it “Pensacola Pink”?
The team says that “many” alternate logos will be unveiled in the coming months, but at the moment the only one available features the aforementioned hook (presumably after it has broken away from the tenacious Blue Wahoo).
The logo was designed by Plan B Branding Brandiose, that recently re-branded branding company. These guys have to have one of the most bizarre-sounding client lists in all of professional sports: Blue Wahoos, Storm Chasers, IronPigs, Flying Tigers, BayBears, etc. Clearly, Minor League Baseball is a world all of its own.
And in related news, the Blue Wahoos now have an official website as well. A visit to the “Bait and Tackle” team store should satiate all of your fish logo-related needs.
The Blue Wahoos weren’t the only Floridian Minor League team to unveil a new logo on Friday. The Dunedin Blue Jays did as well, adapting to changes recently made by the parent club.
Everything old is new again (until it becomes old, at which point it becomes new again).
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And apologies for the extreme tonal shift, but obviously the big story in the world of baseball today is the stabbing death of Mariners outfielder Greg Halman. I’m currently working on a story that will feature the thoughts and recollections of those who knew him in the Minors. If you have something you’d like to share then please get in touch ASAP.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
Hello and Goodbye
Last Friday I wrote a feature story on the new-for-2012 Pensacola Blue Wahoos, but the westernmost region of the Florida panhandle isn’t the only area in which affiliated ball will debut next season.
How about them Grand Junction Rockies? The team, located in Western Colorado, was officially introduced to the public at a press conference yesterday. The Rockies will play in the Pioneer League, as the Rookie-level affiliate of the (surprise!) Colorado Rockies. Read all about it in my MiLB.com piece.
And with a new team comes a new logo. Here it is, in all its parent-club referencing glory:
As noted in the MiLB.com piece, the key difference between this mark and that of the Colorado Rockies is that the mountain range has been replaced by a mesa. As I learned today, Grand Junction has more Mesas than Jose’s family reunion.
As a club that plays in Colorado and owned by the same folks that own the Colorado Rockies, it’s not surprising that Grand Junction is going the conservative route with its look. The same could not be said of the team that they are replacing: the Casper Ghosts. As you may recall, this was the only team in professional baseball whose primary logo glowed in the dark.
RIP The Ghosts
In glossing over the article I wrote when the Ghosts’ logo was unveiled on Halloween 2007, I came across the following quote from team CEO Kevin Haughian.
“I originally wanted to be the Casper Weinbergers, but we figured no one would get it.”
Classic.
The Ghosts’ logo was designed by Plan B Branding, which, as of today, is no longer Plan B Branding. As detailed on this blog last week, the company unveiled its new name via a week-long internet scavenger hunt. And that new name is:
Logo fiends should enjoy poking around the new website, particularly the “Behind the Scenes” section. Said section is chock-a-block with info and photos regarding how many of the Minors’ top logos came to be.
The announcement of the “Brandiose” name comes exactly one year after another notable name change. For it was on November 15, 2010 that the Omaha Storm Chasers were introduced (themselves a Plan B/Brandiose client, natch).
The name was heavily criticized by those within the community and without, and my response to the criticism (specifically that of then-ESPN columnist Rob Neyer) was the most widely-read and commented upon offseason blog post that I have ever wrote. Give it a (re)read, if you’re so inclined.
Ah, November 2010. I was so young and strong back then.
benjamin.hill@mlb.com
twitter.com/bensbiz
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