Raptors Rebrand Theory

[Joey]

lol so what do you think about your avatar?

[Primer]

lol so what do you think about your avatar?

My avatar is absolutely ridiculous, which is not what I'd shoot for in a team logo. If we were going for a cartoony logo, we might as well go all the way and make it like my avatar. Not sure how the religious crowd would take our new mascot the Raptor Pope.

[Mack North]

I wasn't cuttin' on you avi, just pointing out that it's a lil childish and the s word! I mean that in the best way possible cause it's funny...

But they could definitely come up with a mean looking Raptor without it being too cartoonish. It could be a silhouette or something... just not this crap that they fed us.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I wasn't cuttin' on you avi, just pointing out that it's a lil childish and the s word! I mean that in the best way possible cause it's funny...

But they could definitely come up with a mean looking Raptor without it being too cartoonish. It could be a silhouette or something... just not this crap that they fed us.

Exactly. If they're going to keep the team name, own it! Whether it's a ferocious dinosaur or redirected as a bird of prey (as several RR posters have suggested over the years), there's a lot of room to be creative between the original Raptor / Barney and this vague garbage.

[GoldenBaller]

My avatar is absolutely ridiculous, which is not what I'd shoot for in a team logo. If we were going for a cartoony logo, we might as well go all the way and make it like my avatar. Not sure how the religious crowd would take our new mascot the Raptor Pope.

Start a petition to make our new mascot Raptor Pope. I'm all in for that.

[Bonus Jonas]

Start a petition to make our new mascot Raptor Pope. I'm all in for that.

How dare you. We have the best mascot in the league. IN THE DAMN LEAGUE I TELL YOU!

[Primer]

Exactly. If they're going to keep the team name, own it! Whether it's a ferocious dinosaur or redirected as a bird of prey (as several RR posters have suggested over the years), there's a lot of room to be creative between the original Raptor / Barney and this vague garbage.

Most NBA teams don't "own" their team name in the logo, e.g. no lakes in Lakers logo, no Clippers in Clippers logo, no pistons in Pistons logo, no nets in Nets logo, no warriors in Warriors logo, no nuggets in Nuggets logo, no pacers in Pacers logo, no knickerbockers in Knicks logo, no thunder/lightning in Thunder logo, no trail blazers in Trailblazers logo, no Cavalier in Cavaliers logo, no jazz in the Jazz logo, no wizard in the new Wizards logo, no king in the Kings logo. Then a few questionable associations like the 76ers logo, Rockets logo (stylized R doesn't really resemble a rocket).

Which logos are your favorite?

My favorite is the Warriors logo, which just shows a piece of the Golden Gate bridge. I'd have been fine if the Raptors logo just showed the CN Tower or Toronto skyline. A cartoon Raptor just looks dumb to me.

[Scraptor]

Most NBA teams don't "own" their team name in the logo, e.g. no lakes in Lakers logo, no Clippers in Clippers logo, no pistons in Pistons logo, no nets in Nets logo, no warriors in Warriors logo, no nuggets in Nuggets logo, no pacers in Pacers logo, no knickerbockers in Knicks logo, no thunder/lightning in Thunder logo, no trail blazers in Trailblazers logo, no Cavalier in Cavaliers logo, no jazz in the Jazz logo, no wizard in the new Wizards logo, no king in the Kings logo. Then a few questionable associations like the 76ers logo, Rockets logo (stylized R doesn't really resemble a rocket).

Which logos are your favorite?

My favorite is the Warriors logo, which just shows a piece of the Golden Gate bridge. I'd have been fine if the Raptors logo just showed the CN Tower or Toronto skyline. A cartoon Raptor just looks dumb to me.

There are reasons though...

Lakers relocated from Minneapolis, originally had state next to lakes
Clippers relocated from San Diego, originally had boat, now are abomination
Pistons/Nets/Warriors - you're right, though Pistons and Nets have at times used those symbols
Nuggets originally had miner, now have picks in alternate
Pacers logo reflects speed/pace
Knickerbockers original logo was Father Knick
Thunder is a sound :P
Trailblazers - you're right
Cavaliers features the sword used by a cavalier, also originally had a cavalier
Jazz relocated from New Orleans
Wizards had a wizard until their new butthole logo
Kings feature a crown in their logo

The teams that relocated obviously don't want to evoke their former places. A lot of the new logos are going the minimalist route (Clippers, Wizards) which is one reason they look so dull and boring. Lakers and Knicks can get away with it because they have the benefit of decades of history; the Nets already look tired to me.

IMO the five best looking logos are the Bulls, Grizzlies, Celtics, Warriors, and Bucks. Four of those really embrace their name, the Warriors embrace their place.

I think you'd find many of us in the pro-dinosaur crowd don't really like the Barney logo, but that doesn't mean that all dinosaur-related ideas would be bad. The Bucks have Bambi's animal and still made it look cooler and more vital than our new logo. Someone on reddit said our new logo is a shame because with the only dinosaur team in NA pro sports, we're basically playing the logo game on easy--but we still screwed it up.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Most NBA teams don't "own" their team name in the logo, e.g. no lakes in Lakers logo, no Clippers in Clippers logo, no pistons in Pistons logo, no nets in Nets logo, no warriors in Warriors logo, no nuggets in Nuggets logo, no pacers in Pacers logo, no knickerbockers in Knicks logo, no thunder/lightning in Thunder logo, no trail blazers in Trailblazers logo, no Cavalier in Cavaliers logo, no jazz in the Jazz logo, no wizard in the new Wizards logo, no king in the Kings logo. Then a few questionable associations like the 76ers logo, Rockets logo (stylized R doesn't really resemble a rocket).

Which logos are your favorite?

My favorite is the Warriors logo, which just shows a piece of the Golden Gate bridge. I'd have been fine if the Raptors logo just showed the CN Tower or Toronto skyline. A cartoon Raptor just looks dumb to me.

In my previous posts I mentioned that they should make either the "Raptor" or "Toronto" connection more obvious.

To me, there are three things that can make a jersey good, aside form the very subjective design aesthetics:
1. obvious relation to team name
2. obvious relation to city
3. classic design that transcends the need for #1 or #2

The Raptors are too new and have been irrelevant, so option #3 is out. Teams like the Lakers, Knicks and Celtics are known just by their classic color/design, even without needing a logo as a reference point.

The one thing about the purple dinosaur was that he was pretty well associated with the Raptors, love him or hate him. Constantly changing the look and feel of the jersey, along with the focal point of the logo (ie: dino to claw to watermelon), doesn't help establish the Toronto Raptors brand. There just no continuity and the new design lacks any obvious linkages to either the team or the city.

For me, and I'm biased for being a fan since the mid-80's, but the Bulls definitely hit #1 and #3. Their primary jerseys haven't really changed in decades and the stylized bull is iconic - yet it certainly isn't realistic and it's almost cartoonish too.

The bottom line for me is that team recognition should be instantaneous when getting just a glimpse of a jersey or logo. I really don't think any of the leaked designs accomplish that at all. If anything, I think they're a step back and I don't think they'll become timeless classics, which means we'll probably be going through this exercise again in another 5-7 years.

[Primer]

In my previous posts I mentioned that they should make either the "Raptor" or "Toronto" connection more obvious.

To me, there are three things that can make a jersey good, aside form the very subjective design aesthetics:
1. obvious relation to team name
2. obvious relation to city
3. classic design that transcends the need for #1 or #2

The Raptors are too new and have been irrelevant, so option #3 is out. Teams like the Lakers, Knicks and Celtics are known just by their classic color/design, even without needing a logo as a reference point.

The one thing about the purple dinosaur was that he was pretty well associated with the Raptors, love him or hate him. Constantly changing the look and feel of the jersey, along with the focal point of the logo (ie: dino to claw to watermelon), doesn't help establish the Toronto Raptors brand. There just no continuity and the new design lacks any obvious linkages to either the team or the city.

For me, and I'm biased for being a fan since the mid-80's, but the Bulls definitely hit #1 and #3. Their primary jerseys haven't really changed in decades and the stylized bull is iconic - yet it certainly isn't realistic and it's almost cartoonish too.

The bottom line for me is that team recognition should be instantaneous when getting just a glimpse of a jersey or logo. I really don't think any of the leaked designs accomplish that at all. If anything, I think they're a step back and I don't think they'll become timeless classics, which means we'll probably be going through this exercise again in another 5-7 years.

The purple dinosaur is pretty widely regarded as one of the worst NBA logos of all time. We kept it for way way too long. I don't think that's a good argument to stick with it.

Every single team outside of a couple of old franchises change their logos and jerseys every 5-7 years, in every pro sport. No reason Toronto should be any different. I think the new logo is an improvement, but not the best logo by any means. I'm reserving judgment on the jerseys until I see something official and not a sports logo website mockup, as the mockups have ranged from awesome to terrible.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

The purple dinosaur is pretty widely regarded as one of the worst NBA logos of all time. We kept it for way way too long. I don't think that's a good argument to stick with it.

Every single team outside of a couple of old franchises change their logos and jerseys every 5-7 years, in every pro sport. No reason Toronto should be any different. I think the new logo is an improvement, but not the best logo by any means. I'm reserving judgment on the jerseys until I see something official and not a sports logo website mockup, as the mockups have ranged from awesome to terrible.

The dino could have been modernized and made more ferocious / less Barney, but kept in some fashion. Even the purple & red color combination was unique and could have been maintained, yet toned down. I'd rather the team create a brand identity that is recognizable and stands out from the crowd, instead of being a minimalist-fad copycat.

[S.R.]

The purple dinosaur is pretty widely regarded as one of the worst NBA logos of all time. We kept it for way way too long. I don't think that's a good argument to stick with it.

Every single team outside of a couple of old franchises change their logos and jerseys every 5-7 years, in every pro sport. No reason Toronto should be any different. I think the new logo is an improvement, but not the best logo by any means. I'm reserving judgment on the jerseys until I see something official and not a sports logo website mockup, as the mockups have ranged from awesome to terrible.

I think you'd have a hard time pulling up three basketball/baseball/football/hockey teams that have gone through three completely different colour schemes and three completely different logos within the last 20 years. From purple & red to red & black to black & silver (& gold) plus the dino > claw > ball transition. It's severe even for crappy franchises that desperately try to sell merch through uni changes.

You also keep ignoring CRF's repeated comments that he's not saying bring back the original barney....

Also, the Raptor is a top 5 mascot in the NBA and now has noting to do with the new unis in terms of image or colour. That's a weird disassociation.

I'm also more for continuity and establishing an identity with the city (best option) or at least within the franchise itself. The new stuff is way too band-wagon trendy, which is the main reason most people now hate the bright colours and cartoon imagery of mid-90's stuff.

Design is an opportunity to be creative and establish the uniquness of your identity (branding). Copy-cat sucks, and man is black & white minimalism ever copy-cat in 2015. Nets fans are still laughing....

[Primer]

I think you'd have a hard time pulling up three basketball/baseball/football/hockey teams that have gone through three completely different colour schemes and three completely different logos within the last 20 years. From purple & red to red & black to black & silver (& gold) plus the dino > claw > ball transition. It's severe even for crappy franchises that desperately try to sell merch through uni changes.

You also keep ignoring CRF's repeated comments that he's not saying bring back the original barney....

Also, the Raptor is a top 5 mascot in the NBA and now has noting to do with the new unis in terms of image or colour. That's a weird disassociation.

I'm also more for continuity and establishing an identity with the city (best option) or at least within the franchise itself. The new stuff is way too band-wagon trendy, which is the main reason most people now hate the bright colours and cartoon imagery of mid-90's stuff.

Design is an opportunity to be creative and establish the uniquness of your identity (branding). Copy-cat sucks, and man is black & white minimalism ever copy-cat in 2015. Nets fans are still laughing....

The Suns mascot is a Gorilla. Most mascots have absolutely nothing to do with the team name, and I say, who gives a shit, it's a fucking mascot.

Our logo isn't black and white. Our color scheme is almost identical to the current color scheme. Red, White, Black, Silver. The only new thing being a touch of gold (possibly as some of the mockups only have gold on the second drake alternate).

Even a more ferocious looking dinosaur would look cartoony to me. At best we could have copied the Hawks pac-man logo with a raptor head instead of a hawk head. Ideally we would have done the skyline with a bird of prey flying near the CN Tower, but people would be all pissy about no dinosaurs either way.

The stuff is super subjective so we'll never please everyone. Let's see how well the new gear sells because that is truly the whole point behind the rebrand.

[S.R.]

The Suns mascot is a Gorilla. Most mascots have absolutely nothing to do with the team name, and I say, who gives a shit, it's a fucking mascot.

Our logo isn't black and white. Our color scheme is almost identical to the current color scheme. Red, White, Black, Silver. The only new thing being a touch of gold (possibly as some of the mockups only have gold on the second drake alternate).

Even a more ferocious looking dinosaur would look cartoony to me. At best we could have copied the Hawks pac-man logo with a raptor head instead of a hawk head. Ideally we would have done the skyline with a bird of prey flying near the CN Tower, but people would be all pissy about no dinosaurs either way.

The stuff is super subjective so we'll never please everyone. Let's see how well the new gear sells because that is truly the whole point behind the rebrand.

I think the solution is a ferocious black and gold raptor climbing the CN Tower with Drake riding on his back like Skeletor.

But yeah, it's just chatter - I don't care too much either way.

[GinobilisBaldSpot]

New Hawks uni's.... So good!
http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/784951