Denver Nuggets Rebrand
Overview and Client
This was a rebranding project I did for the Denver Nuggets, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association. I picked the Denver Nuggets to rebrand because I felt their logo is a bit outdated as it was designed in a previous era where the trend amongst NBA logos were blocky text, strong symbols and an overall heavy and busy looking type of logo.
A rebrand for a sports team can also be a good signal for change and a way to usher in a new era for the team.
Brief
I knew I wanted to keep a similar colour scheme to what they currently have, as it is unique in the NBA and all of sports with not many other teams sporting the sky blue colour as their primary colour.
The logo should refresh the image of the team and it should reflect a new era and an optimistic future for the organization.
Research portion
Before I began with the design process for the new logo, I did research on the team — including the history and origin behind their name. The name “Nuggets” refers to a 19th century mining boom in the state of Colorado, when people would pan for gold and silver nuggets — (thus the inclusion of the pickaxe symbol in the logo.)
This story behind the team’s name has been reflected in current and past iterations of their logo, as they have used the pickaxe symbol before and uses it currently as a secondary logo.
I did research of their logo history to find all the different logos the team has used in their history.
I found that they have used five different logo variations since they entered the NBA, and since 1993 have used the same logo, with one major colour change in 2003 (from a brown/navy/maroon colour scheme to a baby blue and yellow colour scheme), and then a slight colour change again in 2008, introducing a darker blue into the logo again, which they have been using ever since.
I also felt it was important to understand where the Denver Nuggets are as a team in the NBA. By this, I mean whether or not they are a good team, a championship contending team, one of the worst teams, or if they are a rebuilding/developing team that is built for the future.
I found that they have the youngest core of players in the entire NBA, and are led by a promising star player in Nikolaj Jokic. They’re somewhat of a middle-of-the-pack team but are definitely built for the future and would be considered as a team on the rise.
I also researched the logos of different teams in the NBA. I found that a lot of teams have underwent a rebrand in recent years, and they all seem to be going towards a more minimalist, understated logo and away from the busier, complex logos of the past.
Design Process
Upon completing the research portion of the project, I began thinking of ideas for the logo. One of the early ideas I had was to change the logo into a circular crest that featured the crossed pickaxes as the main symbol.
In this idea, the pickaxe symbol sat in the center of the logo and was complimented by a sky blue circular border behind and around it.
I liked the idea of having the pickaxe symbol as the main symbol of the logo, since it maintains a connection the origin of the team name. However, I felt that I needed to also include the mountainous symbol somewhere and was finding it difficult to find a place for the symbol in this logo.
I also felt the logo was a bit contained by the circled border, and that was something I wanted to keep away from as I felt the current logo and their previous logos all had this in common.
I took the circled border away and began exploring options with just the pickaxe symbol in an open space, and felt this was the right direction.
These logo concepts are closer to my final solution, but I still felt like there was something that didn’t look right with it. I felt like the type layout looked a bit disjointed, and lacked in hierarchy. I explored with different colour options for the pickaxe symbol (sky blue, navy blue, gold) and also felt like the typeface was going to be a crucial element of the logo, and felt like what I had so far was a bit too generic and plain.
Overall, through this process of exploring different logo concepts, I learned how to find the right balance between using icons and using type in a logo. It was challenging to also keep the logo fresh and modern while not following any particular trend, and finally making the logo stand out using the pickaxe symbol and exploring different colour options was something that eventually led to me to my final solution.
Solution
Ultimately, I kept the pickaxe symbol — they use this symbol in a secondary logo that is featured on their home court and on different merchandise items which the team sells. Because they already use it and fans are familiar with it, combined with the connection the history and origin of the team’s name, I felt like this symbol was the right choice.
I also kept the symbol of the mountain as a secondary feature in the logo, which is placed along the top of the pickaxe. The form of the top of the pickaxe creates this mountainous looking shape, and felt like an understated, minimalist form of a mountain would fit right in the middle underneath the top of the pickaxe.
A custom font was created for the logo, which sits underneath the logo. I felt this added better hierarchy in relation to the icon, and the modified font creates a distinct look that is unique to the Denver Nuggets organization.
The same colour scheme was kept as it I unique and not many other sports team use this type of colour scheme.
Overall, I felt like the client should be satisfied because the new logo still connects with historical ties of the franchise, such as the pickaxe, the mountain, and the colours. At the same time, it adopts a new feel for the team with a more open and fresh interpretation of those symbols while creating a distinct type face that is unique to the team.
