Behind the design: #MiLBesDivertido logos
By Ryan Foose and Vincent Pettofrezzo
Editor’s note: Ryan Foose serves as MiLB’s Senior Manager of Brand Development and Vincent Pettofrezzo as MiLB’s Production Designer.
We went about designing Las Vegas and Charlotte with two different focuses. For Las Vegas, we wanted to do an all-out rebrand from name, to colors, to designs, bringing something to the club that was unique for them and their community. Charlotte was more of a play on how do we mix past and current Knights’ brands with an added Latin flare.
Belicia Montgomery, MiLB’s Analytics Specialist, pushed the mining direction from the get-go and provided numerous historical references that our design team fed off of creatively. The mining industry has an illustrious history in Nevada, and early Mexican settlers were a huge factor in its growth.
In order to give it a true Hispanic/Latino aesthetic, we decided that having a decorative skull character, Day of the Dead-esque, would work perfectly. The contrasting black, white and desert blue really make the designs pop, plus you really can’t go wrong with the added metallic silver tooth.
The constant for the Charlotte Knights’ brand over the years has been a horse figure; therefore, we knew that’s something we wanted to keep consistent. In this case, the horse was designed into our take on a new, modern Queen City shield, complete with crown detail.
By using an elegant form of a cursive ‘C’ and incorporating a crown into the center of the mark, along with a bright purple and gold color scheme, we were able to successfully merge both the city’s past as well as their ties to the Hispanic community. The end result is a unique mark that stands out on the field and gives the Charlotte Knights organization a new and exciting brand to market themselves and push for a more diverse fan base.
We can’t thank Charlotte GM Rob Egan, Las Vegas GM & VP of Sales & Marketing Chuck Johnson and each city’s Latin Chamber of Commerce and historical societies for working with us and pushing these brand to the highest levels.
