Vote for the new OKC Thunder logo

[Platemaker]

I see this as more of a favicon type logo. One that is recognizable and can be used when you need a small logo.

Once the team uniforms come out and we see the mascot developed, we are going to see something more to the liking of most people. Everyone needs to just wait and see. It would be a good idea to share our ideas with the team and let them know what we want to see in a more complete logo that we can get behind. We also have to understand that not everyone is going to like what is developed either way.

If you read this press release it basically says just that.

http://www.nba.com/media/thunder/announcement080903.pdf

[jbrown84]

At least they (and every other professional sports franchise) were smart enough to put the City Name before the Team Name. Our crappy logo reads THUNDER- OKC... ridiculous.

Might want to get your facts straight.



OKLAHOMA CITY
THUNDER

[andy157]

Might want to get your facts straight.



OKLAHOMA CITY
THUNDER

Right jbrown he should have said, our crappy logo reads; Oklahoma City Thunder OKC....... re-dundant.

[Saberman]

If you read this press release it basically says just that.

http://www.nba.com/media/thunder/announcement080903.pdf

From said press release.

Bennett announced the team’s uniform design is being finalized and will be revealed in late
September as players arrive for training camp. Additional graphic designs are also underway. “The
wordmark and shield, although a proud historic landmark for the team, should be viewed as an initial
primary logo as we work towards additional graphic development of our team identity,” he said.

It gets pretty tiring listening to some of the grumpy people, that don't have anything good to say about anything that doesn't fall into their narrow minded notion of what is good and what is bad..

[edcrunk]

the logo is a big deal. ask jerry jones how much he makes off his cowboy gear that's sold all over the US. i was so hyped to get some merch... but HELL NO! not now.
i'm not being negative just UBER LET DOWN and being totally honest. btw, platemaker... i'm assuming that i'm a member of the general public. i am well traveled and do hope to have a bit of culture... i am not very fond of the olive garden but i still give it an F. and since we are on the subject... doesn't this "general public", whom you have such a low opinion of, make up the majority of the people purchasing the tickets and the gear? who cares if they don't like it... they don't know good italian! pfft!
and rover, my buddy who owns a marketing company said he expects someone from AM.com to get fired over this pathetic logo.
ya know, when i dj out of state, i generally throw in an OU shirt or jersey (as i did with the mavs when i lived in dallas)... but there is no way i would rep my city with that horrid thing. i'm not gonna purposely give people from other states more ammunition to dump on oklahoma. i guess that's what also irks me... we were given another chance to shed our mediocre, mundane image... and we FAILED!

oh and saberman, yes, there are more logos to come... what reason do i have to believe that it will be any better than this?! look at it from this prespective. barry manilow puts out a song. it's super, effing lame. however, everyone with no taste is like "but wait, barry has more songs coming out". either way... it's still more crappy barry manilow songs.

[Saberman]

Problem is NBA and NFL are two different animals. Football is King.

I do understand what you are saying. There will always be people on both sides of this, and there is not going to be a solution that will make everyone happy. Rarely will there be the most prefect one that will make the earth move, and church bells ring. Bigger cities then ours have show it is not a matter of money or being more cosmo, just look at the Heat or the Wizards.

How many years did it take before the Dallas Cowboys logo became the icon that it is today.

[architect5311]

As an artist, architect, and designer.........yes the logo really sucks and was such a letdown after all the hype. Imagine if the Devon Tower design was not what it could have been and more, that's the afterthought we are all having...........it could have been sooooo much better.

On the brighter side most NBA uniforms don't display thier logo or minimize it on the uniform. Take the Washington Wizards for example, a sorry logo as well as name..............but the uniforms aren't that bad. Surely they will go with a jersey with just "Oklahoma City", as many teams do, and also a more graphic THUNDER.

[andy157]

As an artist, architect, and designer.........yes the logo really sucks and was such a letdown after all the hype. Imagine if the Devon Tower design was not what it could have been and more, that's the afterthought we are all having...........it could have been sooooo much better.

On the brighter side most NBA uniforms don't display thier logo or minimize it on the uniform. Take the Washington Wizards for example, a sorry logo as well as name..............but the uniforms aren't that bad. Surely they will go with a jersey with just "Oklahoma City", as many teams do, and also a more graphic THUNDER.

I hope to God they don't put our logo on a piece of crap Adidas t-shirt. That would be so stupid, and would really suck. We've come to far, lets not screw up now. I say our logo belongs on Nike, or nothing at all. Anything less would be a terrible blunder.

[metro]

I imagine the team already has a contract from Adidas, considering everything they put out before and after the logo has been Adidas and the Sonics contract was with Adidas. Hopefully, when the contract expires they will go with Nike next time.

Edcrunk, I agree with most of what you said. How about still repping OKC at your gigs (and this would help spread the Major League City word), by using the black practice t-shirts that were launched this summer? They are much more respectable and closer to what I think most of us were expecting.

[Karried]

NBAThunderShop.com: The Oklahoma City Thunder's Home Team Store

It's Adidas .... here we go.. more things to complain about.

I already bought our shirts .... even if they change the Logo, this is history making - our first NBA team - yeah.

[Platemaker]

platemaker... i'm assuming that i'm a member of the general public. i am well traveled and do hope to have a bit of culture... i am not very fond of the olive garden but i still give it an F.

My bad... the Oklahoman's Reader's Choice this year for best Italian was Johnny's Carinos...

and since we are on the subject... doesn't this "general public", whom you have such a low opinion of, make up the majority of the people purchasing the tickets and the gear? who cares if they don't like it... they don't know good italian! pfft!

No... it makes up the cross section of Oklahoman readers that vote in the Reader's Choice. The basic point I was trying to make is: give someone the opportunity to say something negative and they will take it... or worse give someone the opportunity to give their opinion on a subject they know nothing about and they will take it.

Anyone that has worked in hospitality (food service, hotel, casino) can tell you... a good majority of comment cards will be "bitch, bitch, bitch" and an occasional "thanks" thrown in.

I've noticed many of these online polls... to do with this subject or not... are just soapboxes.

but there is no way i would rep my city with that horrid thing. i'm not gonna purposely give people from other states more ammunition to dump on oklahoma. i guess that's what also irks me... we were given another chance to shed our mediocre, mundane image... and we FAILED!

Sorry 'bout ya.... way to promote. If they saw that shirt I'm sure it would be "oh wow... OKC has an NBA team... " not "OH MY GOD, BECKY! LOOK AT THAT GUY'S T-SHIRT!!! THAT LOGO IS NOT PHAT!"

On the other hand.... ASK that outsider "what do you think about the quality of this logo?" and they are liable to pick it apart.

look at it from this prespective. barry manilow puts out a song. it's super, effing lame. however, everyone with no taste is like "but wait, barry has more songs coming out". either way... it's still more crappy barry manilow songs.

What a hypocrite! You're arguing a point in the same basic way I did! Aren't those people that brought umpteen Barry Manilow albums and gave him hit records that you have such a low opinion of the same people that will..... oh never mind.

[BFizzy]

Here are some interesting comments from a corporate logo and branding website:

Brand New: Thunder? What Thunder?

[okcsince1987]

This logo is horrible. I am really embarassed and dissapointed. It looks like they put no effort into it at all. Everyone I showed laughed. Most said what the hell's the logo gonna be? A rain cloud lol? And Im living in New York with people from all over the country.

[BDP]

I guess you guys are right. It's so bad, that it's killing sales:

Thunder wear sets new record in opening sales period | NewsOK.com

It's Adidas .... here we go.. more things to complain about.

I'm actually really glad it's Adidas. They have much more fashionable stuff a lot of the time and it's a great international brand. I went to the Thunder Shop and they had some good stuff. Their track jackets were very cool, imo.

[metro]

Wow, harsh review on UniWatch.....

Well, that was certainly worth all the buildup, right? I’ll have more to say about this over on the Page 2 index page this morning (you can find it here), but for now I’ll quote a reaction I saw on the Chris Creamer board: “That logo is so bad, I think we need to give the whole state back to the Indians, steal it back, and start fresh.” Amen, brother.

And this review on ESPN today getting a HUGE front page story on Page 2:

ESPN - Page 2

UNI WATCH WEIGHS IN ON OKC
I'm not sure what Thunder looks like, but I'm pretty sure it isn't this.

That's the first problem with the NBA's relocated-to-OKC franchise, whose name (an open secret for weeks) and logo were finally made official Wednesday: Thunder doesn't lend itself to visual depictions (along other issues), which makes it tough to design a snappy logo.

So instead they went for something painfully generic. Obligatory depiction of a basketball? Check. Color scheme that pairs blue with some shade of orange, yellow, or gold, just like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight other NBA teams? Check. Design that vaguely evokes the Doritos logo? Check. And mate.

All kidding aside, it's a perfectly pleasant design -- nice colors, decent balance, easy to read -- but it doesn't say anything. Looks like the seal for the local chamber of commerce or something. And c'mon, where's the powerful impact of a thunderclap? Where are the dark colors of storm clouds? Many of the submissions in Page 2's recent Uni Watch design contest were much, much better.

The team's uniforms won't be unveiled for another few weeks, so what was the point of unveiling the logo now anyway? Here's a hint. Lest there be any confusion regarding the real point of the unveiling, this link went live about two hours before the press conference started (thereby providing a sneak peek at the logo for the six or seven fans who hadn't already seen it when it was leaked over the weekend). By the time team owner Clay Bennett stepped up to the podium to speak, my in-box had already started to fill up with reactions like this and this.

But for the best feedback, just check out this shot. That's Damien Wilkins on the left, gaping in disbelief and probably thinking, "Man, I hope the uniforms are better than this." He's not the only one.
--Paul Lukas

[Platemaker]

Here are some interesting comments from a corporate logo and branding website:

Brand New: Thunder? What Thunder?

OK so the logo isn't the greatest... but obviously it's not keeping people from buying stuff.

[Kerry]

OK - I waited a couple of days to see if the name and logo would grow on me before making a comment. After 2 days they both still suck. In fact, the name Thunder is actually getting worse in my mind. They should have gone with 89ers.

[Platemaker]

LOL... wait a cotton pickin' minute!
This was Uni Watch's best overall pick from their design contest.... and they had a bunch of entries!!!

YUCK!

[metro]

FYI...for those interested here are a few hundred logos submitted in the UniWatch contest. I like many of them, even some from names I originally didn't like, including some Thunder entries:

OKC - a set on Flickr

[edcrunk]

Edcrunk, I agree with most of what you said. How about still repping OKC at your gigs (and this would help spread the Major League City word), by using the black practice t-shirts that were launched this summer? They are much more respectable and closer to what I think most of us were expecting.

good looking out metro! i had been planning on picking one of those up, but hadn't thought of wearing it in that regard. i was just so looking forward to the new colors, logo and what not.

[raw98682]

The logo, colors, and name are a disappointment. I'm sure it will change in time though. I was excited about getting some merch, but now I'll prolly just a tee for the sake of having one of the first official tees - and rarely, if ever, wear it.
Cool colors can help save a crappy name - not redeem, help - but they blew it. Guess all we can do is wait for improvements.

[UnFrSaKn]

Jenni Carlson from The Oklahoman loves the logo.
NewsOK.tv

[CuatrodeMayo]

Imagine that.

[Karried]

There's not a lot here I would have liked..

OKC - a set on Flickr

The Thundering Buffalo is awesome. Heavy sigh.....

[Kerry]

One of things that bothers me the most about the logo is it wan't even designed on a computer. It was done with sticky tape from an art store. If you take the logo into photoshop and zoom in you can actually see the edge of the adhesive tape around each item.