A research inspired rebrand of the WNBA team.
This poster, originally 40”x26”, represents the result of my senior captsone research project. My question, “Where is the contemporary branding design in Professional Athletics?” is addressed, explaining why some teams opt for a more traditional or modernist take, and why contemporary design aesthetics may or may not be useful to some teams. (To narrow my findings I focused primarily on teams and organizations in the United States.)
I assert that many teams rely on familiarity to garner support for their organizations. This is accommplished through traditional and sometimes modernist logos, including some that have never changed since thier creation. This is not only a valid strategy, it is likely the best choice for many teams to make considering the necessity to connect with lifelong fans, and acknowledge a long term history.
But, this is not always the case! One obvious exception is women’s athletic organizations. These teams have comparatively shorter histories, growing support from fans who on average became such in the last 5 years, greater support for teams and player who are activists, the list goes on and on. If there is an avenue for contemporary branding to flourish, it is surely by way of women’s sports.
Not only does it “make sense,” there is also a dissapointing approach to branding these teams that needs correcting. Many women’s teams are given the “little sister treatment,” which includes names, colors, and design that feels like leftovers from their male counterparts in thair city or state. This trivializes the consumer of women’s sports, and the athletes who don these designs.
It is worth noting that there is plenty of revenue to be made in women’s professional athletics, much of which I believe is being left on the table by this lazy approach. Research shows that women’s sports fans are more likely to buy from brands that partner with women’s sports, and that women drove the majority of social media engagement during the 2020 Olympics (though men were more often featured in official content.)
Design is often responsive to the consumer, but it can be a force for change and inspiration as well. In the case of women’s athletics, I think there is both a demand for better design, and an opportunity to elevate the way in which women compete and redefine femininity, not as a substitution in a male dominated space, but as athletes and professionals in their own right.
Fueled by my research into contemporary branding in professional athletics, I wanted to fill the gap I had found in branding among women’s sporting teams. Specifically, I wanted a team that warranted an update in branding, one that had a more contemporary fanbase, and a team that could be complemented by the use of this design approach. I found all of this in the Washington Mystics.
Secondary Logos
Tertiary Logos
Tagline
Brand Colors
Named to complement the Washington Wizards, the Mystics branding and logo has remained the same since the team joined the WNBA in 1998. This branding does not feel linked to the history of Washington D.C. in any way (unless you count red and blue), nor is it reflective of the diverse and enaged fanbase that rallies around the Mystics. These and other confusing elements (like their mascot; a panda?) leave the Mystics feeling incoherent and uninspired as a brand.
This proposed rebrand infuses the Mystics with more energy, power and legitimacy through its contemporary approach. The logo alludes to the team name by implementing an optical illusion, representing a “W” and an “M” in the positive and negative space respectively. Its jagged edges and forward slant imply motion, agility, and the edge needed to win.
Elements that cement this branding in contemporary territory are the wide typography and the punchy, unconventional colors, which are not commonly found in atheltic spaces. The colors, derived from the green, purple, and yellow worn by Suffragists, further link the team to D.C. and a history of strong women. This is a nod to traditional interpretations of femininity, and a diversion from such tropes. For example, using a color scheme with pastels could definitely come across as soft or dainty, but doing so in athletics is subversive. The inconventional color pairings similarly derails the idea that there is one way to represent women through branding.
Finally, the tagline- “It’s Not Magic” -reminds us that this team goes nowhere by accident. Mystical or not, every game, every point, and every success isn’t accidental, it is hard won.
The branding can be applied simply when appropriate, or dynamically to further the optical illusion or “mystical” visuality. This approach is another way in which contemporary sensibilities can differentiate a team, and reinvigorate a visual identity.