New NBA Team Logo Spurs Critiques

A graphic design professor offers his take on the brand implications for San Antonio’s professional basketball team.

By Michael MarksJune 14, 2017 12:15 pm, ,

The San Antonio Spurs are adding a wrinkle to their brand – an alternate logo, just for use on merchandise. The image the franchise filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is pretty simple and stark. It looks a bit like a black and white basketball, and within the circle, two block letters – SA – are stacked on top of each other.

The logo is not sitting quite right with some Texans, but there’s been little in the way of substantive feedback about the actual design.

John Caserta, an associate professor of graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design, shares his professional take on logos and brand identity with the Texas Standard.

“Social media and the need for really small logos has been all the rage,” Caserta says. “There was a boon in complexity which is now getting shrunken back down and simplified.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How this change reflects broader shifts in graphic design

– How logos shape brand identities

– How brands change and evolve without falling out of favor with loyal supporters

 

Written by Taylor Jackson Buchanan.