Oklahoma City Thunder by Preston Grubbs and Asha Pollard

CLIENT

An NBA franchise in Oklahoma City, OK. The audience is families who want an exciting, fast-paced, sports entertainment experience.

BRIEF

Rebrand the Thunder, an NBA team, to help connect the fans to the team. Oklahoma City has a rich history that is not shown through the current identity. The current branding and identity does not allow much of a connection to the team, the fan, or the city. 

APPROACH

We wanted to create a new identity that would connect fans to the team, put fans in the seats, and draw on the rich history and future of Oklahoma City. We took inspiration from history but also looked towards the future of the city to create a mark that is deeply rooted in the past yet looking towards the future. Our solution creates a fun connection with fans and establishes a brand that fans can relate to—and a team they are excited to support.

Of primary importance in this class is the need for students to tell a compelling story that connects to a fan base in an engaging, emotionally relevant manner. With the help of comprehensive research, development of a brand strategy, a bit of creative writing, and an iterative design process (sketches, sketches, and more sketches!), Preston and Asha developed a brand identity that not only spoke directly to their target audience, but presented their professional sports product in an entirely new and different way. — John Hartwell, Instructor at Portfolio Center