In 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder joined the NBA after a move from Seattle. However, in the rush to move the team from Seattle and roll out a new team name and logo, they wound up with a generic logo that is routinely ranked among the league's worst. In my opinion, it is the worst. There are many reasons it's a poor logo, and this article outlines a few of them.
On the court, the team has been an astounding success. They've held a winning record in 12 of the 16 seasons and made the playoffs 11 times. Two Thunder players won league MVP in that span and one more Thunder-drafted player later won MVP. The team made an NBA Finals appearance in 2012.
During initial branding conversations, the Thunder nickname was rumored to reference to the thundering herds of bison that once roamed the plains of Oklahoma and Kansas. Unfortunately, a bison was never incorporated into the logo or any other team branding. The only bison imagery that is used in association with the team is Rumble, the bison mascot.
After missing the 2021 and 2022 playoffs, behind coach Mark Daigneault the Thunder have built the team into a certified contender. After finishing with the top record in the Western Conference in 2024, they're off to a hot start in 2025 as well. The young core is fun, talented, and fully bought-in to the culture of the team.
This new era for the Thunder calls for a new logo and branding.
As a fan of the team—the nearest to my home in central Kansas—and a graphic designer, I've long considered creating a logo concept for the team. In 2024, I finally got started on the project and have worked on it on and off over the ensuing year and a half. I'm excited to present my Oklahoma City Thunder Logo concept.
The Bison makes its appearance as the primary visual of the new logo. A fierce bison head stares straight ahead, highlighted with orange eyes and curving white horns. Where most Buffalo/Bison sports teams use a sideways bison as their logo, I decided that there's nothing scarier than the prospect of meeting a charging herd of bison head-on. It also matches the look of the Chicago Bulls (widely regarded as the best NBA logo) and the Texas Longhorns, a very popular/unpopular college team in the region.
A rebrand is far more than a single logo. Sports logos must fit on jerseys, hats, apparel, signage, and digital locations. Even my extensive rebrand falls far short of a team's real needs. Nevertheless, I created a few secondary and tertiary logos that could be used in a variety of applications.
The current Thunder logo system features blue, dark blue, red-orange, and yellow elements. This design drops the yellow and tweaks the other colors. The blue is lightened up to an electric blue that's a little reminiscent of the blue featured on the Thunder's beloved native design-themed jersey.
Logo changes and rebrands are hard to get right. It's likely that opinions on this design will vary widely.
Personally, I think it's an improvement. I also think it has room for improvement. Is the bison head too cluttered and hard to identify at small sizes? Are the colors representative of the state and region? Do they match the bison visual?
Perhaps my weakest skill as a designer is typography, so I question whether the type treatment rendered here is appropriate for a pro sports team. Sports logos rarely feature flat text without an outline or backing color. (Non-sports logos, however, are moving toward flat text without outlines or backing colors.) Will this text treatment be appropriate for all the contexts that a sports team's logo may appear in?
Lastly, after designing this I visited to the First Americans Museum in OKC and was inspired by many bison designs and other native artistry. The aforementioned native-themed jerseys are beloved by fans. I didn't try to incorporate those design styles at all but I hope the team takes local Native artists' designs into account whenever they do a real rebrand.
In June of 2023, Goessel selected my logo design to serve as the new city logo moving forward! After spending my formative childhood years in the community, it means a lot to know I'll have a place in its future as well.
In the 2010s, MEDA's Sarasota Network Hub leveraged connections in Havana, Cuba, to lead educational tours in Cuba. I had the opportunity to travel on this tour in 2018 in order to produce this video and promote further tours to Cuba.
How do you show potential customers what the shopping experience is like at your business? Ask a customer to tell them herself! In this testimonial video, Meegan of Meegan Jowdy Interior Design discusses the ways DutchCrafters fit her needs and delivered for her client.
What is Poly Furniture? Learn all about it in this 1-minute animation video I produced for DutchCrafters Amish furniture. This video served as an introduction to poly furniture and an informative video
Starting in 2024, I took a shot at creating a logo concept for the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. Here's the result of that work—a new logo image featuring a bison, along with new type treatment and secondary logos.
In June of 2023, Goessel selected my logo design to serve as the new city logo moving forward! After spending my formative childhood years in the community, it means a lot to know I'll have a place in its future as well.
I was invited to lead an inter-team task force to develop a recommendation to update and improve the Shop the Look section of dutchcrafters.com. We completed the task ahead of schedule and with buy-in from every relevant team.
One of the highlights of my employment at JMX Brands was the opportunity to design a logo and full visual identity for the new brand Eco Friendly Digs.
In the 2010s, MEDA's Sarasota Network Hub leveraged connections in Havana, Cuba, to lead educational tours in Cuba. I had the opportunity to travel on this tour in 2018 in order to produce this video and promote further tours to Cuba.
How do you show potential customers what the shopping experience is like at your business? Ask a customer to tell them herself! In this testimonial video, Meegan of Meegan Jowdy Interior Design discusses the ways DutchCrafters fit her needs and delivered for her client.
What is Poly Furniture? Learn all about it in this 1-minute animation video I produced for DutchCrafters Amish furniture. This video served as an introduction to poly furniture and an informative video
My teammate Beth and I wrote the script to the Ultimate Guide to Furniture Styles, an extremely popular educational video on YouTube and on our website, dutchcrafters.com.
I took these photos over the past 5 years or so for clients, family, and personal use. All photos taken on my Sony a6300 mirrorless camera.
I took these photos over the course of 4 years in central Florida and at Niagara Falls. All photos taken on my Sony a6300 mirrorless camera.
