The Open Branding Project: Sketching Constellations

This is part 5 of a multi-part series chronicling the real-time development and design of a new logo for Baseball New Zealand. Check out our past “The Open Branding Project” posts here.

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Last week we were able to spend some time talking with Dave Bishop, a tattoo artist and Maori cultural expert. We took his information and reference drawings and have begun fleshing out some ideas for the primary Baseball New Zealand logo, and the team cap logo.

Brian and I both are liking the idea of using a shark or shark symbolism in the identity. We’ve dug into significant constellations like Te Mangoroa, the Maori word for the Milky Way meaning “long shark”.

The sketches you’ll see here are attempts at fusing multiple ideas together like an NZ with koru, or the southern cross constellation with bases. At this point, it’s been about finding a few ideas that make sense and fusing “baseball” with “New Zealand” without literally saying either. Once we feel like we have some good ideas down, we will explore style more. Though on that note, Brian has started to take the traditional flowing Maori aesthetic and trying some things out in a more geometric look.

I am really looking forward finishing this week where we’ll be catching up with Ryan and Ian of Baseball New Zealand, talking with Robert Jahnke, a Professor of Maori visual arts, and doing a special conference call with Adam Martin of Makers Of Sport podcast. More on all that soon!

Be sure to follow our hashtag on Twitter, #OpenBaseballNZ, and be sure to submit your questions to us via Twitter, the comments section on this article, or to Chris directly for our Q&A session next week. That’s all for now, folks!

This was part 5 of a multi-part series chronicling the real-time development and design of a new logo for Baseball New Zealand. Check out our past “The Open Branding Project” posts here.