The Dallas Mavericks are searching for inspiration for a new uniform coinciding with a rebranding effort in the 2015-16 season, according to a recent blog post by Mavs owner Mark Cuban.
Armed with paper, pencil, and markers, in classic 360Special style I attempted to design what I view as a radical shift in Mavericks culture that will better unify the brand.
I know the current color scheme is white, blue, dark blue, and black and alternately some green. However if the Mavs want to distinguish themselves and create an ultra-visible and inclusive motif that fans can immediately be a part of, they should embrace cowboy culture and the cowboy image.
Dallas sports fans are familiar with the Cowboys pride from the NFL, but the Maverick image is so fuzzy and undefined. What is a Maverick? How do I be a Maverick? How can potential fans embrace this team culture if they can't easily grasp it?
I believe a team's identity should be easily accessible and relatable to the local narrative. This way fans can embrace the team quickly and passionately. What separates this design is the ablity the team will have to market the cowboy image.
Brown is an underrated color. Only one major North American sports team currently wears brown, the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. No MLB, NHL or NBA teams currently wear brown. If the Mavs can claim brown now as part of their cowboy identity it would strengthen the brand. I mean, they could hand out brown t-shirts and cowboy hats on opening night and the fans would be EATING IT UP.
Blue should remain to offset the brown and represent the vast skies over Texas. The image of the star remains as a bridge between the front and back of the jersey at the bottom of each side under the armpit. I've also elected to revive the retro logo with the M wearing the cowboy hat. It's another relatable image for people to embrace rather than a jagged, abstract horse. The stripes in the piping on the sides of the jersey and shorts create movement. I've also elected to put the player names under the number, though I'd outline the blue name with white on the away jerseys. This frees up space to feature the logo and, again, reinforce the cowboy image.
Anyways, if you hate brown this scheme isn't for you, but it's a potentially great branding opportunity waiting to happen and the jerseys don't look bad either. Let me know your thoughts!
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