Los Angeles Clippers Logo PNG
The symbolism of the emblem of another basketball club from Los Angeles, founded in 1970, as the Buffalo Braves, is the desire to reflect its history. The new Los Angeles Clippers logo and the name are a tribute to the home city, the team’s true roots, and history.
Los Angeles Clippers: Brand overview
| Founded: | 1970 |
| Founder: | Steve Ballmer |
| Headquarters: |
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Website: | nba.com |
Despite the lack of significant achievements, New York still holds the title of Basketball Mecca. The reputation of New York as a forge of basketball talents extends far beyond the metropolis. The western part of the state has become the cradle of three current NBA clubs. Los Angeles Clippers team is one of these legends.
The team was originally quartered in Buffalo city. It was called Buffalo Braves (Braves is a term used in the past to refer to Indian soldiers). It explains the feather on the emblem. In Buffalo, as in all other parts of North America, the Indians once lived. But most likely, the name was chosen because it sounded good in combination with the name of the city.
For over the eight years of existence, the Braves have made NBA playoffs three times. Each time they gave way to future champions. After Bob McAdoo went to Knicks, the interest in the team was decreased. Soon the club was sold to a well-known businessman and politician John Brown Jr. He completed an unprecedented club exchange deal with Irv Levin, the Celtics owner.
Levin was dreaming of moving to California, preferably with his basketball club. But the Celtics’ moving to any city other than Boston automatically meant “a long and painful death” at the hands of local fans.
Having received a half-dead team, Levin immediately transferred it to California. The headquarters of the club was still in San Diego, deprived of its team after Rockets moved in 1971.
In the city where the most notorious brave men in the face of marines and whales trainers of the local zoo were staying, there was no place for the team with the name of Braves. The club’s leadership suggested that the team name should get more local flavor. Therefore, a new name San Diego Clippers was approved soon. The team that retained the old colors became known as the Clippers, in honor of the city’s history as an important port in the Pacific ocean. By the way, the Star of India clipper is still moored as a floating museum there. Three jibs (the distinctive part of a clipper tooling) have become a new team’s emblem.
Clipper is a high-speed sailing vessel or a ship with sharp, water-cutting hull outlines. San Diego was famous for such courts.
In 1981, the infamous Donald Sterling became the owner of the team. By that time, less than 5 thousand people attended the matches of the uncompetitive team. That’s why the team decided to move.
In 1984, Stirling managed to get NBA approval for relocation to Los Angeles, where the team had long been in the shadow of another local club. Speaking about the name of the Sterling club, it was decided to leave it unchanged. Such a solution is quite understandable: the term clipper can mean a hair clipper and lawn shears. And this is the only job that, according to Stirling, “these black guys” are good. Los Angeles Clippers team has no talisman.
Meaning and History
The Los Angeles Clippers team, in the past, had several names and logos. This is partly due to relocations: first, the franchise was in Buffalo, then it moved to San Diego, and in 1984 it moved to Los Angeles. But the change of emblems is explained not only by the relocation and the choice of a new nickname (until 1978 the club was named Braves) – the redesign is aimed at modernizing the style to improve the team’s image.
What is Los Angeles Clippers?
The Los Angeles Clippers is an NBA baseball club that has changed three cities throughout history. It was originally based in Buffalo and was known as the Braves. Then he was transported to San Diego and named Clippers. And in 1984, the sports franchise was relocated to Los Angeles, retaining its current moniker.
1971
The debut Buffalo Braves logo contains just four elements. The first is the silhouette of a blue bison that looks to the right. The second is an orange basketball. The third is red feathers shaped like a headdress of the Indians. Fourth is the inscription “Buffalo Braves,” written in a standard sans-serif font.
1972 – 1978
From 1972 until the move to San Diego, the team used a complex multi-component emblem with a stylized letter “B.” Designers gave “B” an original shape and decorated it in the center with a red and blue feather. The inscription “BUFFALO BRAVES” was made italic and red to avoid being lost against the background of the central letter.
1979 – 1982
In 1978, the club moved to San Diego and earned the nickname Clippers after ships that sail in San Diego Bay. Then he got an abstract logo with three white sail-triangles and a red sun inside the blue circle. The name of the team, as before, is written below: “SAN DIEGO” in small blue letters, and “Clippers” in large orange.
1983 – 1984
In 1983, designers changed the font, color, and size of the inscription, making it the central element of the logo. They placed the light blue words “SAN DIEGO CLIPPERS” between the two pink horizontal lines and complemented them with many stripes in the form of a basketball.
1985 – 2010
Having moved to another city, the club updated the logo. He replaced the inscription “SAN DIEGO” with “LOS ANGELES” and removed the two horizontal lines to the ball’s right. Bright red-pink color has become muted.
2011 – 2015
In 2011, another minor redesign took place. This time, the artists turned the ball in the opposite direction, changing the seams’ direction. They also chose a darker shade of blue for the team name.
2015 – today
On the current logo, the ball is reduced and moved up. Below it is the word “CLIPPERS,” which is underlined above and below by two arched lines of raspberry and blue colors. They have enclosed the symbol of the ocean horizon as a reminder of the team’s real roots. Inside the ball is a monogram of the letters “CLA”.
Font and Colors
The current Los Angeles Clippers sign is particularly symbolic. Curved horizontal lines – this is the ocean horizon, which reflects the connection of the club with the sea. The form of the CLA monogram also has a hidden meaning: “C” (Clippers) completely embraces “LA” (Los Angeles), which literally should be understood as a team’s globality, its constant presence in the city. Also, the combination of “LA” is vaguely reminiscent of a basketball court.
The font used in the last logo belongs to the grotesque class. He has no serifs: the free ends end at right angles. Due to the slight inclination of the horizontal strokes, it seems that the inscription is slightly concave inward.
The color scheme contains blue, red, and white, inherited from Buffalo Braves. They are complemented by black, which gives the emblem of modernity.
Los Angeles Clippers color codes
| Red | Hex color: | #c8102e |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 200 16 46 | |
| CMYK: | 2 100 85 6 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 186 C |
| Blue | Hex color: | #1d428a |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 29 66 138 | |
| CMYK: | 100 78 0 18 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 7687 C |
| Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
| CMYK: | 30 0 0 100 | |
| Pantone: | PMS Black C |
| Silver | Hex color: | #bec0c2 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 190 192 194 | |
| CMYK: | 0 0 0 29 | |
| Pantone: | PMS Cool Gray 5 C |
What is the Los Angeles Clippers logo?
The logo of this team consists of several elements. The largest is the word mark – the black inscription CLIPPERS. It is located between four jagged stripes: two red and two blue. And on top, centered, there is a basketball with a unique red and blue LAC monogram inside.
Why are the LA Clippers called that?
The club received the nickname “Clippers” after moving to San Diego. This is because huge sailing ships called clippers once entered the harbor of San Diego Bay. From them came the name of the sports franchise.
When did the Clippers change their logo?
The new Los Angeles Clippers logo debuted in the 2018-2019 season. But the changes in it were minor: the designers only darkened the colors.
Who made the Clippers logo?
Rumor has it that Gillian Zucker gave Clippers’ in-house designers the task of making a new team logo in a couple of months. And when the subordinates said that this work would take at least a year, she entrusted the project to the basketball club Miami Heat designers, who agreed to all the conditions for a generous payment. But how much this story corresponds to reality is unknown.
