Created in 1968, the Milwaukee basketball team paid close attention to the choice of a mascot. The Milwaukee Bucks logo has become a reflection of nobility, courage, and natural athleticism. The brutality of the last version, its severity, and threats reflected the spirit of the sports club.
Milwaukee Bucks: Brand overview
Founded: | 1968 |
Founder: | Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan, Mike Fascitelli |
Headquarters: |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Website: | nba.com |
In 1968, the NBA approved the creation of a professional basketball team in the state of Wisconsin. Talented basketball lovers started offering the names of the future team. They shared all kinds of animals, including beavers, ponies, hornets, and even skunks. As a result, the management decided to stop on animal representatives of the higher-order, and soon the team was officially named Milwaukee Bucks. Mr. Treblikoks, the Wisconsin resident, who was the first to offer this name, not only became a part of the club’s history but also was awarded a new car.
It is worth noting that the white-tailed deer, abundantly represented in North America, is one of the official symbols of the state of Wisconsin. The fact is that in the state of Wisconsin, deer hunting is not only a favorite hobby but also a vital necessity. Since the American pioneers shot all the wolves there, the amount of deer living in the forests dashingly increased, and now people have to shoot them.
Milwaukee Bucks’s symbol is quite contradictory. On the one hand, every fan would like their favorite players to have manifestations of “deer” nobility and their natural athleticism. On the other hand, these horned creatures are harmless, they are even cowardly and prefer living alone, and therefore these animals are completely devoid of team spirit.
American slang offers a much more appropriate interpretation of the term buck. This is a young, self-confident male individual.
Meaning and History
Milwaukee’s second professional basketball team was named the Milwaukee Bucks in May 1968. At the same time, the logo based on it was approved. This name was proposed to the club by 45 people, including R. D. Trebilcox from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. He was the best in justifying the choice, for which he was awarded the car. Since then, the image of a deer has always been present on the emblem. In total, the Milwaukee Bucks had four original badges.
What is Milwaukee Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks are the only National Basketball Association team to win championships in Western and Eastern Conferences. It debuted in 1968 and has never changed its name since.
1968 – 1993
The debut emblem is made in a cartoon style. It features a good-natured, cute eight-horned deer wearing a green sweater with a white “B” on the chest. He sits on two-tiered lettering made up of the team’s name. Moreover, the animal smiles affably, closing its eyes, and holds a rotating basketball on one hoof.
All of this epitomizes the club’s confidence that athletes can play perfectly at a professional level – even with their eyes closed. This version was written by Matt Kastelic, a commercial artist assigned by Team CEO John Erickson.
1994 – 2006
In May 1993, the management of the franchise began to implement a new logo. It was a radically different symbolism: serious and aggressive in style. The picture shows a male white-tailed deer looking straight ahead. It peeks out from behind the two-line Milwaukee Bucks, where the first word is small, and the second is large, with the B and S highlighted. Only the head and top of the sturdy torso are visible against the inverted triangle. As creative director Tom O’Grady noted, the updated symbolism denotes a close-knit team that looks confidently into the future and is ready to take any challenge. This option was created by the design group NBA Properties Inc.
2007 – 2014
Before the opening of the 2006/07 season, the club presented a new logo and a changed color scheme. The iconic green and silver remained, while red was used instead of purple. NBA Vice President Apparel Christopher Arena said the deep red is in line with the team’s spirit, which conveys a winning spirit and reflects heat and energy. The rest of the structure is identical to the previous version, except for the background rectangle for the inscription – it received cut edges.
2015 – today
In 2015, new owners of the Bucks club introduced a new version of the emblem. The new logo cannot be called a restyling of the past, but the basic concept remained the same – a deer represented the Bucks emblem in full face. In this variation, the emblem looks artistic and conceptual. The deer’s gaze has become more confident; the eyes are stern, the horns are large. Moreover, in the picture, the theme of basketball is encrypted three times. For example, the shape of a round ball is depicted in the space outlined by the inner small and large outer horns, and the circle of the basket is reflected in the circular edging. The animal’s chest is shown in the uppercase “M” shape, a tribute to Milwaukee’s city.
According to the rules of the NBA, the team’s full name should be entirely written on the main emblem. So designers decided to put the inscription Milwaukee Bucks at the bottom. The entire composition is enclosed in a cream-colored circle. The point is that cream color is used for the first time in the color scheme of the NBA team and reflects the main nickname Cream City. Therefore, Milwaukee began to be called this because many of the settlers’ houses were built of brick, which did from local clay of cream color.
Font and Colors
The mascot and the main symbol of the team is the white-tailed deer. He was chosen because of his agility, gracefulness, instant reaction, impeccable running speed, and the ability to jump high. In the current logo, he looks like a powerful and domineering male, whom nothing can interfere with achieving his goal. This is evidenced by the stern look and confidence that the monolithic figure conveys.
Originally “MILWAUKEE BUCKS” was written in black with a slight tilt to the right. Then the word size became disproportionate: the designers made the first part of the name small, and the second large. In the modern version, the typeface is rigid, engraved, of high-precision shape, elongated, and chopped.
The color green remained as a reminder of the basketball club’s past achievements. Purple was just trendy, so they changed it to red color – a symbol of energy. Silver first emphasized shades of purple and then became one of the main ones.
Milwaukee Bucks color codes
Good Land Green | Hex color: | #00471b |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 71 27 | |
CMYK: | 80 0 90 75 | |
Pantone: | PMS 350 C |
Cream City Cream | Hex color: | #eee1c6 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 240 235 210 | |
CMYK: | 6 9 23 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 350 C |
Great Lakes Blue | Hex color: | #0077c0 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 125 197 | |
CMYK: | 100 45 0 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 468 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
CMYK: | 20 20 20 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2935 C |
Did the Milwaukee Bucks change their logo?
Yes, Milwaukee Bucks had four logos, and with each redesign, they became more brutal. The current version, adopted in 2015, looks very harsh and intimidating, unlike the first emblem with a cartoon deer. But it uses negative space: the lower half of the horns forms the silhouette of a basketball.
Who designed Milwaukee Bucks logo?
As far as we know, the logo from 1994-2006. was created by the advertising department of NBA Properties Inc., which Tom O’Grady ran. And the modern version was probably designed by Milwaukee Bucks’ designers.
What animal is on the Bucks logo?
The Milwaukee Bucks logo features the head of a white-tailed deer, which is also the team’s mascot. It is one of the most common animals in North America.
How many points are on the Milwaukee Bucks logo?
The stag in the Milwaukee Bucks logo has twelve-pointed antlers, four more than the previous version. The designers added new forks to show the growing danger and strength of the animal.