The main motifs that the designers conveyed in this emblem are the radiance of sport, skill, and victory. They proposed a logo for the Phoenix Suns that explicitly stated what they were doing: basketball that shone like the sun. It also has a hidden dynamic that pushes athletes to new heights to shine in the professional sky.
Phoenix Suns: Brand overview
Founded: | 1968 |
Founder: | Robert Sarver |
Headquarters: |
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
Website: | nba.com |
Compared with the catchy biographies of their neighbors in the division, Phoenix’s history sounds very prosaic. The Phoenix Suns Club was founded in 1968 in Phoenix, Arizona. In the same year, as a result of its expansion, it became a part of the National Basketball Association.
To come up with a name for the club, the daily newspaper “The Arizona Republic,” published in Phoenix, organized a competition for the team’s name – “Think of the name of the team.” The winner of the competition was promised $ 1,000 and a seasonal subscription to the team’s home games. Suns gained most points between such names as Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars. Firstly, this choice was determined by the state of Arizona is one of the sunniest states in the USA. Secondly, the name Suns are symbolic because the flag of Arizona has a star on it. It symbolizes the Sun, from which red and yellow stripes come out, like sunlight.
Interestingly, when the team needed to create and design the logo, the management paid only $ 200. The Phoenix Suns emblem was created and designed in the printing house of the city of Tucson, Arizona. But before that, the club bosses had laid out $ 5,000 to develop a logo design made by a local artist. However, the team was disappointed with the results and refused his services. Then, they contacted the Tucson Printing House.
Violet-orange colors, taken in the first season has been in the form of suns till now. Only in the era of Charles Barkley, designers added black color, and in the era of Steve Nash – gray. And also, there was an alternative emblem that contained the image of the Phoenix, rising from the flames and abbreviations.
Phoenix Suns’ mascot is The Suns Gorilla.
Meaning and History
Over 50 years of existence, the Phoenix Suns team has changed four logos. The first option became the basis for all subsequent ones: the designers retained the elements’ arrangement, changing only the palette and design nuances. In this regard, the club turned out to be one of the most conservative in the NBA.
What is Phoenix Suns?
The Phoenix Suns are the only Pacific Division (NBA) team based outside of California. She plays for Phoenix, and her home stadium is Footprint Center. The franchise appeared in 1968 and has always been known by the same name.
1968 – 1992
In 1968, a new basketball team was born in Phoenix, Arizona, which is called Phoenix Suns. The original Phoenix Suns logo was designed by Stan Fabe, the owner of a printing house in Tucson. Club executives estimated the result of his work at $ 200. The designer placed a red rectangle in the center, and in it, he depicted the sun as an orange basketball with white rays that emanated from the right side. Above the quadrangular figure, there was a blue inscription, “PHOENIX,” on the opposite side – “SUNS.”
1993 – 2000
Almost a quarter of a century later, the team’s management decided to redesign. The development of the new format was entrusted to the artist O’Grady, who changed the Phoenix Suns logo, surrounding the ball with bent rays and adding a tail to the improvised sun. He also turned the red rectangle into a purple parallelogram and shifted the word “PHOENIX” down to italicize. The modernization process took about six months.
2001 – 2013
In 2001, the designers of the logo placed all elements in a large gray parallelogram and selectively rounded the quadrangles’ corners. They repainted the phrase “PHOENIX SUNS” white, adding black shadows to the letters. The same shadows, but reddish-brown, now appear on the ball, which has become more noticeable due to the wide black seams. The sun’s tail is completely orange: the artists removed the pink gradient from the rays.
2014 – present
Five years ago, there was the last change of the Arizona club logo. The creators practically didn’t make any correctives. On the contrary, they returned to some standards of previous years. In the latest club logo, both parallelograms are black. They are separated only by a thin silvery line, which marks the border of the inner quadrangle. The ball has acquired a uniform color because the light highlights have disappeared – only dark shadows have remained on the left edge. The font change is most noticeable: the developers made the letters three-dimensional and decorated them with serifs.
Font and Colors
The main sign of the Phoenix Suns is the sun, which is a basketball with zigzag beams. Until 1992, it looked rather modest: the rays were white, short, and located only on the right side. Then O’Grady’s designer lengthened the lines and turned the ball around to create a sense of flight.
As conceived by the team leaders, this was to become an allegorical illustration of the rising sun. The style of the drawing changed several times: over time, shadows and highlights appeared, making it possible to obtain a three-dimensional effect.
Artists handcraft all Phoenix Suns logos without the use of standard fonts. But the characters are reminiscent of a redesigned typeface from the SF TransRobotics family created by ShyFonts. In the latest version, the letters are italic and serif. The word “SUNS” looks especially futuristic thanks to the light gray shadows. The main color of the inscriptions is white. It contrasts with a black background, orange ball, and golden rays.
Phoenix Suns color codes
Purple | Hex color: | #1d1160 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 29 17 96 | |
CMYK: | 98 100 0 43 | |
Pantone: | PMS 275 C |
Orange | Hex color: | #e56020 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 229 96 32 | |
CMYK: | 0 75 100 5 | |
Pantone: | PMS 159 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
CMYK: | 30 0 0 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS Black C |
Gray | Hex color: | #63727a |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 99 113 122 | |
CMYK: | 15 0 0 65 | |
Pantone: | PMS 431 C |
Yellow | Hex color: | #f9a01b |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 249 160 27 | |
CMYK: | 0 43 100 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 137 C |
Dark Orange | Hex color: | #b95915 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 185 89 21 | |
CMYK: | 0 67 100 28 | |
Pantone: | PMS 1675 C |
Light Gray | Hex color: | #bec0c2 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 190 192 194 | |
CMYK: | 0 0 0 29 | |
Pantone: | PMS Cool Gray 5 C |
What is the current Phoenix Suns logo?
The current Phoenix Suns logo, which began in use in the 2013-2014 season, is a black parallelogram with two rounded corners. It shows the same parallelogram but in a smaller size – an area separated by a silvery frame. Inside is a flying basketball with a comet-like halo. At the bottom, it says PHOENIX SUNS in slanted white letters.
When did the Phoenix Suns change their logo?
The Phoenix Suns team decided to redesign the logo for the 2013-2014 season. She retained the shape and position of the elements but changed the font and colors.
How many logos have the Phoenix Suns had?
Throughout its history, Phoenix Suns have had four logos. The first appeared in 1968, the second in 1993, the third in 2001, and the fourth in 2014.
What colors is the Phoenix Suns logo?
The base of the logo is black (# 000000), the basketball is orange (# E56020), the shadows on the ball are dark orange (# B95915), and the surrounding halo is yellow (# F9AD1B). As for the lettering, the letters are two-color: half-light gray (# BEC0C2), half white (#FFFFFF).