LAS VEGAS SCORPIONS
NBA Expansion Team | Branding & Identity
The "Las Vegas Scorpions", a project driven by my sheer love for the sport of basketball, and no better time to have concluded this project while the NBA Playoffs are in full swing! The Las Vegas Scorpions is an NBA Expansion Team's branding & identity that spanned the entirety of my final spring semester at Towson. With the recent rumors of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver considering expansion, pushing forward with this idea was a no-brainer. Ultimately, getting ahead of the curve on the overall look and feel of what and where the next NBA team will be and look like. I like to look at this project as a graphic designer's "fantasy basketball team." This project demanded a plethora of assets. From the variations of Logo marks, to the Jersey Collection, and Court Designs, this project was no joke. I worked day in and day out, pushing my creative thought process to new heights, relentlessly exploring different approaches to achieving my end goal.
Softwares Used | Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign & After Effects
Font Families Used | Obviously, Vanguard CF & Swear Display
WHY EXPAND AND WHY LAS VEGAS?
The NBA has been flirting with the idea of an expansion primarily because of the potential for significant financial gain from adding new teams. This could generate large expansion fees from new ownership groups, coupled with the desire to grow the league's fan base by entering new markets. The idea of an expansion is further fueled by the current high valuation of NBA franchises, making expansion a lucrative opportunity for existing owners. Las Vegas has been seen as a prime candidate due to the cities explosion in sports popularity in recent years. With the NFL’s Raiders arriving from Oakland, the WNBA’s Aces coming from San Antonio, and the Golden Knights entering the NHL as an expansion team it almost feels like Las Vegas is destined to receive an NBA team very soon. It’s become the NBA’s unofficial 31st city over the past generation, with the annual NBA Las Vegas summer league bringing hundreds of thousands of fans to the city each July.
WHY THE SCORPIONS?
In the beginning stages of my research, the obvious choice would have been to come up with a name that related to the gambling and entertainment night life that the city is most known for. However I wanted to dig even deeper, and differentiate the name from all of the Las Vegas sports teams making this team truly unique. I took it upon myself to learn about the history of Las Vegas, the culture of the city, and everything that makes up the area. In my research I learned about just how common the scorpion insect is to the Las Vegas area. Ultimately learning that the city is home to 25 different species of scorpions, and so I conducted further research and found out that no major sports teams in any sport had “Scorpions” as their name or mascot. Right then and there I knew that the "Las Vegas Scorpions" was the perfect fit.
