As our Ottawa Senators’ recent wins have fans cheering, it seems like a good time to tell the story behind the team’s main logo.
It dates back to 2007, when the NHL updated its uniforms to the new Rbk Edge jerseys. Several teams took the opportunity to redesign or update their brands, and the Ottawa Senators® were among them.
The biggest change, which was strictly under wraps at the time, was an update of the Ottawa Senators logo. Prior to 2007, the team’s primary logo was a Roman Centurion in profile.
In ’97, a new logo was added to the team’s third jersey, with the Centurion in 3/4 profile.
For the new jerseys, however, the whole brand strategy needed to be revisited. Acart worked with the Sens® to plan the new look, feel, and attitude of the team’s brand.
The new face of the team, we determined, would be a tougher, more determined version of the 3/4 profile Centurion that would look more intimidating on the ice.
Acart Designer (now Art Director) Kerry Hodgson, who is also an artist, re-illustrated the logo with stronger lines, sharper edges, and a more limited colour palette, giving the Centurion a more determined attitude that reflected the team’s (and their fans’) increasing confidence and success.
After client approvals, we started to develop the brand guidelines (working with Rbk uniform standards) and we worked with a PR company to develop the launch event for press. And despite an accidental leak by a league banner ad, the launch was pretty epic.
Today, as always, it fills us with pride when we see the Ottawa Senators logo on the ice, and all across the National Capital Region.
GO SENS GO!
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