Most all photography in this guideline was provided by Ben Bodds of BLD Graphics. We thank you very much for your support.
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Contents
Branding guidelines
Why now
The Cottonmouths have been all over the map in terms of branding. We haven’t given anything consistent to our fans over the past years. We even have fans emailing the team saying, “The uniforms are never consistent. As I mentioned in a photo comment, you can look at 10 fans in the stands and see 10 different jerseys. What are the team colors? Green and blue? Blue, red and yellow? .... Don’t ever change the home and away. Let it be become synonymous with the Cottonmouths just as you see with some of the NHL franchises.” It is hard to admit that this fan is correct. To strengthen our brand as an organization, we need to strip down our look and stay with it. We need to not jump on every trend and give something our fan base can rally behind. We need a brand that is ours and ours alone.
It has been 20 years since our inception, and simply put, the Cottonmouth is dated and needs a revamp. It is not up to the standards that we hold our team to. The logo does not lend itself well to production and gets very “muddy” when seen from a far distance. We wanted to create something that, “should accomplish consistency with a sleek, more professional and modern feel but sticking with traditional aspects.” Through our research we wanted a new logo system that evoked certain emotions:
But most importantly ....Different than any other SPHL logo
Who we are
We are The River The Chattahoochee is in our blood, both as a team and as a community. Much like our namesake we live in and around the water
We like being different Not because it is trendy or it will garner attention, but because it is the right thing to do for the team.
We are rooted in history We want to embrace where we come from in our brand. Whether that be the river or our architecture, our brand should reflect us as a community
Looking to the future We want to create a brand that can evolve with our fan base. Something clean and crisp, yet aggressive and youthful.
Color palette
Gone are the days of our fans not knowing our colors. These primary colors will be just that, primary. Our stadium will be full of Chattahoochee royal blue with accents of yellow and black. We will match our arena and vice versa. A new fan will think the stadium was built for us and only us.
Hex: # ffe500 RGB: 255 | 230 | 0 CMYK: 2 | 4 | 99 | 0 Closest PMS: 102 C
Hex: # 0455A4 RGB: 4 | 85 | 164 CMYK: 97 | 74 | 1 | 0 Closest PMS: 2728 C This is a bright royal blue. We are leaving Navy behind and embracing color. This bright royal is akin to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hex: # 000000 RGB: 0 | 0 | 0 CMYK: 70 | 50 | 30 | 100 To ground our brand and not be too bright
Not your average Athletic Gold. This yellow is closer to the Swedish Flag.
These colors will be harder to find, but still in our brand. They are here to support the primaries, and never be the center of attention.
Hex: # 5497BE RGB: 84 | 151 | 1904 CMYK: 68 | 29 | 13 | 0 Closest PMS: 7688 C
Hex: # c92340 RGB: 201 | 35 | 64 CMYK: 15 | 99 | 75 | 4 Closest PMS: 1795 C
Traditionally called Columbia in production this accent color will make the Chattahoochee Royal pop, and give depth to our logos
A solid red, this is just for the tongue. Should almost never be used in any other circumstance.
Logos
This is our logo of the future for the Cottonmouths. Clean and crisp, yet aggressive and fierce. Playing with our history, it remains the head of a snake, yet it is now angled and has more “snarl.” The crest of it’s head even has a subtle symbology to the waters of the Chattahoochee. It’s bold features allow it to be clear from a fans point of view, or embroidered on a hat, yet detailed enough so that when large has more detail.
The logo stays the same in all colored backgrounds and situations. When in 1-color situations, there are some variations that can be used. The white stroke around the logo can be removed if deemed necessary, but should be used with caution.
For production, the full color logo should be used whenever possible, with the 1 color option as second in line, but there are situations where that does not always work. There are simplified color options for this logo, but should rarely, if ever, be used. A good example of use is small embroidery or small silkscreen, where number of colors could drastically increase production price for barely viewable return.
This logo technically has 6 colors, but using the material it is printed on (i.e. don’t print royal when it is on a royal shirt) we can remove a color
The tongue can be changed to yellow if necessity
The Columbus Blue accents can also be changed to royal if necessity
The primary logo uses the snake head from the crest logo and incorporates the team name. The team name is stylized with not only edgy typography, but also with a subtle snake skin pattern to create a subtle gradient effect.
The logo alters in different colored backgrounds and situations for legibility. These logos are labeled for use on light and dark backgrounds.
For production, the full color logo should be used whenever possible, with the 1 color option as second in line, but there are situations where that does not always work. There are simplified color options for this logo, but should rarely, if ever, be used. A good example of use is small embroidery or small silkscreen, where number of colors could drastically increase production price for barely viewable return.
This logo technically has 6 colors, but using the material it is printed on (i.e. don’t print royal when it is on a royal shirt) we can remove a color
The tongue can be changed to yellow if necessity
The Columbus Blue accents can also be changed to royal if necessity
The text wrap logo incorporates a full snake body wrapped around the team name. Great for things like merchandise and any extreme horizontal layout (i.e. website headers and stadium signage).
The logo stays the same in all colored backgrounds and situations. When in 1-color situations, there are some variations that can be used.
For production, the full color logo should be used whenever possible, with the 1-color option as second in line, but there are situations where that does not always work. There are simplified color options for this logo, but should rarely, if ever, be used. A good example of use is small embroidery or small silkscreen, where number of colors could drastically increase production price for barely viewable return.
This logo technically has 6 colors, but using the material it is printed on (i.e. don’t print royal when it is on a royal shirt) we can remove a color
The tongue can be changed to yellow if necessity
The Columbus Blue accents can also be changed to royal if necessity, yet these accents are removed inside the letters that create the shadow effect.
One - Color
Multi - Color
There are may variations to the text lockups for different looks and styles within the brand. This is not a simple font, but an altered custom design. It is designed to both give emotions of snakes, while also a masculine, industrial feel resembling the Columbus Iron Works.
Color
Multi - Color
Black / WHite
One - Color
Supporting Marks
This logo is to show our true connection with our community. Though this mark is never to be used as a primary logo on a jersey crest, it could be used as a secondary logo on a shoulder patch. It’s main use should be for merchandise.
Full Color
Another logo is to show our true connection with our fan base. It’s main use should be for merchandise, yet could be used for a 3rd jersey or shoulder patch logo.
For production, the full color logo should be used whenever possible, with the 1-color option as second in line, but there are situations where that does not always work. There are simplified color options for this logo, but should rarely, if ever, be used. A good example of use is small embroidery or small silkscreen, where number of colors could drastically increase production price for barely viewable return.
This logo technically has 6 colors, but using the material it is printed on (i.e. don’t print royal when it is on a royal shirt) we can remove a color
The tongue can be changed to yellow if necessity
The Columbus Blue accents can also be changed to royal if necessity
This is a mark that should seldom, if ever, be used, but if a particular piece is repeating the same logo over and over, this can be used to show depth (i.e. game program).
GO SNA
Typography
AKES GO
A display typeface is used sparingly and only for large formats such as billboards, signage, and uniforms.
HOT COFFEE
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890 A headline type should be used more often than the display type. This can be used has headers and call-outs in long form body copy such things as websites, programs, and other collateral.
Body Body Body Main body font is “Arial� which comes in many different weights.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc aliquam, neque quis semper euismod, augue dui tincidunt neque, a mollis diam massa sit amet erat. Proin eu volutpat tellus. Morbi aliquet sem ligula, ac porttitor ligula malesuada ut. Nam ut quam eu nunc fringilla condimentum. Ut eu scelerisque mauris. Aliquam feugiat leo eleifend, sollicitudin neque et, consectetur risus. Sed id risus convallis orci sollicitudin elementum. Vivamus congue rhoncus diam, hendrerit auctor mi venenatis non. In eleifend tortor lectus, nec rhoncus nibh elementum sed. Morbi dui lacus, vulputate at dolor id, lacinia blandit odio. Suspendisse velit dolor, lobortis et ipsum sit amet, rutrum condimentum nunc. Duis vel nisl ut nisi sollicitudin gravida. Donec lacinia turpis ut nibh lobortis, nec sollicitudin tellus sollicitudin. Fusce dignissim arcu eget dui vehicula commodo. Duis nec nibh orci. Ut in porttitor quam. Proin malesuada commodo nibh, sit amet mollis magna aliquet imperdiet. Duis a nulla condimentum ipsum vehicula luctus eu in lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Aliquam pretium tellus nec cursus sodales. Curabitur justo tortor, ultrices et mauris vel, dictum aliquam magna. In lorem elit, ultrices vitae molestie sed, molestie nec libero. Nullam eget sem at risus tincidunt sagittis vitae nec purus. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Donec blandit ac justo volutpat gravida. Etiam gravida orci vitae ligula venenatis vehicula. Pellentesque non nulla et neque ullamcorper tincidunt nec vitae ante. Etiam scelerisque malesuada quam pellentesque venenatis. Sed sed sapien congue, malesuada urna quis, tempus dui. Nullam faucibus accumsan dictum. Sed sodales mattis dui quis iaculis.
Patterns
The Barn has produced a seamless snake skin pattern custom for the Columbus Cottonmouths. It is best used as a layer over top of a color such as blue or black. Due to the nature of the pattern when layered, it should put into “multiply” if on a lighter color like blue, or “lighten” on a darker color like black. The opacity should be brought down from there to create the desired effect.
snake_skin.ase
This is a seamless pattern file that needs to be brought into Adobe Illustrator. This will allow all future needs of this pattern to be used flawlessly
snake_skin_expand.ai
This is a large vector file with the pattern file expanded. This can be used with a little more speed than the .ase file.
snake_skin.jpg
This is a full jpeg of the expanded file. It can be used with a little more ease in programs like Photoshop
uniforms
Loosely based on the Phoenix Coyotes template, but adding in subtle textures to push the brands originality and direction towards the future. Initial design looks fairly traditional for an older fan base, but the texture and detail, when up close, pulls in a younger demographic.
g. gohard g. gohard
g. gohard
Collar.
Pulled directly from our stadium chant, making a truely intimate connection with our fan base. Using the Hot Coffee typeface.
Showing pride in our city.
g. gohard
Back tail design.
Shoulder logo.
Pattern design.
g. gohard
“Watermark” snake skin effect in the large blue area on arm. Won’t be visible unless right on top of jersey, giving depth to design/brand
The typeface used in the numbers is actually custom and an altered version of Hot Coffee to be more legibile on a jersey. It is placed with all other logo files and ready for production. The Snake Skin pattern is more prominent inside the numbers than on the arms. Name plates can be used in the regular Hot Coffee font.
When put together with primarily royal gloves and pants, the overall design will look something like this.
Loosely based on the Phoenix Coyotes template, but adding in subtle textures to push the brands originality and direction towards the future. Initial design looks fairly traditional for an older fan base, but the texture and detail, when up close, pulls in a younger demographic.
g. gohard g. gohard
g. gohard
Collar.
Pulled directly from our stadium chant, making a truely intimate connection with our fan base. Using the Hot Coffee typeface.
Showing pride in our city.
g. gohard
Back tail design.
Shoulder logo.
Pattern design.
g. gohard
“Watermark� snake skin effect in the large black area on arm. Wont be visible unless right on top of jersey, giving depth to design/brand
The typeface used in the numbers is actually custom and an altered version of Hot Coffee to be more legibile on a jersey. It is placed with all other logo files and ready for production. The Snake Skin pattern is more prominent inside the numbers than on the arms. Name plates can be used in the regular Hot Coffee font.
When put together with primarily royal gloves and pants, the overall design will look something like this.
This brand and all designs were produced with love and attention by The Barn. We thank you very much for your trust in our agency to produce such a game changing new brand for your organization and your fan base. We hope we have created something we call a “franchise brand.� A brand that will not only stand the test of time, but make an emotional connection to your audience. We hope to work with you again on other projects and we wish you all the luck in the future.
Nick Matarese President / Creative Director
TheBarnCreative.ORG
Designed and developed by The Barn | TheBarnCreative.ORG