Agree with most of that. The design process was a collaborative effort between Alfafa Studio in NY and Eiko Ishioka (the fashion designer you mentioned). She's really well known for her costume work in films, and it's amazing. I think she passed away a few years ago. Here's the alfafa breakdown of the process. They seem to think it was a great success! I'm with you. You don't rebrand off back to back championships. You rebrand when entering a new phase all together. The Yao era was the right time, but could've been executed better. http://alfalfastudio.com/projects/houston-rockets/ Project Brief For many years in the National Basketball Association, the Houston Rockets were the team that rarely enjoyed the spotlight. But in 2003 that all changed: the 7’5” rookie Yao Ming was emerging as a wildly popular superstar on the court. A beautiful new arena in downtown Houston drew more fans and showcased the rising fortunes of the team and, like Cinderella finally going to the ball, the Rockets were re-dressed in enviable fashion. Sleek new uniforms and a matching logo were introduced to signal the arrival of the now formidable Rockets. When the owners of the Rockets made the decision to commission the new uniforms and logo, they wanted a look that would be revolutionary—something that would set a new standard in professional sports design. So they searched for a designer from outside the traditional sports graphic branding houses. Approach The logo design for the Rockets marries the energy of basketball with the legacy of the team's name. The logo is a sleek icon, capturing the thrust and thrill of a rocket’s lift-off and bringing it into the context of the court. Because the futuristic uniforms and the logo were designed in tandem, the complete look is organic and fluid. Even the new typeface is custom-designed, in synch with the style of the logo. The letterforms and numbers on the player’s jerseys and shorts were precisely drawn so that every single digit can be read well from a distance, whether by a fan in the arena or by one watching the game on television. Outcome While other marks in professional basketball are often cartoon-like and overly illustrative, the Rockets new identity succeeds in departing from these expected styles in mainstream sport graphics. It is simple, classic, energetic, and forward-thinking. Yet the logo is also extremely practical and versatile from a marketing point of view, easily adaptable for use on merchandise and billboards, in broadcast and signage, and on ticket stubs and T-shirts. In this way, the design team (Eiko Ishioka and Alfalfa Studio) met the expectations of the Rockets’ owners for a new standard in sports design. Their organic and collaborative design process has produced the most innovative and popular identity the NBA has seen in years. - See more at: http://alfalfastudio.com/projects/houston-rockets/#sthash.9okYA8ga.dpuf
The problem is that the whole approach with Eiko and Alfalfa was wrong. You dont change the logo, design and color scheme twice in an eight year period. We have had too many varying degrees of uniforms and it takes away from the tradition. You dont see the Yankees, Lakers and Celtics changing thier brand. In addition, this is not the fashion industry, we are a sports team. There was no need to "revolutionize" sports uniforms. Besides I never see any Rockets uniforms being worn outside of Houston, so they completely failed in that regard. It is not a jersey kids around the country are wearing. It's time to admit the failures and return to our yellow and mustard glory.
There was a link posted a few pages back which spoke about research in the 90's where the red and yellow wasn't working. This could be backed up by bad jersey sales. Even in the back-to-back years, we were only the 9th highest in Jersey sales. If all of you loved that uni so much, why were not many of you buying it back then? Simply, it is not a sexy jersey. It is only sexy now because we romanticize about our title years.
While that's true, one point to be made is that the players have openly said that they prefer the ketchup and mustard alternate uniform better than their current uniforms. Most of the fans seem to prefer the ketchup and mustard, even if it is because of nostalgia. I'm not sure how basketball fans in general feel about ketchup and mustard vs. red and silver, but the players didn't grow up Rockets fans and they seem to prefer the yellow.
I think more than anything, the players like the current "alternate" more because of the fact that the "shoulder cut" is thinner. I agree that thinner shoulder cut is more flattering and probably more comfortable. Just transfer that shoulder cut to the current jerseys.
Not sexy like the Lakers' purple and gold? Or the Celtics' green and white? Legacy matters, and it's long time that the Rockets revisit theirs.
You can't compare the Lakers/Celtics legacy with that of the Rockets. The Rockets return to the "red jerseys" (away from the blue) is their tip of the cap to the Rockets legacy.
I don't think its a bad thing that people are attached to our brand identity when our team was at it's best, when people had the most heart for our team. It means that at a certain point in our history our team had an iconic look. And, TBH, you're right, it's not the sexiest jersey, but since Les Alexander has been owner, we have had two rebrands that we're attempts to make our brand sexy or edgy or whatever, and both times have been pretty unsuccessful. I'd prefer for them to work off of the iconic look that to let themselves run wild. The later hasn't really worked out well for us.
Yeah, if there is to be a color adjustment, this is a combination I like. Red as fire, Grey as smoke makes sense for Rockets, and is pretty close to what they're doing now. I like the more grey take on it. Wonder if there's an opportunity to add a goldish yellow as a third accent color. Grey, Red, Goldish-Yellow ... with grey as the principal color? Does anyone run with that combo? Might get some slack from the Spurs with grey as the principal color...
Oh come on.. We had the same logo for 20+ years .. you don't change that **** after winning a championship. I don't care if you're not the Lakers or Celtics. I think the Rockets are probably the only team that's completely changed identity (colors and logo are completely different) two times in a 10 year span. It's ridiculous.. I still criticize Les for trying to cash in after 95 and then appeal to the chinese fans after we got Yao by making us look like takeout boxes in 03
yeah, i never understood changing it the year after, either...everyone loaded up on merchandise and then it was different...not only that, but it was a crap design. The only thing to conclude from it, is that he was trying to cash in. Since everyone was still sippin' the championship juice, they would go ahead and buy the merchandise again to represent.
Regardless of what I said, I still think the championship logo/unis are better than the pyjamas or current ones. I was simply stating the research done back then. I never said anything bad of the general design of the title jerseys other than colour. I believe bring back the old logo exactly as is but change the yellow. Bring back the unis exactly as they were in 94/95, but once again change the yellow. Either change it to silver to keep some continuity with our current identity.... or... change the yellow to a more washed out gold look (hopefully not too similar to Cavelier champagne colour). The other option is go with the alternate design and use that for the white home unis too. The hoops on the side of our jerseys now are disgusting.
Does anyone else keep reading this thread as "New Jersey Rockets?" Somehow it bothers me every time (oh no, not this thread again).
Thats not funny. My mom and my sister have that and every day is a struggle. But at least my mom and my sister are the same person.
I read your response and was gonna write something, then I read your name, and decided against it. *walking away awkward turtle style*
I like the current jerseys and I like being able to go back to the classic ketchup and mustard every now and then. Makes it feel special and you would lose that if you moved to them permanently.
