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RARE Design Explains Approach In Adding Local Flavor To Future Jerseys

The New Orleans Pelicans and Hattiesburg's RARE Design teamed up to create the team's identity when the franchise shed the Hornets moniker.

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New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans

The NBA jersey-reveal season is almost over, and the New Orleans Pelicans have yet to issue an official release. However, the team is starting to embrace its history since the Hornets' days. It would not be surprising to see more localized touches on future jerseys.

The Pelicans again have partnered with RARE Design, the studio that brought the original Pelicans rebrand to life.

Designer Harry Richardson of Hattiesburg's RARE Design explained the process of  weaving a brand into a community and its culture.

RARE Design was founded by one of the industry's most respected artists, and the team carries Rodney Richardson's legacy today.

Rodney is Harry's father and opened RARE Design in Hattiesburg in 1999 after several years at Nike. Since then, his client list includes the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Texans, Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings, NASCAR, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

The 2020 University of Southern Miss Entrepreneur of the Year rebranded four NBA teams in over a decade. The Pelicans followed collaborations with the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, and Memphis Grizzlies. Harry explained the process behind helping brands refresh their story and what it means to team up with major league brands like the Birmingham Squadron and the Pelicans.

Operating out of an old Hattiesburg bakery might seem like a huge obstacle, but Rare thrives "in our distinction. In our space, we continually strive to demonstrate that you don't have to live in these megacities to tell good stories. If anything, authenticity is harder to find amid the tumult of megacities and bloated design agencies. Here, there are a few of us from different places and perspectives, all of us committed to finding the stories that define us."

For rebrands, "Every case is different. The Hornets' return to Charlotte was exciting because the homecoming revitalization story mixed with the play and the eliteness of being Jordan's first team in the NBA. It was more than just a cleanup or refresh. The Hornets' story was evolving and we got to help them write their next chapter. A rebrand can be about telling a new story; that's powerful. A rebrand can be about telling the same story better; that's powerful too."

"We have the capacity for a careful process, to develop the brand identity fully in all its forms. We can listen, build, adapt, and create in a way a single designer can't. For designers, the shortcoming is due to capacity, while big agencies can't deliver succinctly due to bureaucracy. There's no brand like a RARE brand because we have intentionally built our shop to stand apart from business-as-usual in our industry. We believe this allows us to tell stories more powerfully, clearly, and yes, authentically." Richardson detailed.

Looking big picture, RARE stays "on the cutting edge by sticking to the fundamentals. The basics of the brand are timeless: it's the story of identity, meaning, and significance. Our overarching process hasn't changed much in the last twenty years. We work to find the unifying characteristics of what we call the philosophical brand. What are the core characteristics defining you? What makes you who you are? Once those questions have been answered, we can begin developing the visual identity. The visual style and trends do change over time, but the heart of a healthy brand is timeless."

"Style and technique evolve over time but a good brand is timeless, and commitment to it builds a legacy. Some of the brands we admire most are 20 years old or more but still as fresh as ever. They've captured something special. They don't get bored with their brand and make unnecessary changes. They nurture it and hold it sacred."

The art can be complex, but at some point, the K.I.S.S (keep it simple, stupid) method works best. Don't get lost in the clutter was the RARE message.

"Focus on the story. The philosophical brand must come before the visual. A compelling visual brand only has meaning when it's built from a resonant self-understanding of who you are. It's not about selling a story, it's telling the story that is. It's living authenticity."

Brand identity has significant importance for the Pelicans and fans. Richardson expressed, "This is the challenge of a brand identity; our goal in every project is to find that heart and soul and intertwine it with the brand in a way that resonates across the spectrum of the team and its fans. At RARE we talk about brand relevance and resonance. It's not enough that a brand is in proximity to us, it needs to resonate with us. A resonant brand is one that we don't just see, we feel it. We embody it, we want to be a part of it."

Richardson had a touching note for the Pels12, who may be feeling any pain over past jerseys.

"In New Orleans, there is an incredibly rich heritage of cultural expression. The Pelican name is significant because it doesn't just tell a geographically adjacent story, it's the story of an animal that is at once beautiful and fierce. It hunts, it protects, it provides, even at the cost of spilling its own blood. Or the colorful expression of the city in its celebrative spirit. The team embodies the fierce protector combined with the party, the persistent celebration of a city committed to the joys of life."

Richardson concluded, "Sport does this for us naturally. Sport is about being spirited away from our daily cares and stress. It's about the enjoyment of a game: of our team that represents us, and win or lose, we were on that court today."

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