Designer Diary: Thunder Redesigned

This last summer, I was asked if I would be willing to help with some creating artwork for the "Sounds of Thunder" marching band show last fall. After completing that task, a new opportunity presented itself. Over the 6 years of Thunder's existence it has had several different logos but each logo had limited versatility, and therefore Thunder didn't really have an actual full-fledged identity. A decision was made that there needed to be one design that would identify Thunder and what it stands for. Having this opportunity to assist the group that gave me so much over the years was very exciting and something I couldn't pass up.

Creating an identity for an organization is no simple task. The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind, but the trick is deciding which words you want your picture to portray. In order to create the perfect image for a group, it takes a lot of time researching and brainstorming to come up with that one mark that encompasses what that organization is all about. Having spent five years marching with Thunder and experiencing drum corps first hand has helped me understand as to what would be required for a new identity system.

When I first started doing research, I looked at all the other drum corps logos as well as some professional sports teams to see what worked for them. Thunder's look needed to be similar to these, yet something unique and different. After some brainstorming, I decided a good fit would be a design that was sophisticated, but also contained an element of edginess as well. Versatility was also a factor, as the logo would be reproduced across multiple mediums, from web to print and letterheads to t-shirts, yet still retain all the above mentioned factors.

After hours of sketching and more brainstorming, inspiration struck. The look I came up with and ultimately used contained the diamond on the front of the uniform. The diamond has been a part of the uniform since the first year and has been present since. Charter members have fond memories about the look... ask anyone of us about the first time we saw the uniforms and we will most likely smile and mention something about "Power Rangers." Joking aside, including the diamond and modifying it to reflect features of the past and present allows everyone who participated in the Thunder, from rookies to veterans to alumni, to connect with the new look.

From there, more ideas began falling into place. To match the shape of the diamond I created unique lettering then skewed the whole design to a slight angle to give it a bit more "edge." When the final form finally took shape, it came time to come up with a color scheme. Sticking with the current uniform colors as well as the original color of the diamond, I felt that a monochrome color scheme with gray/silver as the primary color would work the best. Not only is it a pretty unique palette among other drum corps, it is versatile and can match well with many different colors if needed. Thunderclouds are also gray as well, so it fits in nicely in a literal aspect as well!

I'd like to thank the Board of Directors for this opportunity. I hope to continue to help Thunder on and of the field in whatever way I can! Go Thunder!!

Casey Whitehead
Graphic Designer