When the New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn in April, they got a new moniker – the Brooklyn Nets – and with it, a new identity. Minority owner Jay-Z took it upon himself to design a new logo – the only one in the NBA whose primary colors are black and white, an homage, he says, to the New York City Transit Authority subway signs from the 1950s.
Jay-Z explains the design choices saying “[the logo] is classic and strong. It’s back to Brooklyn and what we’re about. It’s real gritty. We’re not about flash … You know, the roots of Brooklyn. It’s a bold, strong, simple logo.”
But not everyone is as excited about the new logo. Finding himself underwhelmed by the Jay-Z branding, designer Andrew Guirguis started a personal campaign called Reset The Nets, “to take on the task of designing the sort of logos and t-shirts I wish Nets HQ would’ve done themselves.”
I’m not terribly impressed by the logo as as stand-alone identity, but do think that their team store is full of street-cred worthy gear.