Hasta La Creative!

The National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Knighthawks will move to Halifax in time to play their next season, which begins in December 2019. They’ll be rebranded, under their new name: the Halifax Thunderbirds.

In creating the new name and brand elements, all aspects of the team’s visual identity were covered. This includes everything in all channels, from logos and uniforms to merchandise and social media.

Starting with the name, the Thunderbirds brand taps into lacrosse’s First-Nations heritage. The team’s owner, whose background is aboriginal, made that a priority.

The design adopts Atlantic Canadian Mi’kmaq art style, relying on heavy line illustrations and bright fill colours.

The primary logo’s thunderbird imagery is based on an osprey, a bird common to the region and known in the Mi’kmaq language as a “golden eagle.”

The secondary logo focuses on a single feather, derived from the primary logo, but incorporating the full colour palette. Its colours represent unity of spirit among the spectrum of fan constituencies throughout Halifax and surrounding areas. It appears as a shoulder patch on team uniforms, and it’s a graphic element on Thunderbirds merchandise.

The uniform’s design is unique in the National Lacrosse League. It deliberately takes cues from hockey uniforms. This was done to modernize the team’s look, and to help market the game in an area where hockey enjoys massive fan support, while lacrosse’s popularity is still developing.

A special third jersey was designed as well, for Military Appreciation Night. The Canadian Forces have a strong presence in Halifax, and are an important market segment. The city is home to Canada’s Atlantic Fleet, and the jersey identifies the team as “Thunderbirds Fleet,” in a nod to Halifax’s rich naval history. Its shoulder patch features a battleship motif, while its central emblem is a chevron crest incorporating a graphic thunderbird. Its purple and yellow colour scheme is derived from the Royal Canadian Navy crest.

The team’s ownership and league insiders have enthusiastically embraced this rebranding. It will be introduced to fans later in 2019.