New image puts Dragons in different league

A national league basketball club has enlisted the help of a York graphic design agency as it aims to ride the wave of renewed interest in the sport following the Olympic Games. 

United by Design has carried out a rebranding exercise for the Bradford Dragons, resulting in a funky, modern image that better reflects its aims and objectives. The club’s previous logo has been replaced with fiery dragon branding that is sure to appeal to a whole new audience. The fresh new look will help the Dragons to attract more players and supporters to the club, as well as creating interest from potential sponsors. 

As many members of the British public have been inspired to take up a sport in the wake of the Olympics, the Bradford Dragons are keen to attract members of their local community to the club, which offers opportunities for players of all ages to take part in competitive basketball. 

Owen Turner, United by Design’s owner and creative director, says “Branding is one of the most important ways that sporting organisations can realise new growth opportunities. However, when applied to sport creating a brand is about much more than simply designing a logo. You have to articulate the core idea of the brand to win the hearts and minds of both players and supporters, creating a unified team culture. Just look at basketball players like Michael Jordan, big American NBA teams and sports businesses such as Nike; all have invested in, and benefit from, the power of branding”. 

Mark Mills, Commercial Manager at Bradford Dragons, says “We set United by Design quite a tough task, in that the Dragons’ logo needed to be made more appealing whilst still retaining important features such as our traditional club colours, and they rose to the challenge brilliantly. We really want to inspire young people to take up basketball in the light of the Olympic legacy. Our new image should now help us to attract more spectators, coaches, players and sponsors. We have ambitious development plans for the Dragons, and the new look definitely gives us a more professional image that will help us to monetise our brand”. 

United by Design’s development of the Bradford Dragons logo has expressed a dramatic shift in its brand positioning, creating a compelling brand identity that reflects the team’s attitude and culture. By collaborating with the team’s committee the agency has developed an iconic emblem that places the dragon as the central graphic element, and represents the team name with a bespoke typeface, created in-house. This will no doubt stand out in the sea of largely mediocre club branding, positioning the Dragons for maximum long-term success. 

United by Design has recently been shortlisted for Small Business of the Year in the York Press Business awards. Since its launch four years ago the agency has carried out design projects for many diverse clients such as the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Lu Lin Teas, the Advertising Standards Agency and the National Museum of Scotland. 

United by Design has also been involved in a wide range of local educational projects, working with organisations including Young Enterprise, York St John University and NYBEP, the North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership.

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