Branding systems for licensing programs—an immersive visual experience

I have worked on all kinds of significant and immersive licensing initiatives for the better part of a quarter century now, both in sports and out.

Eight years ago, my friends at Minor League Baseball approached me about a new licensing program that they wanted to kick off—the Minor League Baseball Hometown Collection. The concept was (and is) a sound one—protecting intellectual properties, resurrecting vintage logos, uniform lettering, and headwear marks, and creating brand new vintage-looking art—all as a way to generate revenue, of course, but also a strong statement in terms of telling a story, a celebration of the rich history of the Minors, told in loving visual detail.

We started out with a primary logo, of course. We then quickly pivoted to creating artwork for individual Minor League teams, most of them long defunct. The appeal to licensees and stakeholders was obvious right off the bat (see what I did there?)

My services include brand consultation and overall program branding, as well as research and digitalization of historic art, and design of retro-inspired theme art for individual franchises.

All authentic art is carefully researched and digitized in order to maintain its original visual integrity, with an eye for accuracy and detail. The retro-style art is rooted in the aesthetics of a certain place and time, a great opportunity to flex my design muscles and love of vintage design, especially typography.

This is an ongoing project, with many hundreds of visual pieces for dozens of franchises already being leveraged by MiLB and its stakeholders.

Some jobs can be categorized as sprints, others as marathons. This is a marathon.

Over the years, I’ve assisted other sports leagues and time-honored consumer brands (such as Kellogg’s and General Motors) in protecting their visual heritages and leveraging crafted visual assets for long-term profit.

Do you have such a brand? E mail me —I’d welcome the opportunity to work with you.