Some things about the Houston Rockets organization make sense. For instance, with a NASA launch site close by in Corpus Christi, TX, it makes sense that there is a team called the Rockets in Houston. However, the fact that they originated in San Diego complicates that fact. Houston just seems like a fitting place for a team called the Rockets, much like Dallas is the only place where a team named the Stars really made sense to move to.
Over their lifespan, the Rockets have tried their hand at numerous redesigns. None seemed to stick, save for the fact that they won two championships in these:
After winning back-to-back championships in 1994 and ’95, the team decided that was a great time for a makeover. What followed was perhaps one of the dumbest looking logos in NBA history. And no three-peat to boot.
At eight years, this design aesthetic lasted longer than it should have for the poor rockets. Perhaps realizing that they didn’t have much to draw on in terms of creativity (the most prominent feature in most of their logos was a basketball, not a rocket), they decided to go “simple” for their current design, introduced in 2003:
I give the design crew who came up with this props for working in a rocket on a launchpad, or whatever that is going on there. But the reason I put “simple” in quotes is because this design is quite deceptive. They dropped the yellow, opting only to use red and white as the teams colors (except that the alternate jersey is basically their heyday jersey), but take a look at these monstrosities…there is way too much going on for anyone’s liking unless they are Don King:
Don’t get me wrong…red and white is a classic color combination. But it’s being put to use much more effectively for the Chicago Bulls (and the Raptors too, for that matter).
If you as a designer have to add unnecessary, curved stripes to a “simplistic” aesthetic to add “flair,” how does a red flag not go up? This design is bipolar in what it wants to be. You can have a minimal design with more than two colors.
The team’s court design is Exhibit C in why the Rockets current aesthetic is lacking in taste. They want to be minimal, yet what
If you are a Rockets fan and I am offending you with my distaste for this terrible aesthetic, here is another comment from another Rockets fan on Sportslogos.com, ingmar66: “It is time for a brand new logo, Houston! Be creative with the Rocket theme. Put a retro Jetsons twist to it. As for the previous logos, I like the colour scheme and the lettering of the 72-94 logo (and it has the look of a NASA badge), but it is lacking a rocket. The 95-02 version is horrible with its bevels and Flying Tiger rocket.”
Just so you know, I have harbored the same feelings before finding these people who are of the same opinion as myself. And it hasn’t been too hard to find them. So whatever kind of market research the Rockets had to do (if any) to get to this design, they must have went through the woodwork trying to find complete idiots. No one wants to see a team play on this court, or in these jerseys. I feel bad for James Harden that he has to look so lame when he’s crushing his opponents. Definitely doesn’t help him in the smack-talking department to be looking like this:
Wrap Up
The Rockets have never given themselves much to build on in terms of a solid look for their brand. What they did have was a logo that, although devoid of anything rocket-related, achieved immortality thanks to an epic squad who won back-to-back championships in the mid-90s. The organization let this success go to its head, and right when its look was officially classic, they started toying around with one terrible idea after another.
The current aesthetic is perhaps the most minimal that is currently in use by any NBA franchise, but unfortunately it is not minimal in a good way. Though it’s pretty cool that they managed to incorporate the R in an innovative way for their primary logo, they have narrowed their colors down to just red and white, which feels sterile. For any team that uses these colors, there is always some amount of black thrown it. Why does the current jersey need those dumb looking stripes? Because it doesn’t hold its own. The stripes only make matters worse. They are an indication that the design does not work. Scrap it all.
If your alternate jersey is one that has been worn by the team in a previous era, do you really need to wonder why, if you’re the team in control of those decisions? People want to see the Rockets play in those jerseys. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Use it on every occasion and toy around with your alternates. There is a reason that design has stuck around for so long.
It seems like it shouldn’t be that hard to come up with a cool design for a team called the Rockets, but the organization likes to make it hard on themselves. And if you think I’m lying, here is a user-submitted court design that was shared by Kevin on Sportslogos.com:
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