There is re-branding … and then there is what the Hawks did by unveiling new uniforms and color schemes Wednesday.
The team paid homage to its past but brought a look never before seen in the NBA. Gone, long gone, are simple red and blue. They have been replaced by Volt Green, Georgia Granite Gray and Torch Red — hues not found in your box of 164 Crayola crayons.
“We wanted to appeal to next generation Atlantans,” said Peter Sorckoff, Hawks senior vice president of marking and chief creative officer
The uniforms are a primary home white and a primary road gray with Atlanta across the chest in red and outlined in green. The alternate road red has ATL across the chest in black and outlined in green. The numbers and names on the back or the red and gray uniforms are in the green, which is a florescent version of the color worn in the 1970s. The shorts have red and green striping. The uniforms were modeled by Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore at Philips Arena.
In addition, the uniform change represents five firsts in the league, according to Sorckoff.
- The uniforms have a V-shaped feather background meant to capture an attacking Hawk.
- There is an asymmetrical design to the shorts with Pac-Man logo. Hawks is written on the shorts to have "Atlanta" and "Hawks" on all three uniforms.
- The green and gray are new to the NBA color palette.
- The waistbands are contrasting colors and feature the secondary logo. This enables the Hawks to mix and match uniforms.
- The uniform also features a custom sock in the three colors.
The uniforms also feature a green tab on the back with “True to Atlanta” written in script.
CEO Steve Koonin said he insisted the new design, more than a year in the works, have a green element to remember the team’s heritage. He called the re-design “the best of both worlds.”
The uniform change went through several focus groups and Hawks players were involved in one of the first and heard. The original design featured a flared shoulder sleeve that Korver insisted on changing as to not affect shooting.
The change brought about major reaction — both positive and negative — when first released by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday night and following the official unveiling. According to a poll on ajc.com, with 4,000 voters by Wednesday afternoon, 53 percent did not like the new look and 47 percent were in favor of it. The players on hand, including Mike Muscala modeling new merchandise, approved.
Korver recalled the team’s recent trip to London and his thoughts as he watched a local artist.
“I was like our stuff is so boring,” Korver said. “I like red, white and blue but Atlanta feels like it’s a little more than that. (I said) ‘We’ve got to bring back the Pac-Man. The Pac-Man is cool. This hawk I don’t really know him.’ I had no idea all this was in the works. It’s been cool to watch all this happen. I feel much cooler as a 34-year-old man in this uniform than I did before I put it on.”
The uniforms were designed by Rare Design’s Rodney Richardson. He said he spent time driving around Atlanta in search of the city’s identity and vibe.
“It has to capture the soul of the city and the region, the people that are part of the region because this is there team that they connect with,” Richardson said. “It has to capture the heart of the team and the organization and what they believe and what becomes their mantra as they seek to play and be the organization that they aspire to. And it has to capture whatever that (historical) totem is of the Hawks. We look at all three of those. … We find what makes these things special and unique. That tells us the story that we need to bring to life.”
The team also announced that later this summer, a Hawks license plate will be available in Georgia.
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