Chicago Tribune January 16th 2005

 When the Charlotte Bobcats emerge from the visitors' locker room at the United Center on Jan. 27, basketball fans might be surprised by the bright orange uniforms. They'd be more surprised to know how much effort went into designing them.

Back in December 2002, Black Entertainment Television owner Robert Johnson was awarded the NBA franchise and set about creating an identity for a team that existed only on paper. (The Charlotte Hornets had left town in 2002.)

Johnson wanted his team's identity--name, logo, color palette, uniform--to be unique without crossing over to outlandish. So he recruited Chris Weiller from the New York Knicks to oversee the birth of the Bobcats as vice president of marketing and communications. "The goal was to have an identity that Charlotte could rally around, one that didn't seem like a regular old sports- franchise identity," Weiller said. "The coaches, players, and me are all going to go. But this identity will stay here forever."

As such, they took their time making decisions. Citizens of Charlotte were queried for team names--they proffered more than 1,200, from the Atoms to the Zoom. Johnson, Weiller and the rest of the management team passed on the Courtjesters, the Fire Ants and the Panhandlers before agreeing on the name Bobcats.

The color question followed. "We wanted to develop uniqueness through color," Weiller said. "It took us a while to land on the right orange." That orange is a burnt shade, just shy of red, and is unique in pro sports.

They introduced the color to the city of Charlotte by painting the town, naturally, orange. Orange banners. Orange billboards. Even an orange airport.

Then, they brought in an expert from Chicago. "We look for ways to enhance a team's image," said Tom O'Grady of sports and entertainment branding firm Gameplan Branding Group. O'Grady founded the Lincoln Park-based firm, which has consulted everyone from football teams to Britney Spears, after 15 years creating all-star logos and catch phrases ("I love this game!") for the NBA.

O'Grady oversaw a series of what he calls "sanity checks" for the new team. Do the colors work? Is the uniform broadcast-friendly? He performed TV tests to gauge readability of the Bobcats logo. He created samples of prototypes to determine marketability. (Scores of prototype uniforms never will see a basketball court.) The NBA reviewed each step.

There were many criteria to meet, but one goal. "Ultimately it's about making a uniform in which the players can perform well," he said.

To achieve that goal, fashion designers Alexander Julian and Kerry Mitchell were employed to marry style and functionality, adding touches like hidden seams that don't irritate the skin.

"I'm not a uniform expert, but they feel good," says the Bobcats' rookie standout Emeka Okafor.

As the expansion Bobcats had no players, they received no input from the future models. But reaction among the fashion-savvy ballers has been positive (despite a few grumbles that the orange is too bright).

"The uniforms are different but they help create our identity," Okafor said. "They look good on TV and I've heard a lot of positive remarks about them."

Fans are showing their approval with their wallets; Okafor's is already the eighth best-selling jersey in the league.

Next week, local basketball fans can judge whether the Charlotte Bobcats uniforms--whose creation spanned nearly two years--are a stylish slam dunk.

The Charlotte Bobcats' fashion statement

"Ultimately, there's not a lot of real estate on an NBA uniform, it's just a tank top and shorts," says branding consultant Tom O'Grady, belying the details that went into the creation of the Charlotte Bobcats uniform.

Front and back V-neck creates a wider opening and allows for more freedom of movement.

Matching italicized fonts on text: Home "Bobcats" and road "Charlotte" mirror each other in font and style.

Color: Burnt orange is unique to professional sports with secondary colors blue, black and silver. "Fans like their color palettes served like meat and potatoes--something they can understand," O'Grady said.

Shimmer fabric with Reebok's "play dry technology" reduces sweat retention to lighten the uniform.

Butt print reading "Bobcats" or "Charlotte" is opposite text on chest.

Side panels with diagonal piping enable air flow and showcase the Bobcats logo.

Bobcat logos on shorts feature a side profile, emphasizing speed and motion. Most NBA logos are head-on profiles. (Picture the flared nostrils and fur-rowed brow of the Chicago Bull.)