Ballistic Discs Logo
Overview
Ballistic Discs is a disc golf company manufacturing and selling discs, bags, apparel, and other equipment used in the sport. The owner is a retired U.S. airman and wanted to combine his former career with his lifelong past-time to start a business in his home state of Delaware.
The Ballistic Discs brand plays off the U.S. military naming each disc and other equipment after U.S. aircraft or piece of arsenal. This unique characteristic helps the brand stick out from the typical sporty disc golf brands and with the right bold visual identity, can easily capture the attention of the players.
Although the brand can quickly capture the attention of the players, there is one main challenge to getting them to purchase their discs: the competition. There are a couple top brands that lead the race in the disc golf industry, and to be able to climb the top, Ballistic Discs needs a trustworthy and high-quality brand and an eye-catching and memorable visual identity.
Finding the Right Direction
There were two main directions to go with this logo: the typical sporty look, which was already being used by a majority of the disc golf brands out there and hope to play off of them, or embrace the unique characteristics of the brand capturing the militaristic in a visual way.
Although it should be obvious, I decided to focus on the latter which would not only work well with the brand, but it would easily stick out in the sea of logos made with swashes.
Through my brainstorming and thumbnailing sessions, I tried various ways to play with the type to make them form shapes of missiles, bullets, and other projectiles, but eventually landed on creating a winged emblem that I would be able to incorporate subtle details that would be engaging for disc golf players.
Refining the Mark
The Ballistic Discs logo required a bit of refinement both in the winged emblem to get the outline of the discs accurate as well as the lettering.
I started off doing the lettering freehand, but my lettering style did not meet what I needed. To get the right feel, I searched for a font that would allow me to use it as a template that I could modify to best suit the logo.
It’s in the Details
The details are where this logo becomes quite interesting and versatile for many applications.
Winged Logo mark
The wings of the logo mark are profiles of three of the types of discs used in disc golf:
- Distance driver
- Mid-range driver
- Putter
Although subtle, this detail is enough to be noticed and admired by the average disc golf player.
Logotype
The type is based off of Acumin Semi Condensed Bold, a sleek and straight-forward sans serif font that slightly imitates the legible type used on fighter jets. The stencil effect is added to create a uniqueness to the logotype and quickly lends itself for special applications outdoors where the logo will be used and seen frequently during disc golf tournaments.
Final Concept
Considering the many applications the Ballistic Discs logo will be used, the visual branding needed to be extremely versatile.
The package I have created allows the logo to be used in a few different ways while still maintaining consistency. Whether using the full logo or just utilizing the logo mark or logotype, this logo can be used both digitally, in print while being unique and recognizable in the disc golf industry.
Not only is the logo versatile, it’s uniqueness stands out from the typical sporty logos with swashes used by other brands in the industry. Although it doesn’t match the typical disc golf brand, the winged emblem and stencil type attracts the younger and mostly male audience that plays disc golf.
This final concept provides Ballistic Discs with a logo that they can use on virtually anything while maintaining a recognizable consistency effortlessly.
Are you interested in working with me on your own branding identity?
Let's talk!