The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are one of the most successful and admired franchises in Minor League Baseball.
Lehigh Valley processed the steel that built America and the name IronPigs comes from “Pig Iron”, the raw material that’s used to create steel. The proud tradition of hard-work and determination continues to inspire one of the best fan experiences in sports.
We started our process of creating the IronPigs brand by flying to Pennsylvania to research what makes Lehigh Valley so special.
Like every new identity, we start the design process by cracking open our sketchbooks. This phase is always exciting and full of possibility. Our goal is simple, what kind of story do we want the brand to tell? After the first round, the team decided that they loved the idea of a pig in a suit of armor, almost a cross between Ironman and a blacksmith.
With that direction, we took to our computers and created our first set of logos. There was a general consensus that the logos were pretty good, but maybe not exactly what the team was looking for.
At Brandiose, we want you to be thrilled with the final results. “Pretty good” just doesn’t cut it. We never issue change orders, there are no additional fees to take a step backwards in the process, and we don’t stop until our clients love what we’re creating together.
So, we went back to our sketchbook.
After three more rounds of sketches, we started to feel like we were getting somewhere. In Round 2, the pig was simplified to just its head, but it retained some of the thematic elements like the goggles and bandana. In Round 3, we lost those thematic elements and started to explore ways to make the pig feel more like it was made of steel. By Round 4, we were exploring ways to reduce the character to its most basic elements.
The IronPigs identity has proven itself to be one of the most powerful in all of Minor League Baseball. Anchored by the iconic cap logo, the brand identity inspired an entire world of pigs blended with steel. The brand strikes the perfect tone of serious and fun, a perfect reflection of the fan experience at a IronPigs game; serious Triple-A baseball being played while fans chow down on pulled pork nachos and bacon-flavored cotton candy.
Coca-Cola Park® has become an iconic destination for fun in the Lehigh Valley. But before the park ever opened its first gate, we were given the opportunity to design the ballpark’s title sponsor logo. After exploring a handful of design directions, a simple, classic look was chosen.
Over the last 20 years, the quality of Minor League ballparks have continued to improve. The ballpark map, on the other hand, continued to look like cold architectural diagrams. So we set out to make Coca-Cola Park®’s maps match the fun of the ballpark itself.
When the IronPigs approached us to create an alternate-universe identity for their brand that celebrated the most delicious food on the planet, we knew we were working on an instant hit. What we didn’t realize was how many people needed to have a strip of bacon on the front of their hat. This infamous identity cemented Lehigh Valley as Bacon, USA and kicked off a new era of Minor League promotions and alternate identities like the Staten Island Pizza Rats and the Rochester Garbage Plates.
Whoever said “lightning doesn’t strike twice” has never met the IronPigs. A few years after the phenomenon that was Bacon, the ‘Pigs rolled out a new alternate identity call the “Steaks”, paying homage to everyone’s favorite sandwich from Philly. And of course, it wouldn’t be an authentic Cheesesteak if you didn’t have your choice of “wit” or “wit out”.
The IronPigs continue to prove that they’re hitmakers with alternate identities like a faux-back (fictional throwback) identity called the “Barbeque”, the Molten IronPigs, and an homage to everything retro-awesome in Philly; The Iron Liberty Bell.
In the Summer of 2018, SportsCenter started a weekly segment called “Minor League Promotion of the Week”. That Summer, Brandiose’s work was featured 8 times. One of those times was the IronPigs “Philly Special” night, featuring the Iron Liberty Bell and the infamous Philly Special Xs & Os from “The Big Game” embroidered on the back of every hat.
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