The Concept
Raleigh, NC was named for English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, who attempted to establish the first english colony in the new world in the early 1600’s. Sir Walter was eventually beheaded by axe, in London, for acts of treason. His final words were “Strke, man, strike.” a potential foreshadowing to his future return from the dead to haunt the baseball diamond. At the time, the exectution was deemed by many to be unjust. Now Sir Walter is back from the grave to seek revenge on all teams who stand in his way.
Behind the Design
The Sir Walter Concept was one that was added to the event for a little comic relief. Sure, no MLB team is going to go with the zombie-head of an English explorer as its mascot, but the story of Sir Walter’s unjust beheading, his strong association with the city of Raleigh and the alliteration of the name was just too good to pass up. The design was initially supposed to just be a floating head, but communcating that visually meant a little more gore, and I was already walking the line with this concept as it was.
For the colors, I chose burgundy, because it’s close to the tone you get when you blend NC State red, Duke blue and Tarheel Blue together. I coupled that with Carolina blue and a an off-white. Not only did these colors have significance to our region, but they also showcased a colorway reminiscent of the 1970s Phillies that I’ve always wished never left.
About the Designer
Lou Pascucci
Visual & UX Design, IBM
Raleigh, NC
Lou Pascucci is a lead visual and UX designer at IBM. He’s done design and branding work for both local business’ in Raleigh and national enterprise clients. Outside of his 9 to 5, Lou is a huge baseball fan, a member of the local sandlot baseball team (The Raleigh Reapers), a downtown resident, NC State alum and one of the initial group that started the MLB Raleigh campaign.
