Davis, California is home to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, as well as the first bike lanes to be implemented in the United States. And although the city is only 11 square miles, it boasts over 100 miles of bike paths and trails. The name High Wheelers – a common nickname for antique penny-farthing style bicycles – was chosen during our naming process to honor the city’s cycling roots.

As we entered the design phase of branding, we took inspiration from the rich history of cycling graphics. Early bicycle advertising often emphasized a cycle’s speed by using imagery associated with flight: planes, rockets, and wings. This direction felt perfect for the name High Wheelers and led us to create the winged high-wheeled bicycle that became the brand’s primary logomark.

The winged direction was carried throughout supporting brandmarks. Custom-designed wordmarks –created with Home and Away uniforms in mind – mimic the features of the primary logo with winged details and left-pointing serifs that add a sense of speed. Taking further cues from cycling, we created a team badge inspired by the badges that so often adorned the head tubes of bikes in years past. A retro-inspired color palette, meanwhile, bridges the aesthetics of cycling and baseball while also providing a unique brand color combination.

Home, Away, and Alternate uniforms were designed using the brand marks to their fullest. The primary logo and badge are featured prominently across each look. Meanwhile, the arched wordmarks, plus a standalone “Y” mark, carry the theme of high-flying speed throughout the uniform graphics. Finally, a retro-inspired number set and tricolor stripe complete the look for a set of uniforms that feel both classic and current at once.

In addition to the main uniforms, we also designed a “throwback” uniform that imagines the look of a fictional turn of the century version of this team. As the team’s official location name is Yolo (short for Yolo County), we had an opportunity to use this alternate identity to celebrate the team’s home city of Davis. From a design perspective, this alternate uniform also allowed us to explore the design language of an earlier era – specifically, that of the turn of the 20th century – from which both cycling and baseball can trace their origins.

The High Wheelers have put these uniforms to use in their inaugural season. Whether they’re playing in Davis, or on the road for a Pioneer League matchup, the iconic cycling imagery of the brand keeps their hometown pride on display. They’ve had some fun bringing brand elements to life in creative ways, adding dimensional logos to a championship belt and attaching the team badge to the head tubes of actual custom High Wheeler bicycles!