The Hanwha Eagles are a professional baseball club in the KBO League, based in Daejeon, South Korea. The team was founded in 1985 as the Binggrae Eagles and debuted in 1986 as the league’s seventh franchise, changing its name to Hanwha Eagles in 1993 after Binggrae’s separation from the Hanwha conglomerate.[1]
Design and History
In November 2024, ahead of the club’s 40th anniversary in 2025, the Hanwha Eagles unveiled a renewed brand identity and four new uniforms.[2] The rebranding was the result of a 14-month collaboration between the club, Matthew Wolff Design, and the Korean agency Grid, with Grid refining the rebranding strategy and visual elements.[3] Matthew Wolff, a graphic designer known for work with major U.S. sports clubs, participated in the renewal to create a clean and sophisticated image.[2]
The redesigned primary logo modernizes the emblem from the club’s 1999 Korean Series championship season.[3] The home uniform logo, based on white and orange, inherits the 1999 championship-era logo with a modern reinterpretation that expresses how eagles hunt.[2] The away uniform logo, using gray and navy as base colors, was made in an arch shape, showing an eagle perched at the top.[2]
The new identity also includes an eagle head logo with lightning bolts in the neck. This mark does not appear on the team’s uniforms but is used on the club’s website, merchandise, and a flag used in uniform photo shoots.[4] While orange remains in the color palette from previous seasons, it is now complemented by a dark shade of navy blue instead of black.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The rebranding is built around the slogan “RIDE THE STORM,” which captures the spirit of enduring adversity.[3] The brand concept was informed by fan research revealing that the eagle was more than a mascot, it was a symbol of perseverance.[3] The club’s CEO explained the slogan’s meaning by noting that while airplanes lose lift in turbulence, eagles gain propulsion and soar higher, reflecting the team’s ambition to rise through the storm.[2]
Typography and Design
As part of the new identity, the club developed custom Korean and English typefaces, along with feather motifs and a unified pictogram system, to establish a cohesive identity across digital and physical touchpoints.[3] The dedicated typefaces, pictograms, and patterns were inspired by the eagle’s beak, talons, and feathers, and were planned for application throughout the club’s new ballpark.[2]
For the club’s 40th anniversary, Grid also created a special logo and emblem symbolizing the team’s founding year of 1985 and the anniversary, using eagle talons and claw marks in the lettering to convey the team’s relentless spirit. This mark was used on legacy jerseys, caps, and the anniversary fan campaign.[5]
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