The KT Wiz (stylized as kt wiz) is a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon that joined the KBO League in 2015. The club’s visual identity was developed in 2013 by KT’s Identity Design Center, with the brand identity system unveiled publicly on November 14, 2013 at KT Gwanghwamun Olle Square in Seoul.[1]
Design and History
The KT Wiz brand identity was created around the concept of “burst of magic,” inspired by the burst of lighting at magical moments. The team name “Wiz” refers to a wizard, and the identity was designed to convey the club’s commitment to playing games with superb skills and excellent performance.[2]
The identity system includes two distinct symbols. The initial symbol combines the letters K and W to evoke a powerful magical spell, blending traditional and modern sensibilities.[3] The image symbol depicts a modern reinterpretation of a wizard, departing from the typical wizard image.[4]
KT Wiz was the first team in the KBO League to use different symbols for home and away uniforms. The home uniform and cap feature a red image symbol depicting a red-faced wizard in a black hat with a spark for an eye, while the away uniform and cap use the interlocking K and W initial symbol in white on black.[5] The initial symbol emphasizes strength and power, while the image symbol emphasizes quick mobility and flexibility.[4]
The club’s official emblem incorporates the outer line of Banghwasuryujeong Watchtower of Suwon Castle, a landmark of the team’s hometown of Suwon. This was a deliberate choice to emphasize the team’s community-oriented identity, as most existing KBO emblems did not show the name of their base region at the time.[2]
The design team conducted a preference survey with 530 baseball fans, which showed that 41 percent preferred a two-character initial symbol over a one-character design (31 percent). The team also studied 125 sports branding cases from MLB, NFL, and NPB, along with market research on 113 sports branded products.[2]
In March 2024, KT Wiz unveiled new uniforms for the first time in four years, created in collaboration with designer JUMOTUBE. The new design emphasized the meaning of “magic” in the club’s name, incorporating the existing wordmark with gothic typography and patterns evoking wizards and magic. The logo image featured a background depicting a magic circle and Suwon Janganmun, with the gate representing the club’s solid defense.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The emblem’s design concept expresses the outer line of Banghwasuryujeong Watchtower of Suwon Castle, the landmark of Suwon, to show that KT Wiz is a community-oriented team. After hundreds of design development iterations focused on proportion, size, and color, the emblem states the name of the hometown Suwon in a clear and harmonious manner.[2]
The wizard imagery throughout the identity reflects the team name “Wiz,” which was chosen through a naming contest earlier in 2013. The home symbol’s wizard figure was designed with a spark for an eye, inspired by the sparks that fly when a wizard casts a spell.[1]
The team’s official colors are red and black, described by KT as expressing a young and dynamic new club.[1] Red is the team’s primary color, featured prominently on the home uniform lettering and the wizard image symbol.[5]
Typography and Design
The 2024 uniform redesign incorporated gothic typography alongside the existing wordmark, with patterns designed to evoke wizards and magic. The logo image used a background depicting a magic circle and Suwon Janganmun to emphasize the wizard image and express the club’s solid defense.[6]
The brand identity project was led by Creative Director Leehwan Kang, with Lead Designer Jaehee Lim and designers Kyoungjin Lee, Bumsuk Kim, and Yonu Cho, in partnership with design firm Verlander Design. The project ran from January to November 2013, with design work conducted by staff in the U.S. and Korea.[2]
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