The Milwaukee Bucks have unveiled the final designs for the annual BMO Harris Bucks Custom Cap Series, an opportunity for current and former Bucks players, along with one college student, to design an exclusive hat given away to fans at a home game. The winning college designer is UWM student Kelsey Robinson.
Robinson’s cap will be given to the first 10,000 fans attending the Feb. 23 Bucks game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Other designs are by former Bucks player Desmond Mason and current Bucks guard Dante DiVincenzo, whose caps will be given out Feb. 6 and April 6, respectively.
Robinson, a graphic design student at UWM, designed a cap to fit a “’90s Night” themed game. Following the throwback prompt, Robinson chose the Bucks logo from the era, adorned with the signature royal purple color associated with the team, to become the centerpiece of the cap.
“I wanted to take the Bucks’ color scheme from the ’90s – purple and green – and play with it,” Robinson said.“I kind of pushed them, and it turned into something else.”
Though Robinson’s design looks clean and simple at first glance, the focus of the hat lies under the brim, featuring a mint-blue-to-pastel-pink gradient behind an artistic interpretation of the Bucks’ famous deer, and a retro text that reads “Milwaukee.”
“I liked the idea of a simple outside design that anyone could wear, but the inside would have this really busy image,” Robinson said.
Throughout the design process, Robinson worked closely with the Bucks to tweak and define his cap to fit his artistic vision. “Though the hat was for a contest, it was interesting to go from designing mainly for school projects and independent work to havinga client and producing a physical product. Except the client was literally the Milwaukee Bucks,” Robinson said.
Robinson began at UWM as an architecture student, but has shifted his talents to art and graphic design. “Originally, I wanted to go into architecture because I felt it was more lucrative, but I’ve realized in time that I wanted to do what made me happiest, which is art,” he said.
As Robinson’s focus has transitioned into a new field, his architectural background is still prominent throughout his work, which is even seen in the Bucks deer on the cap with its intricate structural design.
“I definitely bring aspects from architecture into my art, like strong lines, an iterative design process and an emphasis on composition,” he said.
“I’ve always been really attracted to things with interesting and well thought out composition. You can see that emphasis in the hat – something full, but also simple and orderly. I wanted people to see it from a distance, but also be able to appreciate it up close.”
Other work from Robinson can be found on Society6, an online store that features the designs of thousands of artists on T-shirts, phone cases, prints and more, as well as on Instagram.
