Busting Brackets
This Design in the Wild is inspired by my extremely busted bracket after NC State and UVA losses in the first round. As someone who was a raised a Syracuse fan, March Madness and basketball have always been an important part of my life and something that I look forward to every year. I find it interesting how such a simple thing as the lines and right angles of the bracket can cause such a wide range of emotions in people.
The main logo incorporates the bracket around the event title. This year CBS Sports developed a unique animation with the logo that brought in some of the tension as each layer of the bracket exploded until it revealed the words at the center at the end. In the weeks leading up to Selection Sunday, this animation really captured my attention compared to the other ads that were constantly being circulated on TV. The bracket is a graphic way to bring the general public into the excitement of the tournament as well as encourage friendly (or not so friendly) competition amongst friends, family, and coworkers.
Image from https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracket-beat/march-madness-dates-tournament-schedule
Stephanie,
It Is interesting to think about the graphic design aspect of sports, and specifically basketball. As part of the bracket design, you mention the horizontal lines and right angles, describing them as causing such a wide range of emotions. The reason those lines and angles cause such a wide range of emotions is because people know what they represent, thus giving them great meaning. In the lens of graphic design, this means that March Madness brackets are a good use of “Index.” The Index is generally an image that is not completely abstract from the meaning, but isn’t quite literal. The image of a bracket, the lines and angles, is connotative of March Madness. The branding is done so well during this time, and advertised so much that they don’t require wording symbols to describe what the brands mean. Most people would be able to understand that the brackets indicate March Madness, especially if the same colors are consistently used.