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Sunday, June 17, 2012


So all the GiFreak work has me paying even more attention to brands and marketing. There’s an up and coming brand—Inverted Gear—whose logo smacked me in the face as soon as I saw it on a gi sleeve. It’s a cuddly, achromatic, deliberate, Chinese break from the aggressive, industrial, Nippo-Brazilian logos that most companies and schools present to the public. The logo? An upside down panda.

The logo

 Brand recognition is a big deal and an aspect of marketing that companies spend large amounts of money to measure and properly implement, but BJJ is a small niche where that kind of time, capital and effort probably isn’t going to be invested, so me saying that Inverted Gear’s panda is possibly the most easily recognizable logo in the world of BJJ gis is based off my own gut reaction and that of people when the panda first premiered. Because of that reaction (a cross between “Awww!” and “Awesome!”), I had to contact the head of the company (Nelson Puentes) and find out what was up with the upside down panda.

Apparently, he was working on a lagartixa (gecko) sweep, which he was originally introduced to by a friend as being done from “panda guard”. After working it a few successful times in competition, his students started calling him “Panda”. Later, at purple belt level, when his students started asking him to make a patch that incorporated the panda, he decided to veer off the angry-animal path. The logo was used on a few shirts and after seeing the shirts at tournaments, people started asking if they could buy them (that’s the power of a good logo right there).

The Patch


Nelson tells me that the panda even acts as some sort of furry, inverted Rorschach, with some people seeing an animal interpretation of the Taijitu, some seeing the panda as the simultaneous beginner and expert and others seeing pandas embodying the constant and endless evolution of BJJ. The truth? The panda survived into Nelson’s entrepreneurial endeavors because they invert themselves and are gentle, sometimes technical creatures despite their weight and strength.

Thanks to Nelson at Inverted Gear for taking the time to talk. 
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6 comments:

  1. GeorgetteJune 18, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    That is super cool. Now I need to figure out what panda guard is :)

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  2. MeganJune 18, 2012 at 4:49 PM

    Not sure about the guard, but the sweeps look interesting. Start at 10:50

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo2Kl2vnrzU

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  3. Deborah ClemJune 18, 2012 at 9:09 PM

    Speaking of branding....You may have already explored this idea, but in case you have not...

    Have you examined how design can evoke a certain mood to solidify a brand? we are thinking of having dinner at French Laundry for our 5 year wedding anniversary in the fall.

    Their website has links to Per Se and Ad Hoc. They are all designed to be calming, slightly muted in color, and they have a "quietness" that makes you feel like this is a product that is expensive and rare.

    I have been drooling over FL for years, but someone who knew nothing about it and just stumbled on the website would be drawn into their hypnotic marketing of a high end product.

    Food for thought. pun totally intended.

    Dag

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  4. MeganJune 19, 2012 at 11:04 PM

    You HAVE to tell me what you order. Each one of their dishes is just captivating. I really wish Florida had the food culture of Cali...I really don't get why it doesn't with all the farms and international influence here.

    But yeah...what you mentioned is what drew me in to Inverted Gear's logo. I can only think of one other brand (pony grappling) that breaks away from the typical "feel" of jiu jtisu brands that either hit on aggression, Japan, Brazil or industrial. Nothing's wrong with that, but it takes a lot to stand out in a crowd like that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJune 27, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    Hey I was wandering when you were going to post this! Thank you for the awesome post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MeganJuly 1, 2012 at 5:56 PM

    YW Nelson!

    ReplyDelete