Creating a professional sports logo is rarely as simple as drawing an animal and placing it on a jersey. For the Utah Mammoth, the challenge was far more ambitious: build an identity that could instantly stand beside some of the most recognizable brands in sports while giving Utah fans something uniquely their own.

That responsibility landed on the shoulders of Utah Jazz Senior Brand Director Ben Barnes, who partnered with Doubleday & Cartwright and Smith Entertainment Group to develop the visual identity for the NHL's newest franchise.

For Barnes, the assignment started with a simple question.

"As the newest NHL franchise, we had a strong desire to show we belong, that we do things world class," Barnes told Utah State Magazine. "We wanted our visual identity to be something that Utah could be proud of and would uniquely fit us in this space."

Finding that identity meant looking far beyond the familiar image of a woolly mammoth.

Instead, Barnes and his team researched the Colombian mammoths that once roamed Utah, searching for details that would separate the franchise from every generic interpretation of the prehistoric animal.

"We wanted to dig deeper to find something that had local meaning, aside from, 'Let's make a cool-looking mammoth,'" Barnes explained.

That philosophy extended well beyond the primary logo.

Barnes viewed the project as an entire branding system rather than a single graphic, creating complementary marks capable of living on jerseys, merchandise, marketing campaigns and arena displays.

One element made the process even more unique: the fans.

Over a 13-month period, more than 850,000 people participated in voting on names and logos, giving Utah residents an active role in shaping the franchise before it ever played a game.

"It helped create an elevated connection between the fans and the team that I really hadn't experienced in other jobs like this before," Barnes said.

Despite two decades of experience designing sports identities, Barnes still begins every project the same way.

Research comes first.

Whether creating a mascot or a wordmark, he studies what makes the subject instantly recognizable before ever opening a design program.

"I always go pencil-to-paper, because it's a good way to let ideas flow without worrying about it being perfect," Barnes said. "Get an early explosion of shapes, gestures, letterforms, without really dialing in on something."

Even when he leaves the office, the design process rarely stops.

"Ideas can come when you're in the shower, or asleep at night, or even just driving home from work," he said. "I try to not turn it off entirely, because sometimes the best ideas come when you're not really overthinking it."

Modern sports logos often include subtle visual references, but Barnes believes those elements should always serve the larger design rather than exist as gimmicks.

For the Mammoth logo, the mountain-shaped crown reinforces Utah's landscape while textured features evoke ice and carved stone, helping establish a distinct hockey identity.

"The subtle elements should work within the design by themselves," Barnes said. "We wanted to make it feel like Utah's unique mammoth, instead of just a generic design."

Perhaps the greatest challenge wasn't adding details—it was removing them.

Real mammoths possessed enormous tusks and lengthy trunks that could easily overwhelm a logo.

"The big thing we tried to do is take an animal with big, massive, unwieldy tusks and a really, really long trunk, and distill it down to a nice, contained shape," Barnes said. "We were able to make a nice, streamlined, resolute, on-the-attack looking mammoth that feels like a sports logo."

Barnes credits much of his creative foundation to his time studying graphic design at Utah State University.

One lesson from logo design instructor Bob Winward continues to guide every project.

"One of the things I remember most was needing to have a clear, agreed-upon creative brief before really picking up a pencil," Barnes said. "Clear communication with the client is key to success."

Another defining moment came during a senior portfolio review when professor Alan Hashimoto encouraged Barnes to lean fully into sports branding instead of creating a more generalized portfolio.

"He told me that I had a future in sports design," Barnes recalled. "'You're good at this, you should try to get into that.' That was probably the moment I started to feel like this was something I could really do."

For Barnes, the pressure isn't simply designing something that looks good.

Sports logos become part of people's lives, attached to memories that stretch across generations.

"I don't know if people tattoo logos because they like the logo," Barnes said. "I think they do it because they like the team."

He hopes the Mammoth identity ultimately becomes connected to first NHL games, family traditions and championship celebrations rather than simply the artwork itself.

"I hope fans can look back and remember the good experiences it's associated with," Barnes said. "I hope they think of multiple Stanley Cup championships."

As technology rapidly changes the design industry, Barnes encourages young creatives to embrace new tools without abandoning the fundamentals that built their careers.

"Always be curious and try to learn new ways to do things, but don't throw away the processes and systems that got you to where you are," he said.

His message for aspiring designers is equally straightforward.

"It's not supposed to be easy," Barnes said. "Perseverance is key, and some of life's most rewarding experiences come through pushing through difficulties."

For Barnes, that's the real story behind the Utah Mammoth logo.

What fans see on the front of a jersey is the finished product, but behind every line, shadow and tusk is years of experience, countless sketches, endless collaboration and one goal: creating a symbol that feels as if it has always belonged in Utah.