Joe Borovich, graphic designer and the visionary behind the Vancouver Canucks logo

I recently read about the passing of Vancouver born Joe Borovich, a hometown designer whose work quietly became one of the most recognizable symbols in Canadian sport. Borovich was the creator of the Vancouver Canucks’ iconic “stick-in-rink” logo.

On October 9, 1970, the Vancouver Canucks skated onto the ice for their inaugural National Hockey League game. It was a proud and surreal moment for Borovich, then a young freelance advertising designer, knowing that his crest was emblazoned across the chest of every Canuck player that historic night.

At the time, Borovich was living in a basement suite across the street from the team’s home rink, the Pacific Coliseum. From there, he worked up logo concepts that would be submitted alongside hundreds of others—entries from more than 80 professional firms, as well as a handful of independent designers and amateurs.

Borovich’s design was unsolicited. He first showed it to a friend who worked as the Canucks’ publicist. The initial reaction was skeptical—“I don’t think this will work”—but after Borovich explained the concept, the publicist was convinced.

The brilliance of the logo lies in its simplicity and symbolism. Borovich’s tricolour palette, while not universally embraced at first, captures the essence of British Columbia’s landscape: green for the province’s forests, blue for the surrounding ocean, and white for its snow-capped mountains. Most viewers immediately recognize the hockey stick, but fewer notice the subtle “C” formed by the rink itself. It’s there if you study it carefully. When all of these elements come together, it becomes clear just how remarkable the logo truly is.

For his brilliant creation, Joe was paid $5000 dollars.

1939-December 31, 2025