The Portland WNBA team’s Instagram account has posted two sets of two photos with barely any information attached to them. They are a photo of an iconic Portland/Oregon item, followed by a blank slide with a solid color that resembles the Portland/Oregon item attached with it.

It’s easier just to take a look for yourself:

Two easy choices for iconic images, so I wouldn’t say that the selection of the images is telling of much.

The real key to these posts are the color slides (you’ll have to click on those images above, then click the right-facing arrow to get to the color-slide slides).RED is the color of (many) roses, the color of the Thorns, and the Trailblazers. It is also a staple color of the previous Portland Fire team, which might be the name of the new franchise, as well.

The Mount Hood grey/teal/blue colors are a little more interesting! Black is the usual pairing color for the Portland teams, current and previous, but softer, pastel-leaning colors are a rising inclusion in women’s sports team brands. I wonder if this is a move towards that. Is it also a move towards a non-Fire team name? I can see this color being a light accent to a dominant red brand scheme, but if it is the secondary color, then maybe that is hinting at something we haven’t yet speculated about. The color itself was shared first on the team’s instagram page; is there any chance that the grey/blue is the primary color?

I think the team is clearly previewing their brand colors here. If nothing else, it is fun fan engagement for a couple of days before they literally just tell us the answers.

We have just about 24 hours to go before the local Portland WNBA fan event and Launch Party. I hope to see you there, and I’ll be right back in your email inboxes with news from the front.

See you tomorrow.