Saturday: Some college, some pros and touching an untouchable
Happy Saturday, everyone, and a very happy Saturday to my fellow Blackhawks fans. With the victorious result against the Red Wings last night, the Blackhawks have swept the season series against Detroit and clinched the Central Division championship. It's a good day to be a Blackhawks fan.
On to the concepts.
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Miami RedHawks (by Bobby)
I love the simplicity of this design, which isn’t really surprising since so many college hockey teams have really simple designs IRL. You really can’t go wrong with such a simple design hand-in-hand with a simple color scheme. I do have a few small critiques, though. The pixelization of the wordmark, name and numbers detract from the design, and I think the wordmark across the front is too big. Also, the CCHA logo is really blurry and unclear. It could be clearer. Finally, and this is a criticism I have of a lot of Nike designs, the under-arm mesh should be recolored to match the color of the jersey on the red jersey. Having white mesh on a red jersey stands out, and not in a good way. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Minnesota Golden Gophers (by Bobby)
Minnesota has one of my favorite color schemes in sports and Bobby’s concept here uses it especially well since he left out the black that was added to their colors in a recent redesign. I like this concept because it’s a traditional design befitting a team that has quite a history of success in the college ranks. Minnesota’s RL home and road jerseys have a somewhat modern design, while their two alternates have a more traditional design which these two jerseys are reminiscent of. I like them both. As for critiques, most of what I said about the Miami concept applies here. Also, I’d change the socks on the maroon jersey to maroon instead of gold. After all, Minnesota wears all-maroon on the road IRL. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Calgary Flames (by Caleb)
Caleb’s concept brings black back to Calgary in a big way. It’s certainly a breath of fresh air compared to their absurd RL jerseys that are a mess of Edge features. I would definitely love to see something like this on the ice for the Flames. However, this one suffers from some execution issues, most of which probably come from the fact that the file is saved as a JPEG. The name and number are really blurry, as is the logo. Don’t forget to save it as a PNG – JPEGs are inherently lossy file types and the compression when you save it as a JPEG will always lead to a loss of image quality. Overall, I'll give it a 6/10.
Washington Capitals (by Darren)
Now, here’s an absolutely gorgeous concept. If pro teams accepted open submissions for uniform designs, I would seriously suggest sending this to the Capitals, because the logo is just amazing. The jerseys themselves are great too. They do seem a bit reminiscent of the US national team’s jerseys but that’s entirely appropriate. I hope you don’t mind if I take some cues from this concept for a Caps alternate for my Nike NHL series. The one critique I have is about the logo – the “Washington” doesn’t really stand out against the blue background, so I’d change it to white. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10 and a COTW nomination.
Chicago Blackhawks (by Dylan)
Now that the Blackhawks have ditched the Winter Classic third, the only realistic option they have for an alternate is to bring back the black third they’ve worn in the past decades. However, if the Blackhawks considered one of these jerseys as an alternate, I would be a happy Blackhawks fan. These two look really good. The roundel with the modern Indian head looks great, and the stripe design is a classic design that fits an Original Six team. I’d change the stripes on the black jersey to red with white trim, since as it stands right now you can’t really see the red trim all that much. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Calgary Flames (by Stephen)
Remember what I said earlier about how I don’t like Calgary’s current RL set? What Stephen has done here has preserved that look but actually improved it. Though it’s a modern design, I don’t really mind the modern stripe panels up the sides of the jerseys and it works here since that seems to be a common design among many Nike jerseys, especially in international play. I don’t have many problems with this design. The number on the back should be larger, and the mesh dots should be colored to match the jersey. Also, I’ve never really been too big of a fan of the separate flags as shoulder patches on the Flames’ jerseys, especially since they’re not the only team in Alberta. Finally, the pants stripe on the road jersey isn’t completely colored in. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Pittsburgh Penguins (by Steven)
This is an interesting Pittsburgh concept because it is so unlike anything they’ve worn before. Then again, that’s the point of concept designs. The simplicity is very different from their past jerseys and it would be really interesting to see on the ice. I guess my biggest problem with this one is that I just couldn’t see the Penguins wearing it. It’s almost like it’s just too simple. Adding some more white to the design would go a long way towards improving the design, and I’m not sure the square yoke really works. If an old-school look was what you were going for, then it works, but I just don’t care for this one. Overall, I'll give it a 7/10.
Columbus Blue Jackets (by WinnipegJets96)
Jets’ Blue Jackets concept is reminiscent of their pre-Edge designs and I definitely like this design. I don’t really care for the logo all that much, but then again the Blue Jackets don’t have a very good logo history in general so that one’s not on Jets. I like the overall design, though, because it’s so much better than the vertical piping mess they currently wear. Also, instead of bringing back that ridiculous hornet/bee/wasp (I can’t remember what it is) logo as the shoulder patch, the design uses their current main logo as the shoulder patch, which is a big improvement. Since the logo isn’t something that can be easily solved, my only critique is the pants. The stars just seem out of place, but if you’re going to insist on keeping them, I’d cut down on how many you have. Nine seems like overkill to me. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
On to the concepts.
--------
Miami RedHawks (by Bobby)
I love the simplicity of this design, which isn’t really surprising since so many college hockey teams have really simple designs IRL. You really can’t go wrong with such a simple design hand-in-hand with a simple color scheme. I do have a few small critiques, though. The pixelization of the wordmark, name and numbers detract from the design, and I think the wordmark across the front is too big. Also, the CCHA logo is really blurry and unclear. It could be clearer. Finally, and this is a criticism I have of a lot of Nike designs, the under-arm mesh should be recolored to match the color of the jersey on the red jersey. Having white mesh on a red jersey stands out, and not in a good way. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Minnesota Golden Gophers (by Bobby)
Minnesota has one of my favorite color schemes in sports and Bobby’s concept here uses it especially well since he left out the black that was added to their colors in a recent redesign. I like this concept because it’s a traditional design befitting a team that has quite a history of success in the college ranks. Minnesota’s RL home and road jerseys have a somewhat modern design, while their two alternates have a more traditional design which these two jerseys are reminiscent of. I like them both. As for critiques, most of what I said about the Miami concept applies here. Also, I’d change the socks on the maroon jersey to maroon instead of gold. After all, Minnesota wears all-maroon on the road IRL. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Calgary Flames (by Caleb)
Caleb’s concept brings black back to Calgary in a big way. It’s certainly a breath of fresh air compared to their absurd RL jerseys that are a mess of Edge features. I would definitely love to see something like this on the ice for the Flames. However, this one suffers from some execution issues, most of which probably come from the fact that the file is saved as a JPEG. The name and number are really blurry, as is the logo. Don’t forget to save it as a PNG – JPEGs are inherently lossy file types and the compression when you save it as a JPEG will always lead to a loss of image quality. Overall, I'll give it a 6/10.
Washington Capitals (by Darren)
Now, here’s an absolutely gorgeous concept. If pro teams accepted open submissions for uniform designs, I would seriously suggest sending this to the Capitals, because the logo is just amazing. The jerseys themselves are great too. They do seem a bit reminiscent of the US national team’s jerseys but that’s entirely appropriate. I hope you don’t mind if I take some cues from this concept for a Caps alternate for my Nike NHL series. The one critique I have is about the logo – the “Washington” doesn’t really stand out against the blue background, so I’d change it to white. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10 and a COTW nomination.
Chicago Blackhawks (by Dylan)
Now that the Blackhawks have ditched the Winter Classic third, the only realistic option they have for an alternate is to bring back the black third they’ve worn in the past decades. However, if the Blackhawks considered one of these jerseys as an alternate, I would be a happy Blackhawks fan. These two look really good. The roundel with the modern Indian head looks great, and the stripe design is a classic design that fits an Original Six team. I’d change the stripes on the black jersey to red with white trim, since as it stands right now you can’t really see the red trim all that much. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Calgary Flames (by Stephen)
Remember what I said earlier about how I don’t like Calgary’s current RL set? What Stephen has done here has preserved that look but actually improved it. Though it’s a modern design, I don’t really mind the modern stripe panels up the sides of the jerseys and it works here since that seems to be a common design among many Nike jerseys, especially in international play. I don’t have many problems with this design. The number on the back should be larger, and the mesh dots should be colored to match the jersey. Also, I’ve never really been too big of a fan of the separate flags as shoulder patches on the Flames’ jerseys, especially since they’re not the only team in Alberta. Finally, the pants stripe on the road jersey isn’t completely colored in. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Pittsburgh Penguins (by Steven)
This is an interesting Pittsburgh concept because it is so unlike anything they’ve worn before. Then again, that’s the point of concept designs. The simplicity is very different from their past jerseys and it would be really interesting to see on the ice. I guess my biggest problem with this one is that I just couldn’t see the Penguins wearing it. It’s almost like it’s just too simple. Adding some more white to the design would go a long way towards improving the design, and I’m not sure the square yoke really works. If an old-school look was what you were going for, then it works, but I just don’t care for this one. Overall, I'll give it a 7/10.
Columbus Blue Jackets (by WinnipegJets96)
Jets’ Blue Jackets concept is reminiscent of their pre-Edge designs and I definitely like this design. I don’t really care for the logo all that much, but then again the Blue Jackets don’t have a very good logo history in general so that one’s not on Jets. I like the overall design, though, because it’s so much better than the vertical piping mess they currently wear. Also, instead of bringing back that ridiculous hornet/bee/wasp (I can’t remember what it is) logo as the shoulder patch, the design uses their current main logo as the shoulder patch, which is a big improvement. Since the logo isn’t something that can be easily solved, my only critique is the pants. The stars just seem out of place, but if you’re going to insist on keeping them, I’d cut down on how many you have. Nine seems like overkill to me. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Saturday: Some college, some pros and touching an untouchable
Reviewed by Kevin W.
on
April 13, 2013
Rating:
Reviewed by Kevin W.
on
April 13, 2013
Rating:
3 comments:
I'll second Darren's Washington concept.
I'll third Darren's Caps concept.
Darren is a damn wizard with his work. All hail Darren.
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