Thursday: Insert Witty Title Here

As you can see from my title, I'm suffering from intense writers block today.

You could say my writing creativity went on a camping trip...

Intense...in tents...

Never mind, I'll just get to the good stuff:

There's a logo competition this week to design the logos for the HJC Open. The event is huge, and thus requires a logo of epic proportions. Are your design skills up to the task? You have until Saturday morning to find out.

And you may have heard that the raffles for the planned HJC Meet Up prizes have been cancelled, but you can still get your hands on those items via EBAY.

And finally, as always, don't forget to vote!

COTW May 19-25 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

HJC Open Logo Competition entries (due Saturday @ 11:00am Eastern time)

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HJC Open Logo Entries:

Connor L.

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New England Patriots Concept - Steve M.

Yay: We start our concepts off with a trifecta of AFC East football teams, beginning with the Patriots. The old-school nature of these teams isn't lost in these concepts. The plain, traditional style is a good way to go for the Patriots, and there doesn't appear to be any glaring execution errors.

Nay: Design wise, this one is a tough sell for me. The red hem and cuffs stand out, and not in a good way. The red outlines on the text and stripes of the white jersey really don't look nice on a white background. The laces on the white jersey should be red or blue, something that stands out against the white jersey. Finally, I'd love to see some grey design on the jersey, as a secondary colour.

Overall: Good effort, but it's a plain design that doesn't stand out much. And where it does stand out, it stands out for the wrong reasons. 7/10



New York Jets Concept - Steve M.

Yay: Next up is the New York Jets. Again, another classic team with another appropriate traditional design. I'm happy with the different logo that is used here, it isn't as well used, but looks cool anyways, and fits with the classic look just as well. The stripes work well, and even the contrasting shoulders look good, which I normally wouldn't say.

Nay: There's not a lot to complain about here, but I would say that the numbers on the back are a little too big, and there isn't enough of a space between the name and number. I also don't like how the collar has two styles (one duo-coloured and one not). I'd stick with a plain white collar on the green jersey, but either style would work.

Overall: Much better design than the previous concept. Still missing the "wow" factor, but still a solid concept. 7.6/10



Miami Dolphins Concept - Steve M.

Yay: The last of Steve's football-hockey crossovers today is a concept for the Miami Dolphins. Despite being another older team, the Dolphins look can easily adapt to traditional or modern styles. This is another traditional style jersey with basic stripes, which suits the Dolphins fine.

Nay: If you stick with a traditional stripe pattern and try to look old-school, I suggest using the old logo. This logo isn't much different, but looks much more modern than their previous logo.  The font that is used is also too modern for a traditional set. The jerseys are also missing the trim marks in some places, including the whole blue jersey. I think the arm stripes are fine, but could be thicker.

Overall: Another concept that isn't too exciting, but with a few more execution errors. 6.8/10



Seattle Seahawks Concept - Kevin B.

Yay: We're done with Steve's AFC East set, but we still have one more NFL concept for today. Kevin's Seattle Seahawks concept has the colour, font, and modern styles to make this a believable uniform. The equipment is well done (especially the pants), and while the jersey is a bit on the plain side, the design is pretty solid.

Nay: First, always remember to throw some ID into your concept somewhere, so we know who this artwork belongs to. Back to the design, the biggest flaw is the neon green outline on the text and numbers. That is just painful to look at. I also wish there was some more modern design into the jersey, like what is on the pants. Some more grey would be nice as well.

Overall: Interesting, but still needs work. 7.2/10



Yellowknife Bison Concept - TG

 Yay: Here are some hockey concepts, starting with this somewhat fictitious design for the Yellowknife Bisons, which is essentially a redesigned Buffalo Sabres uniform. There's enough of a new design here that makes this stand out, in a good way. The striping is very interesting, and the colours look great considering we've never really seen the real Sabres wear these colours with look. I'm very interested in this concept, and I wonder what the inspiration for it was.

Nay: The logo isn't an exact copy of the Sabres logo, but it is still very close. I think this concept would be close to perfect if there was a totally original logo. The stripes are a little too busy for my liking. I also don't like how the dark blue is used as a yoke on the black jersey, there just isn't enough contrast between the two.

Overall: Not the best design choices, but by far the most interesting design I've seen today.  8.1/10



Seattle Sealions Concept - Nathan S.

Yay: Have I seen this concept somewhere before? Oh yes, this is a redo of the Seattle Sea Lions concept by Matt M. and Dylan A. during the HJC Pairs competition. They had a fantastic concept, and Nathan appears to try to add his own style to it. The logos look original (correct me if I'm wrong), and although they don't look as polished, I always appreciate new artwork. While the original concept went crazy with the jerseys, this concept plays it safe, and I kind of like this style more.

Nay: While I love the basic design of this jersey, the sizes of everything are off. The logos on the jerseys are all huge, the stripes on the arms and socks are huge, and the TV numbers are huge.  The pants could use some more design, and the helmet could use a decal or something. I don't like how the arm/yoke combination look different on both jerseys.

Overall: This is a good effort, but the bar was set really high, and this doesn't quite reach the original design. 7.8/10




Vancouver Canucks Concept - Christian L.

Yay: Some people (not many) like the "V" jerseys. Some people like the "skate blade" jerseys. Here, Christian combines the two, and the outcome is actually pretty cool. The "V" effect is much more subtle and tolerable, and I've always loved the skate blade logo. The two styles combine perfectly, and create a very unique set that I would love to see as an alternate or special event jersey.

Nay: The name seems really close to the yoke, and I think I'd rather yellow numbers instead of red, for clarity. But then the red outlines would probably clash with the black, so I'm not sure if that would be a good fix or not.

Overall: Love it, and would definitely love to see this "fauxback" used for real. 8.8/10




Pittsburgh Penguins Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Dylan shows up with this very interesting and original presentation for his concept. Presentation makes a good concept great, and although the Facebook thing contributes nothing to the jersey directly, it makes the concept more realistic and cool. As for the uniform itself, I love the look of the Penguins in yellow, and this particular design is very different from most other Penguin uniforms.

Nay: The only thing I can say is that I wish the side designs didn't come as far to the front. It makes the yellow look narrow in the front, almost like it's pointing towards the Penguins crotch. Just make the sides a little skinnier or at a steeper angle, and this would be perfect.

Overall: Still waiting for the actual reveal of this uniform. In the meantime, 9.2/10




Colorado Avalanche Concept - Joey F.

Yay: Our last concept of the day is Joey's Avalanche concept.  The biggest thing I notice is the "homemade" mountain designs all over the uniform. I'll explain my problem with them later, but the edginess and the fact that you created this yourself (I assume) really helps this concept a lot. This concept screams "Colorado Avalanche" all over the place, and would be really cool to see live.

Nay: The problem with the mountain design is that it looks too edgy and rough, and would never be used on a pro jersey. Maybe in the 90's, or in a farm league team, or on a beer can, but not on a professional jersey; most teams usually go with crisp lines and simpler designs. Plus the mountain design doesn't really work well with the yoke or cuffs. I'd also give the collar on the white jersey some colour other than white.

Overall: Don't let my bashing of the artwork discourage you, this design is really cool. It just doesn't seem as realistic as it could be. 7.9/10

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Who gets my COTW nomination for the day? I have to give it to Dylan W's Penguins concept. Not only is the presentation cool, but it's a very good design that I'm sure everyone would love if it actually existed. But that's just my opinion, leave yours in the comment section!

That's enough from me for today.  Thanks for reading, and happy playoffs!