Sunday: Mighty Post of Concepts

Hello everyone! Today's post features some designs you'll find very familiar, and others you may have never seen before. We've got concepts for the Hurricanes, Sharks, and Ducks, but also some jerseys for a KISS-themed ECHL team, Swedish Tier 3, and something called a Rocky Mountain Extreme.

By now you've all seen the pictures of the San Jose Sharks Stadium Series jersey. Jets96 gave his thoughts on those jerseys on Friday. I agree with much of his assessment. The collar is terrible, the striping doesn't carry through to the back of the jersey from some reason, and sleeve numbers look bad without an outline. The "hanger effect" ("This is Sharks Territory") is weak and cliché. I have high hopes for the Kings jersey, with the rumor that it will feature the old "Burger King" logo of the 90s. I was excited for the Sharks jersey as well though, until I saw it. It really says something when even the players complain about it. I know the team said they wanted the jersey to feature bold designs that would be visible from 200 ft. away for a stadium game, but I think the sentiment was carried too far here. The details of the jersey look poor and badly proportioned in the close-photos. 

It could be worse, though. At least the chrome logos are gone.

Hi. Go vote now. Yes, right now. Ryan sent out the email to the Mailing List yesterday. Go vote for the COTY logo contest, too.

And now for some good, old-fashioned reminders!

COTW Dec 7-13 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW 2014 Logo vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Carolina Hurricanes Concept - Patrik G.

Positives: Whatever Carolina has to do to get the hurricane flag striping back, do it. It was the only unique element of their jersey designs. Only one execution flaw.

Negatives: Like the Hurricanes current home jersey, this needs black. One of the cardinal sins of jersey design is omitting a color that appears prominently in the logo, which has happened here. Speaking of, the logo itself is positioned too low on the jersey. 

Overall: Color balance is the main issue here. Bring back some black. (7/10)

LA KISS ECHL Concept - David P.

Positives: If you haven't heard, KISS recently bought an arena football team. They helped bring flair to a sport that is easily forgotten in North America. Personally, I can't stand their music, but their marketing expertise has helped arena football, potentially it could help the ECHL. Execution is great.

Negatives: This shouldn't have traditional striping at all. This set should be wild and "in your face." Right now, there flame elements are trying to accomplish that attitude...but the arm stripes are sitting there like Roy Orbison at a metal concert. It needs to be darker, and edgier.

Overall: This set is simply too conservative. (7.25/10)

New York Islanders Concept - Phil B.

Positives: I'm a fan of the Islanders Stadium Series logo, especially sans the chrome effect it debuted with originally. The arm striping references the four Stanley Cups the team won in the 1980s. The traditional Islanders logo shows it's versatility as an alternate logo.

Negatives: So...those Long Island elements...it's way too much. Long island appears on each jersey 3 times; 5 times if you count the pants and helmet logos. I just don't know why the map of Long Island is just thrown onto the hem and left arm. It's not visually pleasing at all.

Overall: The Long Island references ruin this one for me. (6/10)

2016 Winter Classic Concept (Colorado vs. Anaheim) - CPM

Positives: This is a unique concept. I can't say I've seen a concept on this site that featured the proposed name for the team that eventually became the Colorado Avalanche (dodged a bullet there). I love the Anaheim jersey. It references their great original set, without just copy/pasting onto a new jersey style. It feels new, and looks great. I like the striping on the Colorado jersey as well. It has character, and is much more interesting that what they wear now. 

Negatives: I view the "Rocky Mountain Extreme" as a curious oddity. It's interesting to read about, but that's all I want to do. I wouldn't actually want to see Colorado use the proposed identity. The logos are terrible. 

Overall: Honestly, if you kept the striping on the "Extreme" jersey, and made it an Avs jersey instead, this would be near perfect. (8.75/10)

Visby Roma HK Concept (Hockeyettan - Swedish Tier 3) - Viktor B.

Positives: I like the charcoal black used on the dark jersey. It gives the jersey a deep, almost matte appearance, and I love that. The shade of gold is perfect as well. 

Negatives: Color balance is the main problem. The black jersey is too dark. A silver yoke, and a thicker silver outline around the logo would help. The gold jersey could use a black yoke as well. That would help balance the color out with both jerseys. Contrasting hem and cuffs don't work well in general.

Overall: Fixing a slight color imbalance here would be a quick fix. (8/10)

Anaheim Ducks Concept - Jack H.

Positives: These jerseys feature some awesome striping. I love it. It's similar to the old look, but not a direct copy. Execution is flawless.

Negatives: The blending of the old and new Ducks identities isn't perfect. The central issue is the juxtaposition of organic and geometric design. The old Ducks designs were dominated by angled, straight lines. The new Ducks jerseys feature curved, organic elements. When you have angled, straight lines paired with curved logos and numbers, it makes it feel (to me) as it doesn't fit. The bottom left corner of back of the jerseys isn't colored properly.

Overall: The overall design is good, but I would change the logo and font to make the identity feel more natural...if that makes sense. (8.25/10)

Toronto Maple Leafs Concept - Jack H.

Positives: I really like the striping pattern here. It's more interesting than the simple (but dull) striping they have now. Execution and presentation are very good. 

Negatives: Off all the versions of the Maple Leaf logo, this one is my least favorite. I would prefer the current logo over this. The design here is very classic, but the logo shows it's age. People have already mentioned the placement of the Reebok wordmark to Jack, but it does seem odd on the hem.

Overall: Very solid and classic design (8.5/10)

San Jose Sharks Concept - Brass

Positives: I would like to see some hem stripes on a Sharks jersey. You've all heard the "lightness" spiel before, so I'll spare you. The logo used as a shoulder patch here is simply under-utilized.

Negatives: The old Reebok logo hasn't been used on jerseys for three years now. This jersey is really just one of the Sharks original jerseys on a Reebok template, with new logos. It's nothing we couldn't have easily imagined.

Overall: Not a standout, simply because we've essentially seen it before. (7/10)


That's all for today. Don't forget to send in your votes for Concept of the Week, and the 2014 Concept of the Year Logo Competition! Be sure to return here tomorrow for Dylan's Monday post! See you all later.