Wednesday: Red and Black and What?

Hello everybody and welcome to another Wednesday here at HJC. As the Olympics approach us, you’ll see the news on our page about the new Olympic monstrosities, err, jerseys that were unveiled. While the designs themselves are horrible, what’s worse is that they are templated. Those jerseys are probably the worst things we can see in hockey, a bad design repeated in pattern for multiple teams. Nike has reached a new low. And I thought it was bad when Slovakia and the United States had identical white jerseys in 2014.

COMPETITION: the LA Kings competition rolls forward with entries due this Friday. Here are some of the latest entries to hit the blog:

Dean B:

Francois G:

Brooks F:

Lucas D:

Phil B (who is this guy?):

TC Moore:

VOTES: Concept of the week as usual, the last one before the October vote

REMINDERS:

 COTW Oct 20-26 vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

 LA Kings ReDesign Comp entries (due Friday @ noon EST)

 

ON TO THE CONCEPTS!


Brooks F: Team Oceania (Continents Cup) Concept

This series has been nothing but crazy designs for this fictional tournament. A while ago we had a turdburger style jersey, now we have a jersey with a vertical stripe that flows seamlessly into the hem pattern. This is a good color scheme that works well (used by the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL sans-orange, as well as the Orlando Pride of the NWSL) on this concept. Consider me sold on this look. A unique chest stripe with bold colors, flowing freely like the waters of the Pacific that engulf the lands within Oceania (because technically Australia is the name of the continent but it neglects New Zealand and other island nations, since Australia is a standalone country) The logo is fantastic, and I like how the Continents Cup logo changes to match each team's color scheme. Brilliant. Maybe you could have the sock and arm striping match the hem by having three more blue stripes on there merging into the chest stripe?

Rating: 95%


Matt G: Sydney Bears (AIHL) Concept

I have an interesting conundrum here. The home and away jerseys do somewhat match, but they look totally different. The reason for that if you look at the striping pattern on the home jersey, you see two stripes of equal thickness in white, with one thin red stripe below it, all separated by black. Move to the away jersey and that red stripe is now white and the top-most stripe is eliminated. The conundrum is whether or not that helps or harms the look of the jersey, because I could argue either way. However one thing I think we can all agree on is that this jersey needs a bit more red. I like that its minimized because the bear in the logo is a panda, and they are entirely black and white, however the logo choice is not the best if minimal red is the goal. Swap the logos from the third and the main set and I'd be sold on this concept.

Rating: 89%


Vaughn R: Whitecourt Wolverines (AJHL) Concept

This is always a fun pattern to see (Case and point: Oshawa Generals of the OHL), but only if executed well. Here it isn't for two reasons. The first reason is that the black is missing from the red jersey's right arm (back side). Second, as the arm stripes are separated by that much and the stripes are that thick, it squishes the logo towards the collar as well as the name and number towards the yoke. And while they're an improvement over their current jerseys (didn't even have to look it up to guess they are Blackhawks copies), I'd like it better with better execution.

Rating: 70%


The WINNER of my Concept of the Week Nomination is:

 BROOKS F

 TEAM OCEANIA CONCEPT

Another week and another three concepts reviewed. This is getting boring. Now before Ryan yells at me let me explain why. The team here at HJC has spent a lot of time rebranding this page. We can only create so much content. These daily concept pages are the founding pieces of HJC, and they rely on folks like you to exist. And with only three concepts today, it keeps this post too short for us all to enjoy. I genuinely like to see other people's work, no matter how bad it may be, because seeing these concepts can inspire us and make us all better artists.

Let me use a comparison of a garden club. You plant one seed in a new garden area you cleared out in your backyard. It doesn't grow for whatever reason. So as part of a gardening club, you go to a meeting to ask why. You learn about tips from other members on how to grow your garden, then as you leave the club meeting, the club leadership gives you a new pack of seeds to take home with you. Then you plant those seeds and care for your garden using the tips provided. Your garden blossoms in some areas, but grows weeds in others. You come back to another meeting and learn more about how to prevent weed growth. You leave with another pack of seeds, but of a different plant. Those blossom, and though there may be a few weeds left, your garden looks even better. The first seed is your first try as a concept. That club is HJC. The tips are the reviews and comments. The new seeds are the tools and ideas for your designs. The weeds are execution errors. The garden is your canvas.

So send something in. Use the blog for what it was originally designed to do. And with the guidance our reviews provide, as well as the ideas other artists display with their concepts, you can build your own portfolio of jersey concepts, and potentially expand your graphic design skills as a whole, even outside of hockey.

Don't forget to listen to the podcast and check out our new items for sale, including the HJC stickers and the "Jersey Casual" shirts. Don't see the team you want? Good because I don't see mine either, but it will come. Good shirts come to those who wait.

With that I will see you next week.