Friday: Back in the Saddle

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  This week was the start of the new semester for me, so naturally now that I'm back in class you can expect to see a lot more concepts from me in the coming weeks.  Other than my use of class time for designing, there's no real news to be reported in the jersey design world that we haven't covered.

In voting news, we have a plethora of options, with the regular COTW vote for January 5-11, the Fourth Quarter vote for COTY, and the 2017 COTY Logo Competition vote, all of which end Friday at noon EST. 

 COTW Jan 5-11 vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

 COTY Fourth Quarter vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

 COTY Logo Competition vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Cole W.- Cowichan Capitals

Our first concept for the day is Cole W.'s design for the Cowichan Capitals of the BCHL.  Personally, I love what the Caps currently wear, it's miles ahead of what their NHL namesake sports.  That being said, this set is a pretty decent look for Cowichan.  The full length yoke with piping looks good, and the hem striping fits well with the more modern look of this jersey.  I'm not a huge fan of side panel striping, and this set is no exception for me.  The more traditional striping on the breezers and socks confuses me, as it doesn't really match the rest of this set and looks out of place.  Additionally, the execution of the striping on the gear is off, it's way too wide.  Final verdict: there are parts that I like about this set, but some of your design choices really pull this one down.  6/10

Noah B.- Gold Coast Suns

Our next concept is Noah B.'s latest entry in his Aussie Rules Football crossover series, this one for the Gold Coast Suns.  I really like what Noah's done here, he's adapted the the swooping stripe pattern from the Suns' actual uniforms and made it work on a hockey jersey.  I love the inclusion of all the colors from the logo in the striping, the light blue works really well with the red and yellow.  I like the arm striping to a contrasting cuff, but I wish it was curved to better match the striping at the bottom of the jersey (more like what the Ducks have).  That being said, I think keeping it straight on the socks was the right move.  Other than that, my only real issue is with this template, as I can never really tell what the striping on the breezers looks like.  Final verdict: a great entry in Noah's series, but I think a few tweaks could improve it even more.  8.5/10

TC Moore- Stockton Heat

Our final design of the day comes from my personal favorite designer on this site, myself.  For this design, I decided to give the Heat their own design, rather than the Flames clones that they currently wear.  I decided to keep a more modern design for the Heat, so I went with a full length yoke complemented by a more traditional striping pattern that changes from the upper to lower arm.  I really liked how the design worked for both the yoke and the underarm, but I wish I'd found a way to make the striping the same on the underarm for the home and away, as the coloring of the away jersey changes the way the pattern looks compared to how it looks on the home jersey.  I chose a contrasting hem under the hem stripe to complement the yoke, and I think it turned out pretty well.  Striping on the gear was a no-brainer, and I like the logo choices here better than on their primary set.  Final verdict: a good looking set for the Heat, but the arm striping not matching exactly still bother me a tad.  9/10

Being that I was an entrant into this week's choices, I feel it only necessary to bow out and allow y'all to make the COTW nominations, if only to preserve the integrity of our great site.  

That's all for me this week, see y'all next Friday!