Tuesday: Mid-May Day

Hi folks, welcome back to HJC for the Tuesday post. Throwback Week has officially ended, so we now return to your regularly scheduled concepts. I'll keep the intro short and jump straight in after our hiatus.

But first, a quick note about the Pairs Competition. This year the start will be on June 1st. There will be no divisions this year, so everyone is competing for the same championship. We're keeping the exact design criteria under wraps for now, but we'll leak that it will be for an outdoor game. If you have a partner in mind, now is the time to get in touch with them. Otherwise, follow the link below to get your email address out. You'll be able to contact our other artists and find a partner that way. Stay tuned for more!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZsmY8mA5KP9cpsXeVIULcfvQMx53ZCc5zA4cHDV_FcIU5YA/viewform

 COTW Vote May 4-10 (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

 Wheeling Nailers Competition (Votes due Friday @ noon EST) 

Adam G.- Chicago Blackhawks

Our first concept today is the next in Adam's De-Edge series. Adam wisely doesn't look to break new ground for the Original 6 squad, and keeps the changes to the original design minimal. It's a boring approach to concepts, and I don't think any of the changes are for the better. The additional stripes make clutter the hem and arms, and the thinner stripes make them less legible. Omitting the pants stripes makes for a drab look that desperately needs the color back. Other than it, it's essentially a copy-paste.

Grade: D-

Danny R.- Bonnyville Pontiacs

Danny designs an alternate jersey for the Bonnyville Pontiacs. It's usually best for alternates to go with the secondary color, and Vegas gold looks fantastic with black accents and equipment, especially the black cuffs on the sleeves. The white is less successful, and is dangerously close to yellow-on-white syndrome. I would want the white and black reversed to better balance the colors. The pants handle the color much better. The classic design pattern fits with the roundel logo, and is a pattern you really can't ever go wrong with, except for on the pants; the tapering stripe isn't doing anything for me; the rest of the design has straight lines, so introducing a new linetype is a jarring feature. I like how the Adidas collar is handled, especially how the laces complete the full loop. 

Grade: B

Lucas D.- Calgary Flames

Lucas completes today's post with a redesign for the Flames. The simplicity in this set is its primary selling point. The simple stripe and block pattern works extremely well the plain, but well-contrasted, color scheme. Going back to the retro colors and totally eliminating black was the right route for this approach. Slightly angling the stripe ingeniously adds a great deal of interest, without adding too much. I love how consistent the theme was carried throughout the design; even the collar fits the theme! While there's no white on the pants, it still fits because it's symmetrically balanced, and the stripe is consistently yellow throughout. Like Danny's concept above, the yellow stripe on the white jersey is dangerously close to yellow-on-white syndrome. The thickness of the yellow stripe saves it completely, but could either use a red stripe to separate it against the white, or be even thicker. 

Grade: A-

My COTW nomination goes to Lucas D's Calgary Flames. That's it for this week. Be sure to vote in both of the current competitions, start thinking about the Pair Comp, and keep your stick on the ice.