Tuesday: Keep Your Stick on the Ice

Hi folks, Merry Christmas! Welcome back to the last Tuesday concept post. Being my last post, I think it fitting to reminisce on some of my favorite concepts to have reviewed. Let's start with the only concept I reviewed with an A+ attached to it. That distinction belongs to Christian L, with a Seattle Kraken logo:

Here was my review specifically on the logos:

Oh wow. These are fantastic. Creating the S out of the tentacle was a great piece for both the primary and wordmark. The Space Needle is practically prerequisite for Seattle, but the way it's being squeezed by the tentacle integrates them together geniusly. The font for the wordmark matches the S perfectly without distracting from it. The highlights give it a phenomenal sense of depth, and great implication of muscularity and strength, without detracting from its simplicity. The only critique I've found to offer is the color scheme, which I'll touch in in the uniforms. Seattle management needs to see this now.

I was less impressed with the uniforms:

While I don't have the same praises for this portion, it's solid nonetheless. The massive chest stripe wonderfully drenches the set in color. This is the set's biggest strength, though the color scheme needs some minor adjusting. Starting with the hometown Seahawks scheme was a great starting point. The dark blue with neon green for accents are good, but the light blue is too close to the dark blue to completely sell this look. The saturation and lightness need to be tweaked to create a sharper contrast; right now it's too bland and flat to dynamically pop out like it wants to. The blue jersey is fine without any white stripes, but the white numbers unnecessarily stick out. A side view of the pants would be appreciated; its too colorful for the pants to be blank, which is what it looks like. The design for the socks doesn't seem to reference the set as well as it could, especially on the white, where the dark blue on the outside, unlike the light blue on the inside. The neon green accent was best kept around the logo and in the chest stripe, and I also like how it's tied in to the collar.

I gave the uniforms a B+, for an overall rating of an A. This concept went on to win Concept of the Week, Concept of the Month, and the 1st Quarter vote. We'll see if it goes any further in the Concept of the Year vote coming up in the new year.

Since this is Hockey Jersey Concepts, I don't want to pass without honoring the concept with the higher rated jersey: an Arizona Coyotes concept from Lucas D.:

Lucas takes us to the desert for next season's Coyotes' third. The color layout is flawless; the maroon-over-sand from the logo was carried excellently to the design. While we usually see a more Native American inspired pattern, the repeating triangles are a neat abstraction of shapes within the logo. At first glance I wondered why the shoulder patch was only on one side, but then I saw how the Coyote is howling at the moon, which is a great touch. I'm really struggling to find criticism for this design, though I must admit I'm not a fan of the blank pants. A minor miscue, but the amount of triangles varies quite a bit between both of your template. I much prefer the version on the right, though I can't be certain what you're trying to communicate.

I gave this concept an A and my COTW nomination, but sadly, it was never seconded. That's enough of an intro, on to concepts!

COTW December 14-20 vote (ends Friday @ 12pm ET)

Washington Capitals Redesign Competition (begins December 28th)

Chris W.- West Brunswick Trojans

I'm almost positive we've seen this concept from Chris before- part of the HJC Open, maybe? Maybe he can help me in the comments. Anyway, this is well-thought out, individualized design for a high school. A design element I wish I'd seen more often is ornate patterns within striping; this is how to do it well. The laurels and modified zig-zag are perfectly fitting for a Trojan team name. The way they're used in color is a bit varied and gives off more than one effect; some of the patterns are well defined (e.g. green laurels on black), while others are more subtle (grey laurels on black). It would have been best to have picked on approach or the other for consistency. The colors are balanced well, though more black on the green socks could have better completed the alternate's look. The black, with its darkness emphasized by the bright green, is too top-heavy with the yoke and pants.

Grade: A-

Vaughn R.- AHL Winter Classic, Providence Bruins vs Rockford Ice Hogs

There's a lot more going on in this design than Vaughn intended. Unfortunately, it's not for the better. On Providence, the yellow stripes are thick (hem and sleeves), medium (pants and gloves), and thin (cuffs) in a chaotic arrangement in which none relates to the other. The thick yellow stripes complicate the lack of hierarchy by fighting with each other. The yellow by its brightness, and the black by its contrast to white, create this problem by standing out about equally. The Rockford logo is terrific with the Blackhawks' feathers over a block R. The design is bit jarring with the light chest stripe in such thin outlines. These outlines even worse diminished because right next to them on the sleeves are thicker black outlines. Between both of them, if you're going to have vintage white on one, you better have it on the other, or the vintage effect is lost. Both are classic looks in layout, but both need work on proportions before they're ready for the limelight of a Winter Classic.

Grade: D

That's the last daily post from me. I'll conclude by nominating Chris's West Brunswick Trojans for COTW. And, for the last time, keep your stick on the ice.