Thursday: Yay Or Nay

Hey everyone, William here for another post.  I can hardly believe it's been a month since I started here already, time is just zooming by.

So I've been reading every other writer's blog posts, and although everyone has their own unique writing style, the format for evaluating the concepts is all the same.  So I'm going to try something a little different with how I evaluate my posts, as you'll see below.  This will help get my point clearly across yet reduce how wordy some of my reviews can get.  I definitely welcome feedback on it, and whether or not I should keep it for further posts.

But before showing off this week's concepts, here are some voting reminders.  I probably wont go pyromaniac if you don't, because a) I'm a stereotypical too-polite Canadian and b) I'm busy, and ain't nobody got time for that.  But it would be appreciated if you do take the time to vote for your favourite concepts.

IIHF Bottom 10 Top 5 votes (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

                           COTW Oct 14-20 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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Denver Cutthroats Concept - Jets96

Yay:  The current Cutthroats jersey has a pretty standard look, where these have a really cool striping pattern that feels unique but somewhat traditional at the same time, with the small red stripe being a subtle detail that stands this concept apart. The glove design is done well. 

Nay: The red stripe as mentioned early is a nice touch, but I feel it could be a little bit thicker, so it pops out more.  The dark jersey maybe should have white font, to make it easier to see, and the stroke on the name bar makes the name hard to see.  I'd probably make the numbers on the white jersey blue instead of green, to balance colour more, because the white jersey is really lacking in blue I think.

Overall:  The execution is great, and other than a few fishy font details (pun intended), this is a great concept. 7.8/10

Creighton Blue Jays - Dylan W.

Yay:  Creighton changed from a simple, classy script logo to this awesome logo this year, and Dylan gives them a totally unique look.  I'm a fan of double blue, but this triple blue design is eye-candy.  I'm a big fan of how the colours are used in the striping, collar and numbers.  The font choice looks classy, perfect for a non-traditional college uniform.

Nay:  This isn't exactly a "nay", but I don't really get the stripe shape.  Something bird related I assume, but it's just odd to me.  The arms seem really bare, and I wonder if the jersey would benefit from having the arm striping moved down the arm a bit. 

Overall:  Its hard to pick out negatives to this jersey, as the execution is fantastic on this piece.  Great work. 9/10 and COTW

Washington Capitals Concept - Matt R.

Yay:  My memory is awful, so I could very well be mistaken, but I believe this was one of the concepts I was up against in round one, and it left me shaking in my boots.  This has everything I love about the new Capitals' design, and the 90's Capitals' colours.  The equipment and striping detail is done perfectly. Although I like the eagle logo more, I'm glad their secondary logo is getting some love.  Its hard to tell what the shoulder patch is, but it looks like the current secondary logo recoloured, which if that is the case, is brilliant.

Nay: There isn't much.  I would like to see the sock striping to be a little more noticeable, besides the big middle stripe of course.  It just doesn't flaunt the team design like it could.  I think the logo is a little large too.  I could be wrong, but it feels like it eats up a lot of space on the front of the jersey.

Overall:  If the Capitals ever made this design their 3rd jersey or Winter Classic jersey, I'd be more than okay with that.  8.2/10

Columbus Blue Jackets "Ohio Pride" Concept - Avi S.

Yay: This jersey screams Americana, and Ohio Pride is a very appropriate theme for it. I love the Ohio outline for the captaincy patch, very nice touch.  The font choice is perfect, and much better than the current Blue Jacket's 3rd.  The "Ohio Pride" text on the collar is a really neat effect, something not done enough in the league (besides Buffalo's cheesy attempt at it).  I love jerseys that show meaning, and this  is no exception.

Nay:  My biggest problem with this one is with the hem striping, and how it doesn't exactly match with the arms.  The arms have blue cuffs at the end, where there is no blue at the bottom of the hem stripe (or the socks) to match.  Either having blue at the bottom of the jersey, or no blue cuffs, or finding a happy medium would make this jersey from great to exceptional.  I'd also outline the Ohio patch a bit better, so it stands out more.  And if you want a totally Ohio-esque jersey, there should be some white stars on the blue patches, just my opinion.

Overall:  This is the 3rd jersey Columbus deserves, and probably the one it needs right now, to win up some more fans in Ohio.  Love it.  7.7/10

Eisbaren Berlin Concept - TG

Yay:  Wait, this is a European jersey...where are all the funky colours and designs?  This is about as traditional of a hockey jersey as I've ever seen for a European team, and thats not a bad thing.  There aren't too many teams that can pull off straight black and white, but Berlin can, as shown here.  Bonus for having all of the proper patches on the jersey.

Nay: While this is a really clean concept, the design itself is very low-risk, low-reward. There's nothing too exciting about one solid stripe on each arm, the hem, the socks and the pants.  While everything does match and balance well, there's just not enough here to make me want to buy this jersey.

Overall:  The colours work, the traditionalism works, but the design can be a little more exciting.  6.9/10

 Anaheim Ducks Concept - JCR

Yay:  Before getting into the jersey itself, I love this theme. I'd like to see more traditional, college-style jerseys in the NHL.  This concept looks pretty good, with this template being very difficult to work with.  The striping all seems to match, and the colours are kept so it still feels like a Ducks jersey.  The high-chest stripes are cool, and while I didn't like how they looked on Nike's USA jersey, it's starting to grow on me thanks to this design.

Nay:  The main dark jersey, with a simple word mark on a black jersey, makes me think of Dallas' previous jersey, which isn't a good thing. The diagonal text is cool, but a short work like "Ducks" doesn't really work for it.  I'd use "Anaheim" instead. The text on that jersey looks really big too, taking up the whole front of the jersey.  As for the 3rd, I like the colours and everything, but the text crest doesn't really look right on this kind of jersey, and again looks pretty big.

Overall:  The effort here is incredible, as I don't have the patience required to ever use a template like this.  A few sizing issues, but nothing too drastic.  7.5/10

 Los Angeles Kings Concept - Wings98

Yay:  Other than the fact that the logo scares me somewhat, it's a really cool idea. I love seeing the purple and black come together again. While I have quite a bit to nitpick about the design, this reminds me of some Roller Hockey International designs, such as the Vancouver Voodoo, which had some crazy, artistic designs.  The font choice, especially the numbers, are pretty solid for this sort of design.

Nay:  Well, for starters, the design itself looks like it has a few pixelation and fill issues, something that can be better handled in photoshop with the right tools.  If you're going to have the bottom of the hem style as straight purple, the arms should to the same.  Having said that, some whit in the bottom of the jersey couldn't hurt.  TV numbers aren't usually on the yoke, and wherever they are, they should be facing out.  Imagine you're looking at the jersey from the side, you should be able to read the number normally.  Lastly, while it's refreshing to see a different pant design, this one looks a little tacky for anything in the NHL.

Overall:  While there are quite a few issues, some I didn't get to, it can't be said enough how cool the logo looks in this style.  A few fix ups and you might have yourself a great concept. 5.5/10

Team Canada Concept - Woody

Yay: As I'll get to in a minute, this isn't exactly much of a concept design.  But the major difference I see from this and the actual Nike jerseys are a second arm stripe, which I think was the main reason I wasn't too much of a fan of Nike's Canada jerseys.

Nay: First of all, you ALWAYS should put your name or some identification on the design, and you should ALWAYS source any work on your concept that isn't yours.  Since I can safely assume this image was taken from Nike's site, or somewhere else linking to it, that bit of info should be somewhere on the image.  Getting to the jersey itself, there isn't really much that is changed, besides the second stripe added.  Although that much is a bonus, that leaves little to love about the jersey that wasn't already there.

Overall:  This isn't much of a full concept, but it does prove what everyone pretty much figured: two stripes are better than one.  5/10

 Team Canada Concept - Shaun F.

Yay:  Continuing with above, this is more of the proper way to introduce two stripes, by making a full concept out of it.  Shaun makes a few detail changes to the current Olympic logo, while keeping the design mainly intact.  He swaps the yoke leaf design and the arm flag in his concept, which I think I like more than the current set up.  The gold outline on the letters and numbers is the perfect way for Canada to show off how much gold means to them, without ruining the simplicity of the jersey.

Nay:  On the white jersey, Shaun elects to keep the leaf red.  Although this is more appropriate for out flag, I like the idea of a white leaf, so it can stand out against the red chest design.  This isn't as much of a negative as it is a fun suggestion, but I wonder how the arm stripe would look if the leaf fully cut through the stripe.  Not sure what I mean? Use Vancouver's V stripe in their earliest jerseys as an example.  

Overall:  While this keeps the main design of the official jerseys, most of the changes made here are for the better.  I could be a proud Canadian wearing this jersey. 7.8/10

 Colorado Avalanche Concept - SG94

Yay: The last one today is a cool (make that cold) 3rd jersey design for the Avalanche.  Again, I'm a sucker for double-blue designs, and this cold design is perfect for a snowy team like the Avalanche.  The diagonal text and the simple yet traditional stripes gives this jersey a nice college feel.

Nay: I like the powder blue colour, but as an outline to white, it's hard to see on this jersey in places, especially as a stroke to the number and letters.  The design is pretty simple, another low-risk design, with a bit more detail, but not much.  Since the colours of the jersey don't exactly reflect the Avalanche logo (mainly without the maroon) it would be cool to see the shoulder patch logos recoloured to reflect the jersey.

Overall: Simple, yet the makings of a classic jersey. 8/10

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So how do you guys like this review style? Keep it? Trash it? I'd like to know how you think.  I did it to prevent me from rambling on back and forth between good and bad, but maybe that's not a bad thing.  If you don't like it, maybe I'll try something different next week, and I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to vote for the COTW and IIHF contests, you don't have much time left to do it.  See you guys again next Thursday, and have a good weekend.