Thursday: White and Yellow

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a good Thursday so far! Today was technically my Friday since I have off tomorrow, and I have nothing to do over the weekend aside from watch hockey. What a time to be alive. Anyways, enough about me, let's move on.

So I attended the Penguins and Capitals game 6 on Tuesday (and it was a great game to be at) but during warmups and throughout the game I noticed something. 

As any regular reader of this site should know, there's a situation that we like to call "yellow on white syndrome". This is when yellow and white are touching on the design, and they don't contrast enough, so they may end up looking like just one color. 

While this isn't a good thing, I think there are instances in where it works out pretty well; for instance, the Penguins' alternate jersey, specifically the back numbers.

The numbers are yellow with a white outline on them, on a black background. As you could imagine, they'd blend with each other when you look at it from a distance. And they do. But as you can see in the photo below (taken by me at the game) this doesn't affect the clarity of the numbers, you can still see them just fine.

However, there's one case I noticed that this doesn't work out. The number four. It works fine on the outside of the number, the inside inside is where it fails. The number combined with the stroke almost completely fills the hole in the middle, and there's barely any black left. This makes the number look like it's solid throughout. Just take a look at this picture, and pay attention to Kunitz.

Photo from pennlive.com

You can definitely see that the hole is essentially filled. While you can see some of the black here, it's even worse at a distance and the black seems to disappear.

With this exception, I think it's a cool scenario, with a detail you could would see up close, and wouldn't notice from afar.

TL,DR: Yellow on white syndrome may not always be really bad, but you still need to be cautious.

Just my two cents.

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The Tucson competition is finally winding down, with the deadline tomorrow. There's also the COTW as always, and also the vote for COTW winner for April.

COTW-April vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW May 1-7 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Falcons to Tucson Comp (ends Friday @ 10:30pm Eastern)

Starting soon though, the week will be changed to run from Friday to the following Thursday, as opposed to the current format. Go check out this post on the design blog if you'd like to know why, and for a more detailed explanation.

Competition entries:

Vaughn R.

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Jamie R. - Buffalo Sabres

+Buffalo could definitely use a (good) yellow alternate 

+The logo actually looks pretty good without the circle.

-I think it might look better in blue here though.

+There's enough blue in this design to counteract the brightness of the white and yellow.

+The minimalistic hem design really works here.

Overall: 8.5/10

Jay S. - The Big Freeze

-ADD ID to the image
+I love seeing logo concepts here, they come few and far between.

+I like the idea for the logo, it's a good start.

-Most pieces of this logo look a bit too much like clip art.

-I don't think the typeface chosen fits the logo very well.

-The text just seems to be there to fill in empty space, as opposed to having a planned out location. The "The Big Freeze" text is the exception to this.

Overall: I like the idea, but some refining of the execution could make this a great logo. 5/10

+I like the use of only one color (along with white) for Stanford.

+Stanford's jersey definitely gives off a vintage feel with a solid design used.

-However, Cal's jersey gives off more of a modern vibe, despite using a more traditional striping pattern. If this game is meant to be the equivalent of the Winter Classic, the design should have a more vintage look.

+It's still a good design in general though, the colors really pop (in a good way).

+Like I was coincidentally talking about earlier in this post, you have the same type of yellow on white syndrome going on on the Cal jersey. I think it works here, especially since it doesn't carry over to the TV numbers.

Overall: 7/10

This is a well done mockup here of Stanford Stadium for this game, turning the football field into the ice rink. The original photo is here. My only complaint is that the text for "The big freeze" is a bit dark, so it doesn't stand out enough from the background. Adding ID wouldn't be a bad idea either. This isn't really a concept in itself though, it just adds on to the other pieces, so I don't really think it needs a rating.

Lucas D. - Dallas Stars

+Dallas is one of the teams that could pull off angled stripes well since they have a modern identity.

+The simple striping pattern complements the design well, not making it too complex.

-I think the name and numbers would look better in black, and it would balance the black and green on the jersey better.

-Logo looks a tad big

Overall: 8.5/10

Ryan C. - Pittsburgh Penguins

+Good color balance, especially if the pants are black.

+The striping pattern is unique.

+I like what you're going for with the logo edit. 

-I think it looks a tad awkward, but it's not really bad or anything.

-Hey remember what I was talking about with the white on yellow...especially with the 4...yeah that happens here. I'd also make the tv numbers in just yellow because of this.

Overall: 8/10


Ryan H. - New York Islanders

+First of all, the jersey is actually colorful, thats a huge improvement already.

+The stroke on the the logo and numbers looks solid.

+The collar design you chose looks much better than what they went with.

-Not sure that laces fit a design like this too well. They don't look bad at all though.

-The orange arm stripes are still too thin in my opinion.

-This isn't a very creative concept, it's mostly just the same design recolored. Although, I understand that doing something really different wasn't the point with a fix of a currently used jersey, so it can slide here.

Overall: 8/10

Taylor R. - Finland

+Double blue is almost always a nice look, this is no exception.

+The changes to the design from the ones unveiled for the World Cup are definitely good ones, and spice the design up a bit.

-Not a big fan of a chest stripe with just "Suomi" in it still, as it makes for a pretty plain design.

-The arm stripes should be thicker, especially on the blue jersey, maybe even matching the chest stripe's thickness.

-The Adidas stripes aren't very good either, but they're here to stay for at least the World Cup unfortunately.

Overall: 7.75/10

Taylor R. - Sweden

+A bit more of a departure from the jerseys unveiled for the tournament, but a good move in my opinion.

+A return to the classic two stripes is definitely a good move, even if they're styled a bit differently.

+The yoke stripes visually almost create a third stripe, which gives a it a vintage feel, and I like it.

+Despite that, the modern typeface looks great and works well.

-I think the socks would look better matching the two arm stripes.

Overall: 9/10 and my COTW nomination.

Tyler M. - Boston Bruins

+Going with yellow for an alternate is the best choice.

+The design keeps it simple and sweet.

+The logo looks great colored like that.

-I think the current logo in those colors would be even better though.

-The stripes should be slightly thicker in my opinion.

-Execution brings this one down a bit unfortunately. The logo looks just a tad small, the name and numbers are too big, and the tv numbers look a tad small. The front of the jersey should also be showing a little bit of the back hem behind it with this template.

Overall: 6.75/10

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That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys again next week!