Darknes wrote:

QCS wrote:

Buffalo - Again, none of these jumped out to me. F is probably the best one, I can't say I'm a fan of the silver in the palette, honestly. I'd rather just navy and white, no other colors. None of the others inspired me, including my own.

I think the Silver is actually Nickel referencing Buffalo's other nickname as the "Nickel City"
 

That's pretty much why silver was included in the logo, although a blue/white fauxback or all white color rush could look pretty cool

And now, time for me to talk about the designs which were my idea.

Buffalo Bolts: As I submitted the winning name, option "G" was my idea (the one with the eleven bolts), inspired by the city flag.  However, I knew that either they, E or F were my favorites, focusing on a single blue and white main color scheme (though I do like the winner's choice to have nickel as an accent color)

Carolina Reapers: My idea was to have a fiery bright orange outline, with a death's head in the pepper.  However, I think Gritty made some good improvements, and it's a well-done, classy logo which I am proud of.

New York Emperors: The Chinese logo was my idea (I wanted to play off how NYC has the highest population of Chinese people outside of Asia, as well as put a twist on the "Emperors" name).  Though I don't think the wordmark should have been a dealbreaker (as a couple had said it was), I am proud of Section30's similar "different" idea...that penguin is SOLID.

Philadelphia Brawlers: Yes, "Brawlin' Ben" was my idea.  The look I was going for was based off the idea that Ben Franklin was a superhero (a statesman and journalist by day, a scientist and inventor by night, and America's original "genius multimillionaire playboy philanthropist.")  I am proud to see Gritty bring it to life, and even prouder to see it as the winning insignia.

Toronto Beavers: My other winning name, my idea was the simple red and white silhouette.  Though I remain proud of that, I can see why it wasn't the winner (the color scheme would be too simple for some, and some more are sick of the "Canadian teams with maple leaf logos" trend).  I think Gritty did a good job with his own idea, and know that it will be a solid brand for Canada's team going forward.

One more thing, I look forward to seeing the new logos in the Drive folder so I can start my uni designs for 'em.

Last edited by Burmy87 (5/21/2020 9:02 pm)

DireBear wrote:

Darknes wrote:

QCS wrote:

Buffalo - Again, none of these jumped out to me. F is probably the best one, I can't say I'm a fan of the silver in the palette, honestly. I'd rather just navy and white, no other colors. None of the others inspired me, including my own.

I think the Silver is actually Nickel referencing Buffalo's other nickname as the "Nickel City"
 

That's pretty much why silver was included in the logo, although a blue/white fauxback or all white color rush could look pretty cool

Dude, I never even thought about the "Nickel City" reference!  Really creative idea, glad it won!   
 

QCS I disagree about the reaper logo that won, honestly it reads better than yours. Just a little tip, I think the geometric aspect of your logo and the cone like bottom just made the whole thing less realistic. The hive idea is nice but I vastly prefer the flames of the other logo. Also, the hive feels a bit forced as a Charlotte icon. Not every team needs iconography from the city, forcing it into a logo never turns out the best unless it's known on a large scale, say the Warriors and the Golden Gate Bridge. I think option A does a very good job of making a C, a pepper, and throwing in something interesting to show off the spiciness of the infamous Carolina Reaper. I think that logo made me feel a lot better about the name Reapers in fact when it was probably my least liked name out of the bunch.

That being said I'm pretty happy with practically all the choices, I think they turned out better this round than last, Buffalo looks fantastic, as does Boston and New York, the Emperor Penguin was my second choice but it still looks fantastic and I love the idea behind it.

The only I'm weary on is Philadelphia, I think the logo is far to, for a lack of better words, minor league. I think it's potentially the weakest and worst brand to come out of the Alt leagues, no hard feelings of course, it would work great for a different team, but for a Philadelphia football team I'd expect something much more traditional, which is why I'm disappointed A lost.

Speaking of something else that I'm weary on, we do have a rule where alternates have to include team colors right? Two helmets is already diluting brands a bit imo, and I think it would be best if we stopped the dilution there. I'd hate to see this turn into the NBA.

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

QCS I disagree about the reaper logo that won, honestly it reads better than yours. Just a little tip, I think the geometric aspect of your logo and the cone like bottom just made the whole thing less realistic. The hive idea is nice but I vastly prefer the flames of the other logo. Also, the hive feels a bit forced as a Charlotte icon. Not every team needs iconography from the city, forcing it into a logo never turns out the best unless it's known on a large scale, say the Warriors and the Golden Gate Bridge. I think option A does a very good job of making a C, a pepper, and throwing in something interesting to show off the spiciness of the infamous Carolina Reaper. I think that logo made me feel a lot better about the name Reapers in fact when it was probably my least liked name out of the bunch.

That being said I'm pretty happy with practically all the choices, I think they turned out better this round than last, Buffalo looks fantastic, as does Boston and New York, the Emperor Penguin was my second choice but it still looks fantastic and I love the idea behind it.

The only I'm weary on is Philadelphia, I think the logo is far to, for a lack of better words, minor league. I think it's potentially the weakest and worst brand to come out of the Alt leagues, no hard feelings of course, it would work great for a different team, but for a Philadelphia football team I'd expect something much more traditional, which is why I'm disappointed A lost.

Speaking of something else that I'm weary on, we do have a rule where alternates have to include team colors right? Two helmets is already diluting brands a bit imo, and I think it would be best if we stopped the dilution there. I'd hate to see this turn into the NBA.

I honestly didn't even consider the idea of not using the team colors in an alternate format.  Personally, I am a fan of the iconic, traditional look (probably cause I am a Big Ten fan).  But I do want to give the uniform designers some room to be creative. I've always thought that Colorado Buffaloes captured this balance well.  They have their iconic gold helmets with black jerseys and gold pants, but they then can go with a lot of the different variations.  They admittedly have like 4 helmets (Gold, Black, White, Grey) - I think we can accomplish what we want with just two.  

For those of you who want something more 'out there' I submit the new TCU uniforms.  They were able to get a unique design within the boundaries of their brand.  Let's keep it to the team colors.

https://www.uniswag.com/blog/new-tcu-football-uniforms


As for the NORTH logos.  Since I had my hand in a few of them I won't judge but rather discuss them just a little. Give a little designer's rationale if you will. I agree with Dr. Pepper and that it is awesome and preferred when the logo has local iconography but it doesn't always have to have them.  If you think about it - some of the most iconic logos out there 'on their face' could be from any city.  BUT just because it may not have, it doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of thought put into them.  

Buffalo Bolts - I was happy when my logo got beat out for Buffalo.  The fact that it works on both sides of the helmet makes it better right away.  Now that I have the 'nickel' idea makes it even cooler.  Also...not sure if we can pull it off without copying the Chargers but a lightning bolt helmet with that lightning bolt could be cool.  TBH one of my favorite CFB uniforms and helmets is Air Force.

Boston Nightriders - Honestly I like the idea of the lantern, I think that would make for a great secondary logo.  And perhaps an even better soccer crest.  But since the name of the team was Nightriders I knew I wanted something that had riding in it.  I immediately thought of the SMU / Calgary Stampeders logo of the running horse silhouette.  But then it  looked a little naked and simple so I wanted to add the moon background.  The blue / gold color scheme is my favorite in sports and always felt like Boston would be great with it.  

Carolina Reapers - I am with QCS here, it was difficult to come up with something for a pepper.  I originally had something with a chili pepper but thought that people wouldn't like the departure from what a reaper pepper actually looks like.  Burmy came up with the ideas for the flames and I liked the idea a lot.  At first the flames were flying off the back of a "C" pepper - then I realized I had just boosted the Calgary Flames logo.  The flames that I ended up using were supposed to be hot rod flames - a little nod to the existing Charlotte Racers (I know they're more NASCAR but still).  Ultimately the color scheme of red and green is pretty unique to sports if you think about it.  

New York Emperors - The penguin idea is just awesome.  I was behind the Big Apple logo and the Chinese inspired logo with Burmy.  I had to share that I think Burmy's instinct for the Chinese theme was a good one.  I ended up making it look like the Mortal Combat logo - which I didn't realize until after I submitted it.  I like how NY is picking up the mantle of Pittsburgh as the city with a common color palette.  

Philadelphia Brawlers: The most controversial logo of the set.  The fact that he already has a name 'Brawlin' Ben' is actually a good thing for the brand no matter if it being used for good or bad.  With that said, I totally get Dr. Pepper's point about him looking a little minor league (where cartoons usually reign).  I think we as a group can pull off a cool - patriotic uniform style for the Brawlers.  Brawlers, is an awesome name but difficult to pull off.  I did actually make a simple flying boxing glove secondary logo for him - for this anticipated reaction.  I'll include it in the logo set for the uniforms. It actually looks similar to option C - which is a nice coincidence.  

Toronto Beavers: The Toronto Beavers look was meant to be simple.  I wanted to add the leaf in the ear as a little homage.  At first I wanted the beaver to be gold (like vegas gold) rather than white - but I wasn't sure how Toronto would feel about having SENS colors.  I'll leave that question for Osgiliath Guard.

Anyway that's just behind the scenes thoughts.  Keep sending in the West Logos! Have a great day everyone!