Project: IHA West
52 CommentsFirst, if you have no idea what the Icethetics IHA Project is then click here to get caught up.
Now that you know what's going on, I'm pleased to announce the unveiling of the next division. I'm doing this in no particular order. Last week was the Atlantic Division. Today... the West Division! Remember, your job is to take the name and colors and create an identity for a hockey team from scratch. I know you can do it!
We got an unbelievable response from last week's division. Just wait until you guys see some of the logos your fellow readers came up with. Some of them will blow you away. I'm not posting any of them yet because I don't want to taint the design pool. I'm still accepting logos for the Atlantic, but I'd really like to move on to the West this week.
I anticipate unveiling a new division every Monday for the next few weeks until we've got all the team names and colors out there. I'll have you guys start voting on the Atlantic logos probably next week, the West the week after. The top-voted logos for each team will be included in the IHA Logo Tournament and, of course, the IHA itself.
Anyway, enough chatter, here are this week's teams...
IHA: WEST DIVISION
CALGARY MAVERICKS / Calgary, Alberta
blue (00478A), gold (A79A53) and white (F0F0F0)
DALLAS PATRIOTS / Dallas, Texas
red (A00000), navy (0F1155) and white (F0F0F0)
DENVER MOUNTAINEERS / Denver, Colorado
purple (4D1B67), teal (008B8B) and white (F0F0F0)
EDMONTON SEAHAWKS / Edmonton, Alberta
lime (7FCE0E), blue (002E8C) and black (202020)
HOUSTON COMETS / Houston, Texas
blue (1B3B8B), orange (C86504) and black (202020)
I've supplied colors in hexadecimal format. Should you need RGB conversion, here's a decent resource. By the way, you aren't tied to the exact colors here. Feel free to alter them a little if need be. But please shy away from the standard colors like total black or total white or total red. Remember, be different! As similar as it is to the NHL, it's not the NHL!
GUIDELINES
Once again, follow these guidelines when submitting your original IHA artwork:
- DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK. I'm surprised I have to say this but a number of people submitted logos from professional teams. This is where you let your own creativity shine through. Send in something original!
- Submit three (3) logos: primary, secondary and wordmark. Use a white background. If your logo requires a white outline (think Lightning or Capitals), then use a gray background with the white outline included.
- Submit vector art if possible. I will accept .ai, .psd and .pdf files. If you cannot submit vector art, you must be able to provide high quality raster art in .jpg or .png files. No .bmp files, please.
- Try to stick to the assigned colors. Change them only if you deem it necessary and then explain why you made the change. Remember, the "fans" chose these colors and they're who you're working for in the end.
- Email them to nhllogos@gmail.com with IHA in the subject line. Please include your first and last name (it will not be posted). Please also submit your nickname which will be public if you don't want your real first name used.
- By submitting your own original artwork to the email address above, you agree to grant permission of its use for online or print publication by Icethetics. Do not watermark your logos or they will not be considered.
- And finally, be prepared to accept feedback and criticism of all kinds!
As always, you can email me questions directly or post them in the comments area. Start designing your logos! I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!
UPDATE (5:32 PM): Just a quick thing after looking at some of the comments. While all the feedback is more than appreciated, there really is no point to complaining about the colors or names of the teams listed here. I think "roccot" said it best in the comment below: "As a designer are you going to tell your boss/client their name sucks!? Good-bye job!"
This project is for designers who want a challenge. Sure, some of the names and color schemes may be unoriginal, but that's where the challenge lies. Can you create individual identities for red, white and blue teams named the Stars, Americans and Patriots? If not that's okay, but at least try to enjoy the challenge.
Frankly, I was a little surprised by the overwhelming number of people who were upset by the fact that they weren't getting to vote on the teams' names and locations to begin with. Had I known this would be such an issue, I might've considered building a fantasy league from the ground up myself allowing you guys to choose and vote on names/colors.
Unfortunately, doing something like that would be a huge undertaking. How do you organize it with the kind of limited time I have to work on this site? Is it something I'll consider for the future? If this project continues to be as big a hit as it's been so far, absolutely! No question in my mind.
But for now, I just wanted to offer a project where readers could design logos, given a name and colors. It's basically what everyone's doing by redesigning NHL logos anyway — only without the preconceived notions of what the logos should look like. The feedback is great, and if you guys do want to create another fantasy league from the ground up in the future — where you pick the names, colors and design the logos and uniforms — don't hesitate to let me know. I think it sounds like fun.
Reader Comments (52)
before anyone, myself included, goes on to complain about things, i'm going to go out on a limb here and say i look forward to seeing the denver mountaineers, calgary mavericks, and edmonton seahawks designs.
First of all, I love this whole idea and am looking forward to seeing people's creative responses.
But -- sorry Resist the Machine -- I'm also going to voice a little complaint: wtf do seahawks have to do with land-locked Edmonton?
to the complainers... go start your own f'n site.
As a designer are you going to tell your boss/client their name sucks!? Good-bye job!
although i like like most of the team names and colours its just that the patriots are they third red white blue team with a name that has to do with the US a logo could work for all three of the teams
I'm a bit disappointed that Calgary's colour scheme doesn't include red, since every other team in Calgary - and even its flag - contains red. The Seahawks' name and colour scheme seem to fit Vancouver more than Edmonton. However, I love the colours for Denver, Houston, and Dallas.
Yeah i think Edmonton really missed the mark there. Vancouver, St. John's, even Nova Scotia, but Edmonton, no.
please tell me we're going to have jersey submissions/competitions for these teams. i know i'm thinking of jersey designs without even having logos.
i realize that it's just for a fantasy league, but if we're making logos for it, might as well go the whole nine yards...
I don't want to steal any logos that are trademarked. But does that include taking a logo that is already complete and modifying it to suit what someone has in mind? Is that infringing on the trademark laws?
I don't want to steal any logos that are trademarked. But does that include taking a logo that is already complete and modifying it to suit what someone has in mind? Is that infringing on the trademark laws?
I'm not concerned so much about trademark law here (because nothing on this blog is being bought or sold) so much as coming up with an original idea. Modifying a logo that already exists is the same as stealing for the purposes of this project. Try to think of something new and different!
seahawks in edmonton? Why are there no new cities with teams, like las vegas or seattle at least, but I do appreciate houston being put in there.It be fun to brand new cities, but still keep the major cities like ny, la, chicago, detroit, philly etc.
The Houston Comets are going to be amazing to see what people come up with. as with the Mountaineers and Mavericks.
CHRIS!!!!!!!
NO Vancouver?!?!...I mean as you saw in the polls, our fanbase has given your site the most views...by far !!
Don't you think we deserve a team...even if this is a fantasy league!
The Seahawks, Comets and Mounties are sweet!
NO Vancouver?!?!...I mean as you saw in the polls, our fanbase has given your site the most views...by far !!
Don't you think we deserve a team...even if this is a fantasy league!
Wow. There are still 20 more teams left to reveal. Allow me to put your mind at ease: Vancouver will have a team in the Pacific Division. Fret not.
What is a good program to use to design logos?
The only program i have is paint.
Same here flames1215
Chris, if you need somebody with extra time to organize a big tournament at any time, I would be happy to try and help. I dont have a busy life, only about 3 weeks a year are busy for me. So if you need any help, I'm good to go.
Paint.net is good Flames. I would start out by drawing someth8ing by hand as a rough draft and then transferring it to PC.
Ya its hard to design logos with paint. All you can do is paste pictures and recolor them, and thats not very original.
Is Paint.Net a website? And how would u transfer something to the computer. Sorry for all the questions, i dont know to much about computers.
whew....thats good to hear chris!
sorry for the criticism...I should have never doubted you....Great Site...Love It!
GO CANUCKS GO!
Sundin + Demitra = Cup
Are there any other programs to use to design logos. Paint.Net is Ok, but im just wondering if there is anything else? Thanks for all the help.
How do u transfer a drawing to the computer?
And wat programs do GhettoFarmBoy and Sigma Kappa Use? Just wondering, thanks. Sorry if my questions are annoying
OK so i noticed some of you want a program to use. i just played with a Vector Imageing software. Now its not Illustrator but you can Free scale your work and use Layers. i thought is was kind good for a free Vector program. so if you want to use a liget program and not have a Copy of one go to this link and allow the download. hope you all have fun.
http://sourceforge.net/project/downloading.php?groupname=inkscape&filename=Inkscape-0.46.win32.exe&use_mirror=voxel
before the wnba sues the houston franchise... jk. cant wait to see the results. quick question. when do we get to see the first batch of logos and jerseys and stuff from the atlantic division?
I'm not complaining whatsoever, rather making a statement.
Isn't there going to be a Eastern and Western Conference? So why is this division named the West Division?
is there going to be Quebec City?
can you post the desighs for last week today
I'm gonna go trace back to my original statements saying this fantasy league could have been handled better. The development of an existing WNBA team for an IHA one is the final straw.
Resist the Machine what is your problem? If this league has been handled so poorly why are you still here? If you have a problem with this project that you just can't get over I suggest you go start your own. I think most of us are getting pretty sick of your whining.
Great project Chris! Can't wait to see what people come up with.
Because there are some that are blinded by the lack of creativity that went into some of "franchises". And I'm not the only one complaining/is concerned about the direction of this fantasy league.
Also, I stay around for the 3rd jersey rumors.
I'm all for feedback both positive and negative. But some people on here just keep complaining about the same thing over and over. Resist the Machine stated that he still has a problem with the fact that readers couldn't pick the names and colours, just like he kept saying in in the other division. I believe Chris already addressed that, yet he has to bring it up again. That kind of feedback does not help the blog one bit.
Hey guys, no problem with a healthy debate. But it's over now. I understand some people don't like that they didn't get to pick the names of the teams. I'm sorry, but that is not what this is about. It's like saying you don't like bananas because they are yellow and they should be made another color. Doesn't work that way; that's just how it is.
We can do an entire fantasy league of our own in the future if there's enough interest, but for right now, it's about designing logos and having fun with what you're given.
By the way, I don't like deleting comments, so let's keep it friendly here. I lack patience for those who are unpleasant and malicious for no reason.
I see, thanks Chris.
I'm a big fan of this concept, it gives all of the readers a real chance to get creatively involved. I'm not sure if all of the cities in the remaining divisions are set in stone, but even if they are, I thought I'd just share my ideas for some potential team locations in a hypothetical league:
East:New York, Hamilton, Buffalo, Hartford, Boston // Halifax, Cleveland, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal // Washington, Atlanta, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
West: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, St. Louis // Minneapolis, Denver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton // Los Angeles, San Francisco, Quebec City, Phoniex, Vancouver
I apologize for sounding unpleasant. I just love this concept and this site and I hate seeing people bash it and stuff. Anyway I like John's idea, I'd love to see a team here in Halifax:P
Haha. Glad to hear it Ben. For me, it was between Halifax and London, but I felt that the hypothetical league would be much better served having a team closer to the eastern coast of Canada, than another central or western one.
(I'm in the U.S. myself, but have visited Halifax a few times, and love the place).
What part of the US are you in?
New York. Long Island to be exact (not an Islanders fan though lol- Rangers).
Haha yeah I'm not too big on the Isles myself.
My team is the Blackhawks. I like the Rangers a lot too although losing Jagr and Avery might hurt them a little.
Yeah, we've suffered some losses, but I think our additions will be able to at least get us to the playoffs (not really good enough anymore, but I'll take what I can get after the dark, post-Cup years).
I still don't agree with letting Avery walk, he's not someone who can easily be replaced, in statistics or his demeanor. If some of our younger players break out though, we can find ourselves in good position at the middle of the pack in the East- or at least I hope so.
John can i ask why you would put Quebec City out West?
Fair question Mike. I was actually really torn about where to put them, because I was trying to keep some traditional geographic rivalries in place (after the post, I realized the error of neglecting an obvious one between Montreal and Quebec City), and so they just sort of kept getting shifted out west.
You could probably exchange Quebec City with Toronto, if you wanted to, but then they would be seperated from Ottawa. You could switch them with Cleveland too, and then move the west around some more, but I was trying to avoid an all-Canadian division. It's a tough call.
Fair enough :) Just Thought i would ask. have you guys been making Designs?
Yeah I got the Mountaineers almost ready to go
Wow really Im still on the atlantic. i only made 2 teams. the Stars and the Titans.
Yeah I'm pretty much just picking my favorite from each division.
This is my first post here. Woo.
I was going to be working with a graphics dude from the Pensblog, but he has been bogged down with work. He was going to create the logos, and me do the jerseys and such. So, I have no logos. I'm not good at those. But I have a base jersey temp to work with for the whole league and then I will edit it based on each individual team. So far I have: Pittsburgh, Philly, and Atlanta. I know it's not jersey time yet, but I will assume I can use the winning logo and just add it to my jerseys and submit that? Or do I HAVE to make my own logos too?
I'm going to have some trouble finding time to make some logos :/...
Plus, I don't have access to Adobe Illustrator at the moment, but maybe if I find some time, I'll use that website that was listed up top. I'll probably just start out on the West, or whatever division is most recent at the time I begin.
I'm interested to see what you did for the Stars and Titans, Mike. Both seemed like extremely difficult teams to do something for. Looking forward to seeing it later on this week.
Chris,
Perhaps you could indicate how many entries you have for each team so far. That way anyone who might be undecided can pick one of the teams that may have little or nothing done for them yet.
I know that I am doing one team per division. So far I have done the Fire and Mountaineers. This project is a bit addictive.
sh0ez,
Can you let me know what you are using for a template for the jerseys? Is it something you created or have just accessed. thanks.