Whale Tale Gets Even Worse
Tuesday · Jan 25 · 2011 | 6:00 PM PST
Original artwork / Scott JohnsonThis is one of those stories that, as a creative professional, I can only shake my head at.
Earlier this month I wrote a post called Timeline of a Connecticut Fail — referring to the AHL's Connecticut Whale. As has been made clear, I'm not a fan of the team's recent rebranding efforts. And I'm not alone.
We felt like we were sold a bill of goods, thinking the spirit of the Hartford Whalers was actually coming back. Because that's what we were told.
But we were lied to. First it was the name. Then it was the logo. And now we find out that very logo may have been outright stolen without even bothering to credit the original artist.
Graphic designer Scott Johnson outlined his treatment by Howard Baldwin & Co. on his personal blog. It's staggering, to be honest.
When the new group wanting to bring Whalers hockey back to Hartford was in town, that colleague connected them with me. What a chance for me — creating a uniform for the team in Hartford!
Things went pretty well in the process at first. Lots of back-and-forth of what they wanted, lots of sketching, designs, and artwork. I thought we were going great — I did what they asked and more, and they used almost all of the work I did. The thing is, they just didn't appreciate it enough to pay for it.
The worst part for me wasn't the lack of payment, it was that another artist was allowed to take credit for my work — with the Whale's blessing. ... It's disappointing and unfortunate.
That's putting it awful mildly.
This is a huge thing that he is accusing this team of doing. And rather horrible too.
Despite having expressed my disappointment with the final product, I must admit I actually like Scott's original artwork. The whale is still a bit goofy, but he was following instructions he was given. Still, some of those jerseys are outstanding.
The "C" with the whale tail protruding in from the side is spot on. I'm not a fan of the wavy stripes, but as a logo it's perfect if what you want is to recall the spirit of the Whalers.
Anyway, we all have our own opinions on what looks good and what doesn't. But I think we can all agree that logo theft is completely unacceptable in every way. This goes beyond disappointing and unfortunate.
The sad thing is, it's not a rare event. Just this week our friends at PuckDrawn reported on a USHL team that purchased a logo design it had no idea was stolen — from a PuckDrawn concept competition.
These are minor league and junior teams, yes, but they still sell merchandise to turn a profit just like the pros. To see them stealing from talented artists is just repulsive and illegal.
Short of putting an end to displaying much-loved concept art on Icethetics, I wish there was something we could do to stop it. Just have to keep an eye out for thieves, I guess, and make their transgressions as public as possible.
Reader Comments (15)
Disgraceful behaviour from a franchise that seems hell-bent on irritating and alienating all it encounters. If Howard Baldwin and co. think their recent activity is the best way to honour, or even revive the Whalers name, then they really are completely out of touch.
I agree with you all the way. I was so excited to see the Whale coming back to Hartford, but was very let down at the final product. I love the C with the whale tale in it, but I'm with you, the "wave" lines on the jersey look terrible. Maybe the C-Whale would see some of the concepts on here and change their minds about the new look.
FOr all of Baldwins talk about wanting to keep the spirit of the Whalers alive in Hartford, he is doing a horrible job. From the name to logo to jerseys, and marketing it's all just awful. What makes it worse is crap like this. This is a professional hockey team, and they are behaving lvery unprofessionally. It almost seems that he is purposley trying to ruin the Whalers name. Up to this point I would say that Baldwin has done more bad then good for the Hartford Whalers legacy.
Did I not mention earlier the existance of politics in hockey? Ironic huh? But this is just repulsive of the Baldwin group.
This comes as a surprise to anyone? Howard Baldwin was the Pens owner in '92. After winning back to back Cups in '91/'92, that jerk decided to change the logo/uniform to that god awful PIGEON/Corporate/Robo logo, karma is a funny thing because the Pens NEVER made it to the Cup finals while wearing that PIGEON thing. Another funny thing is, shortly after Mario Lemieux changed the logo back to the Skating Penguin, the Pens were back in the Cup finals. Thank God the PIGEON logo is DEAD and buried.
While I understand the issue here, it seems that this wasnt technically illegal. The designs shown in the article above are not the exact design implemented by the team. I'm sure there could be more designs that the artist offered to Baldwin. But was the final choice one of those options or did Baldwin use a design that only had aspects of each previous design? I'm a Whalers fan and always will be. I'll always hold onto the hope that the NHL will return to Hartford, no matter how far-fetched people think this is. And I think pushiing the Whale on CT is a good thing. The name could be better, yes. The logo could be better, yes. But the idea of having some form of our beloved Whalers back in Hartford is a great thing. If these designs were in fact stolen, then Baldwin needs to come clean and make a public statement, offering recognition to the actuall artist. Maybe allow him to come up with an alternative design to use on a 3rd jersey (or one time jersey since a 3rd is already out there).
This will go down for sure in Hartford and CT as the big Connecticut Fail!!!
Totally classless by Baldwin and the new look is just god-awful. If anything they are moving further and further away from what the Whalers were and meant to this region - not bringing them closer to getting an NHL franchise back. Hell they'll be lucky if AHL hockey survives with the aproach they are taking right now.
They are claiming possibly up to 38,000 fans for that "Whale Bowl" game - I bet they'll be lucky to get half that.
Lameness to the penultimate degree.
"Stealing from talented artists is just repulsive and illegal." That's pretty much dead-on. That's why I hesitate sometimes to share concepts or artwork online because of this sort of thing. It's like a double edged sword, you want to share your vision with the world but the world is waiting to steal it.
I'm with you, Chris. The "C" logo with the tail on its side is outstanding. Why that one was not chosen is baffling.
There is precedent with the Baltimore Ravens. A guy drew a shield on a napkin - the team used it for their helmet logo, and he sued their butts. They changed their logo as a result, I don't know if they compensated him.
This artist has plenty of ammunition to seek compensation.
I also don't know what's worse - the theft or the uglification of his work.
That 'C' would be perfect as the main logo, or even a Captaincy patch or shoulder patch.
This team is somehow now more of a joke then the Hartford Wolf Pack.
From the CT Whale website, under the Front Office tab
Logos: Scott Johnson and Erik Carlson.
Scott is now credited as co-creater of the logo.
Having lived in Pittsburgh all my life and intently following the Penguins during the late 80's-early 90's'...2 things stick out...classless and Howard Baldwin! Not surprised in the least. Soon he will be negotiating the future rights to almost anything for pennies on the dollar.
It's not Baldwin. Look at the agency, Elkinson & Sloves.
First ofF, Scott Johnson was paid to his satisfaction for his work, although the final logo was not his, it appears to be a variation of his work. Most of the logos he presented where rejected by either the Rangers or the NHL, or the owner of the true Whalers name. Anything with the name Whalers had no shot at getting on the ice. The logo had to be kid friendly especially in an AHL market. The current logo is rampant in the arena everynight it eclipses the number of Wolf Pack Logo wearing fans and you can find as many Whale as Whaler logos wearing fans in the arena. Its a good thing to return the true tradition of this Hockey Market. The rebrand, although it is portrayed negatively here, brought in 13,089 fans the first night the logo was on the ice. It also sold a record 21,673 tickets for an outdoor event setting an AHL record. To continue to call it a "FAIL" is certainly just an opinion. Overall the rebranding produced an increase of 36% in attendance in the teams first year. Fail? Not exactly.