Professional Concepts Revealed
It's a rare but always welcome treat when we get a peek at the hidden process of branding NHL teams. For whatever reason, we all have a unique interest in this aspect of marketing, and naturally, we usually only see what they want us to. Every once in a while, though, we do get a look behind the curtain.
Kings logo evolution / The Royal HalfThis morning, Los Angeles Kings fan blog The Royal Half posted some required reading for any Icethetics regular.
Chris Kontos interviewed Dan Simon, the creative director behind one of the most memorable third jerseys in NHL history. He had a lot of fascinating revelations about the process, including why he wanted to distance himself from the project.
Other cool tidbits: Why the beard was never meant to be purple. Why the sweater featured horrible gradients. Plus, see some video from the alternate jersey's debut, 15 years ago today — against the even more memorable Mighty Ducks third.
Anyway, it's a very fun read and I highly recommend it. It also provides the perfect opportunity to post some items I've been hanging on to for a little while.
Original Blue Jackets logo / Ken LohThe designer of the above Kings logo, Ken Loh, was also the mind behind the Columbus Blue Jackets original insect logo.
Mercifully, this logo was replaced by Loh's secondary mark in time for the uniforms to be designed. The little bug head, however, still took a place on the shoulders.
And for what it's worth, I always liked the electric green because it made the team stand out. Guess it was just too revolutionary to survive. But if you think you've seen it all, prepare yourself for this.
Blue Jackets mascot / Ken LohAccording to Loh's portfolio, this was going to be the full-body version of the bug — not that we ever needed to see that. And let me be clear here. Ken Loh is obviously a talented artist. I just don't think an electric green insect necessarily has a place in the National Hockey League.
His online portfolio also contains colorful concept logos and uniforms for the Carolina Hurricanes (rust/purple/gray) and Philadelphia Flyers (orange/teal). You might be surprised by what you see there.
And while we're on the subject of the Blue Jackets, the team took it upon themselves to show off some of the concepts considered for the new third jersey, launched in November.
Alternate logo concepts / Blue JacketsThis video on the club's website explains what was involved in designing the new sweater. But most notably, it gives us a glimpse at some of the initial logo designs that were shown to focus groups.
We're now familiar with the cannon logo they ultimately chose, but it's interesting to see some of the other options they thought about, including the crossed cannon, the simple CBJ mark, and — taken right out of the Wild/Penguins playbook — the primary mark encircled by the club's name.
It seems they had their minds made up about a circular logo pretty early on in the process. And notice that in each of this displays, there's an option without red — bringing back the steel blue from that original 2000 insect logo.
And there last thing I wanted to leave with is what terrible manner of thing could've happened to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim back in the early '90s. I think this image was originally posted at Uni Watch but later showed up in my email.
Chris
For those of you having trouble accessing Ken Loh's portfolio in the link I provided earlier, I'm adding a couple of images from his site to this post just so you can see his work.
First, here's what he has on display for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Flyers logo and uniform concept / Ken Loh
Whether you like it or not, there's no denying that it would not have been out of the realm of possibility in the mid-90s the way it would be today. Even with the non-traditional teal in the mix.
The other can't miss element of Loh's portfolio was designed with the Carolina Hurricanes in mind.
Hurricanes uniform concept / Ken LohAgain, he's a very talented artist but this certainly does not fit within the branding standards of the NHL. And those colors are definitely one of a kind. Instead, the Canes just look like the Devils.
It's not clear on Loh's site whether these are just concepts he toyed with or actual artwork submitted to and considered by the league and aforementioned teams.
I just have to ask Flyers fans... could you imagine your team wearing that half-teal/half-black jersey up there? Take yourself back to that era when you think about it. Remember the Kings and Ducks, and that the Lightning were wearing rain and lightning bolts down their sleeves.
What a time that was. I'm sure it'll all come back again some day.
Reader Comments (29)
That Ducks "contest" never happened...
I saw those CBJ Circle logos in that video the day the video was released, and became instantly enamored with the Blue-and-Red Wordmark Logo. I love that so much more than the cannon... it seems like the team landed on something really cool with the cannon, and have decided to just ride it until we're sick of it.
And that full-body bug logo will haunt my nightmares.
i actually love the electric green, im nearly certain it will never return tho , also those ducks logos are absoloutly horible. to think people thought the logo they picked origanlly were to disney like , these look worse!
Think the portfolio link might be dead, jsyk. Love the post, thanks.
I dont care what anyone says or thinks... I like the Burger King jersey!!
I'm a fan of the two stern looking Kings in the center of both rows. Too bad that logo was relegated on a mess of a jersey. At least it's been redeemed here in some nice looking concepts.
Also, I never really noticed how creepy the red eyes were on the CBJ bug until I saw the full-body. yech.
Matthew, I don't think the link is dead, just finicky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't I've noticed. May have to do with added traffic due to this post and The Royal Half's. Try it again later. If it still won't work, I'll add the Hurricanes and Flyers concepts to this post tonight.
There is no emoticon to capture the jawdropping reaction to the Disney logo.
I actually really like the Jackets' red-and-blue logo with the cannons. I'm so disappointed in what they came up with. No more originality. St-Louis, Pittsburgh (twice) and Florida all have very similar 3rd jerseys
How unbelievably tragic is the Ducks logo that incorporates the Disney D? Oh man, that would have just been corporate whoring to a whole new level; even more than naming the team after the movie.
I LOVE the crossed cannons/CBJ logo!
(just a side note, it does look a lot like that goalie mask logo i sent you a while ago)
Chris, I think that the Hurricanes jersey was trying to keep with its roots in Hartford. To me the "horn tips" look a lot like the top portion of the Whalers' logo. Just my opinion though.
Lmfao at the Ducks logo made from the Disney 'D'
i am a die hard flyers fan and i jus can't see us wearing that teal, it's always been orange and black you can't change that haha go FLYERS
That Ken Loh guy is a public danger to hockey.....
This is all just horrible! Except for the CBJ stuff...thats okay
I enjoy this blog immensely but there's a bit in this post that I completely disagree with:
And those colors are definitely one of a kind. Instead, the Canes just look like the Devils.
The Devils have a plain red jersey with black as the secondary and white trim (reverse it for the whites), all behind a boring logo. The devil tail on the N is clever but not very involved (Utica's was better where the letter actually has a tail to transform to devilish). The Hurricanes logo is much more complex and the jerseys have so many more elements. I think the silver "sparkle" added to the gray trim and the hurricane flag border are what set it apart from a simpler style like Jersey wears. I've always thought it would be cool if the Devils had a more menacing logo. There is so much more that can be done with that mascot...take Cardiff of the EIHL for instance.
That said, could you imagine how much more hated the Flyers would be if they'd used those colors? Yikes.
Yeah.... Ken Loh might have good artistic skills, and you keep defending him, but.... He's NOT a good hockey branding guy. I am a Flyers fan and that kit is HORRIBLE.
Yikes... that Canes concept is just... awful... Glad they went in the direction they did, that's for sure! Even though they might look like the Devils, they really had no choice but to go with Red, White, and Black, seeing as how they share the building with NC State, and at the time, the NCSU Athletic Dept was pulling all strings when it came to building and designing the RBC Center.
Speaking of the Canes, I'll be heading to downtown Raleigh either today or tomorrow for the Fan Fair and will be attending the Skills Competition tomorrow. I'll be sure to bring my camera, so if I notice anything jersey-worthy, I'll be sure to pass it along. From the Canes Facebook page, it looks like the RBC Center got a nice makeover the last couple days in preparation for this weekend.
That would have been horrendous for the Flyers. The black jersey was bad enough! The Kings would have looked the Burger King king.
Another diehard Flyers fan here. Those are absolutely disgusting looking. I love the Flyers but I don't think I could bring myself to buy one of those things. They're just heinous.
I absolutely hate the Flyers, but I would never wish that crap on them! And the Hurricanes concept... could you imagine putting those next to the Islanders' wave uniforms? Pass the Dramamine!
Possum wrote: "The Devils have a plain red jersey with black as the secondary and white trim (reverse it for the whites), all behind a boring logo. The devil tail on the N is clever but not very involved (Utica's was better where the letter actually has a tail to transform to devilish)"
Maybe I'm just confused by Possum's post. The Devil tail is not on the "N", it's part of the interconnected "J." (as in New Jersey...) I suppose if Possum's been misinterpreting the devil-tailed "J" as part of the "N" all these years, I can see why he/she would think the logo is "boring." I happen to think it's one of the more clever/classic logos still remaining in the league. The unfortunate irony of comparing the Devils to the Canes is that the advent of the Canes "abstract storm system" logo replaced the old Whalers' "W / Whale Tail / H-in-the-negative-space" logo -- perhaps the only MORE clever logo than the Devils (IMHO).
(PS -- Also not sure why Possum makes the statement that "Utica's was better where the letter actually has a tail to transform to devilish." The tail on the Utica logo was a bizarre unnatural appendage from the "U" that wouldn't have otherwise have been attached to that particular letter... The horns, yes, the tail, no.)
wow that flyers jersey is nauseatingly awful... it looks like the terrible Turn Ahead the Clock jerseys MLB had a while back. In fact, much of that guy's portfolio is cartoony nonsense.
While I don't like the particular concept of the Hurricance jersey here, I kinda like the direction it's heading with the pirate-esque theme with the shipwrecked pirate-flagged mast. If done right it could have been pretty cool, better than the swishing toilet bowl logo they have now.
I'd never watch hockey again if the Flyers wore that garbage.
Lord, I hope i'm not around when those things ever come back in vogue.
i just threw up looking at those flyers jerseys. worst idea ever
duck goalie mask>>>>>>ducks concepts