The Icethetics Jersey Contest
Tuesday · Mar 20 · 2012 | 6:00 AM PDT
As Icethetics nears its fifth anniversary, it's time to take another step. This site is all about branding and yet nothing outside of cyberspace bears any Icethetics branding whatsoever. No coffee mugs, pens, mousepads... not even a T-shirt. But who would really buy any of those things? We're jersey nuts. We buy jerseys.
Today, I'm announcing the Icethetics Jersey Contest. I want you to design an Icethetics-branded hockey jersey that you would actually want to buy, wear and keep in your collection. What do you think?
I'm launching this contest in partnership with RinkGear, who will provide the actual jerseys for us. Icethetics concept artists will design and send in their suggestions, then everyone will vote. The winning design will become the Official Icethetics Jersey. The winner will get a free one; it'll be on sale to everyone else. (Not sure about pricing at this time.)
So how to we start this process? We could just dive right in and start accepting concepts, but I think that's skipping a step. We should give the designers some ideas to work from. I'd like us to use the comments of this post as a forum to discuss what an Official Icethetics Jersey should look like. Then in a few days, the Contest page will go live. It'll feature a list of reader suggestions and instructions for submitting your designs.
Let's have some fun with this! And thanks, RinkGear!
Reader Comments (34)
I think this jersey needs a few things for sure:
1. BLACK- everybody knows black is the best color for ALL sports
2. BABY BLUE- its simply the best color in the NHL
3. LACE-UP COLLAR- again, simply the best thing in the NHL
4. CIRCLE LOGO- all good NHL jerseys have circle logos (even better if the circle features some shortened version of "Icethetics" on it, like ""IceT.")
5. A 2nd SHADE OF BLUE- cause nothing's better than two shades of blue
Of course I'm kidding but I am excited to see how this plays out.
I think this is an awesome idea, one that really lets the creativity flow.
Personally, I'd like to see a more modern jersey or something a little more "out there" considering that this is a website and hobby to most of us to really let the creativity flow.
I think it should be blue and orange like the color of the website, with a traditional feel to the jersey, but also something new that distinguishes it differently from any other jersey in the NHL
I second Zack's comment about the feel of the jersey: it really should be a traditional-style jersey with a modern touch. And all 5 of Brandon's points (all made sarcastically) should be banned from the jersey: NO black, NO double blue, NO circle logo, NO lace-up collar.
I do think there should also be some reference to the original ToL page...don't know how, but there should be something (even if it's just on the inside of the neck).
obviously needs to be an amalgamation of everything trending that everyone here dislikes in a jersey. Multiple blues, crest inside a circle with the team name written on it (or no logo, just the name), player numbers featured on the front of the jersey as well as the back, vintage white, lace up collar, no waist striping, the reebok diaper cut, and aggressive piping.
The logo that is on the top left of the site now should either be the primary logo or at least on the shoulders.
~Don't entirely ban the black, we can use it as an accent color to define certain features.
~If we do a ToL related thing, it should become a patch somewhere.
~Maybe we could use the logo on twitter . . . its similar to a circle, but the hexagonal shape makes it look kind like a snowflake, that could be the crest. The logo however will need to be doctored to avoid our double blue "issuse"
Well, you are always saying that the NHL should have more green, so how about it? I would like to see a kind of winter classic retro look to it. There should be a cirlce in the middle, with "ICE" inside the top of the circle, and "THETICS" on inside of the bottom circle, kind of like the blackhawks winter classic jersey. Then in the center of the circle there should be 2 sticks and a puck, like a skull and crossbones design.
Any chance the Kings drop their current third to adopt the purple and gold vintage jersey as their third?
- I think the current logo is best suited for a shoulder patch.
- Don't shoot me, but I think the name "Icethetics" lends itself well to being a wordmark on the front of the jersey
- I REALLY like the idea of adding a subtle element referencing NHL ToL inside the collar (like WC jerseys)
- If not collar laces, then something unique and cool should be done to the collar. It seems like a wasted opportunity to not do a special collar type. Perhaps squared like some IIHF jerseys.
- NO numbers on the front of the jersey.
I love traditional style jerseys and I also really like old mixed with new when done RIGHT (unlike the Islanders strange unis). Here's my 2 cents, since you want to use the jersey as a nice promotional piece(just think if someone wore your jersey at a game and a camera caught a glimpse of it, talk about free marketing, you may even get the attention of the broadcasters, how cool would be! Obviously in order to make that possible you have to come up with something very unique however not over the top/atrocious), use colors that represent the site. I would mix a little black in there like the border for the numbers, letters, and even possibly the logo. I wouldn't over do the blue because there are too many blues out in the sports world. However not too many jerseys look good orange other than the Flyers imo. For a solid color jersey I would mix the blue and orange similar to the Islanders however with black and silver trim. If you go the route of the lace-up I'd give it a shoulder yoke with patches and traditional double or triple lines on the sleeves and trim (like the bhawks and other teams). For the Crest I'd stay away from the circle, teams overkilled that in recent years and I think for 1st-time jersey I'd make the crest as big as possible (nothing loud like the 90s), I was thinking since the name begins with the word Ice, how cool would it be to incorporate and Icy effect to all the letters (similar to the effect used in the winter classic logos especially in the 2010 & 2011 one. The wordmark would be slanted up (end of the word would be pointed towards the top) and idk if throwing in a needle and thread through the letters would look to cheesy since it would work in conjunction with the word aesthetics. Or just the ice sickle effect with a puck dotting the I's and two sticks crossing the T's. Wow that was alot of writting but that's a pretty out-side the box idea imo, I wish I was much more talented like the excellent artist that show off their concepts , however it would take me a bit to long on my own to create this as I'm still learning photoshop, so I was wondering if there's maybe any designers out there who want to give my idea a shot and shoot me and chris an email of it to see how it would look b4 we put it up for vote.
The jersey colours should obviously be the teal blue, and orange as feature on the site, maybe with the addition of silver and white. Question is Chris, are you gonna use the currnet site logo as the crest or are you gonna create a custom version of it?
Cool.
Is it going to be the Reebok Edge cut or the old cut?
It has to be orange, blue, and white with a hexagonal logo. Orange should be the primary colour just to make it a little bit different.
In terms of logo..
a ToL on one shoulder, and the hexagon on the other shoulder.
With a new logo as the primary
Anyone else think the IceHL logo should maybe have a spot on one of the shoulders, since that is such a big part of this site?
the haxagonal logo is a must. maybe the icehl logo on the shoulders? the two shades of blue and orange in the logo included. something like a {bill cosby sweater + ottawa vintage third jersey + european soccer jersey= icethetics jersey}
Srsly? Teal and orange? YUCK. Great for a website, but I just threw up a little in my mouth imagining a jersey. Why omit the warm grey or brownish grey in the background (or is it a cool brown - no idea - I might make it a little greyer)? It's a modern color that moves the teal out of the early 1990's and makes the orange stand out... That is, IF we think it should necessarily incorporate those colors at all. As someone who likes to mix up jersey colors when I wear them to play, maybe we could at least open it up to green-based designs...
Agree that the site logo should go on the shoulder, not the front. Again, lovely for a website, but not enough action to be on the front of a jersey. imho.
Circle logo Icethetics around it and IceHL logo on the inside
-The ICEHL patch is a good idea, but why not just put it on the front as a patch like the OHL for the Ontario Hockey League.
-Also I feel that the Icethetics logo on the top left of the site should be mandatory as the team logo, if you have a circular logo design like many of the NHL teams have as an alternate, then it will cause confusion. I love and support what JB's idea that it can be used as an advertisement, if people see an icethetics jersey than there's a slight chance that they might google it to figure out what the hell it is, then discover the website. If you shorten it to "IceT", then everyone's first thought is going to be "Since when does Ice T play hockey?".
no wordmark on the front. icethetics needs a mascot. first the mascot competition THEN the jersey contest.
I think the idea of using the IceHL logo on the front of the jersey like the QMJHL/OHL/WHL is an AWESOME idea!!!!
My opinions:
No black
Needs the the two shades of blue and the orange in the icethetics logo
Lace-up collar
Black[Box], thanks alot for the support appreciate it man. I agree with your view on the shortened logo, its not a good way of advertising a team, company, or site for the 1st time. I would save the shortened logo as a shoulder patch(or even the crest) on a 2nd jersey, especially if it draws attention and kicks up significant traffic/memberships to the site
i love this website and have only been on it for a few months maybe, but i do not like the idea of using the full script of icethetics on the front. that is too corporate looking. i like the idea of doing a word play
i like the ICE T concept too
as for colours, if we can agree on black how about a dark grey/charcoal
you dont see it in the NHL but i think its a great colour
working on a mascot/logo seems like a great idea
I don't care how tacky and hated it is, but since it is a promotional item, it NEEDS to have a gradient... can be as subtle as the one you use in the Site corner wordmark logo. The other option to make it stand out is the fabric itself, if it doesn't add too much to production cost, go for a shiny letallic orange or "Vegas Gold" type...
the twitter logo wouldn't be a bad primary logo either?
a mascot design would be cool,might be a little late to pump one out after five years of not having one at all,even tho word marks dont lend much to the imagination i think it would be good for a first time jersey for the site and we do have a good one to draw interest to.i think the jersey should definetly be something in the genre of a classic design ie;canadiens,bhawks,wings,whalers,etc.black shouldnt be used only the colors from the site.as well is it going to be home or away?, brown isnt a particularly cool color now a days but i havent seen a jersey have it since the b.c dusters days.also the winter classic idea of adding the ice would be a nice effect.i know unless a freak out friday jersey wins then i definetly want one already!,cant wait to see what gets designed.
I think the colouring of the California Wave (IceHL jersey contest) would be a good set up for the Icethetics jersey.
I'm not sure if we're making rules or suggestions here. If this is a contest, shouldn't it be fairly open to the designer in terms of colours? There are definitely things that aren't to our liking, but if it looks good, it looks good. The logo/crest used should be standard so as to not take away from the true contest element of the jersey, after all, that is the only thing we'd be designing. Also, perhaps some input/examples from the generous jersey sponsor Rink Gear, on options of what's available in terms of patterns and collar types, or will we have free roam on that with the hopes that whatever idea designed could very well be manufactured (at a relatively justifiable cost)?
JW what do most people use to design these jerseys? Like what software or program?
Usually Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. I loved CorelDraw for this type of contest. But, sigh!
Anyhoo, when is this contest gonna' frickin' start?
Has this contest started yet it's been a while. some drop a line..
I was wondering the same.