IceHL Jersey Contest: Northeast
Friday · Oct 21 · 2011 | 5:57 PM PDTThe long-awaited IceHL Jersey Design Contest officially begins today!
What is the IceHL?
Let's knock this out first for the new readers. The IceHL, or Icethetics Hockey League, is a design-by-democracy project that began in 2008 with Icethetics readers creating a fantasy hockey league from the ground up. The project may well be the first of its kind on the web.
Users voted to determine every aspect of the league the number of teams to names and logos. And every logo was designed by Icethetics readers and put through a long voting process. It was all just meant to be a way for concept artists to put their skills to use in a new way.
In 2010, the IceHL online fantasy league was established through ESPN.com as 20 readers were selected to be IceHL GMs. We're already underway in our second season of fantasy hockey but now the teams need uniforms. That's where you come in.
By the way, if you want even more information about the IceHL Project, download the IceHL 2011 Yearbook, which is now available through Icethetics.info.
Entering the Jersey Design Contest
Last time we attempted this contest, it was a failure. There were too many rules and the template was too limited to highly-skilled designers — many of whom were too busy to dedicate a lot of time to the project. Not making the same mistakes this time around.
There are three rules:
- Design 2 jerseys (light and dark) using team colors and logos only.
- Submit your final design on the PNG template provided to icethetics@gmail.com.
- Include your real name and email address in the graphic where designated as well as in your submission email. (Your real name will not be displayed during voting and your email will never be displayed.)
IceHL Jersey Design Kit - Northeast version (.zip/1.2 MB)
Seriously, that's it. The template is a PNG file provided in the Design Kit above. It is built to be compatible with just about any graphics software out there from Microsoft Paint to Adobe Photoshop. (For beginners: PNG is the file type required. Please do not submit a JPG or any other type of file.)
Recommended link: Paint Users Paradise at SportsLogos.net
To assist you in your designs, feel free to implement aspects of existing hockey uniform templates. There are hundreds available at at the link above. The copy and paste functions are your friends in this case and make designing a great jersey so much easier. But feel free to experiment on your own too.
The template includes the front and back of a jersey as well as gear like socks and pants. All you have to do is design the jerseys. Designing the gear is up to you. I'd also request that you include a full alphabet and number set as seen in the Design Kit sample. You may choose to leave out any of the elements, but keep in mind that if you do, I reserve the right to design those elements myself.
Here's a sample submission that I created for IceHL All-Star teams:
IceHL All-Star jersey design / sample
Don't worry if you don't like my designs. They're just samples. If you guys want a shot designing all-star jerseys, we'll explore that after we get through all the teams.
Last thing. Simply submitting your jersey design doesn't guarantee it will be included in the voting process. If it doesn't meet a certain level of quality, I'll give you the opportunity to try again as long as you meet the deadline. But rest assured, I plan to accept far more than I reject.
Part 1: Northeast Division
We're beginning with the Northeast Division only. The Design Kit contains the primary and secondary logos for each of the five teams in that division. You may only use those logo graphics for this project. Do not use them for any other reason without permission.
Here are the Northeast Division teams and the players you may use to customize your jerseys:
- Boston Colonials (71 Malkin, 19 Backstrom, 28 Giroux, 8 Doughty)
- Hamilton Steelcats (12 Iginla, 33 Sedin, 3 Chara, 18 Horton)
- Montreal Olympiques (10 Perry, 17 Kovalchuk, 16 Ladd, 1 Hiller)
- New York Guardians (30 Miller, 20 Pronger, 13 Datsyuk, 21 Stafford)
- Quebec Armada (22 Sedin, 30 Lundqvist, 10 Setoguchi, 6 Wideman)
The players listed were selected by the GMs operating each fantasy team. These are the guys least likely to be traded or replaced this season.
And remember, when you design your jerseys, stick to the official team colors and logos. The Northeast Division RGB Color Guide is included in the Design Kit for your convenience. You may also sample the colors in the logo graphics using an eyedropper or similar tool in your chosen graphics software.
One last note about your jersey designs. Do something creative and original. Don't copy existing jersey designs. We want IceHL teams to stand out and be unique. But for what it's worth, you might want to consult the NHL Uniform Ranking to get an idea of what types of designs Icethetics readers tend to like. Just don't let it stifle your creativity.
Deadline: Friday, November 11
You have three weeks to design and submit your work for this first division. If it looks like less time is necessary, I'll make the subsequent division deadlines shorter. Also, I don't plan to overlap divisions at this point. In other words, we won't start on the next division until the deadline for the current one passes.
If you have any questions, please ask! If it's private, you can email me directly. If you think the answer will be beneficial to the community, ask in the comments and I'll reply as soon as I can.
Good luck to you all!
Reader Comments (22)
Do we have a list of player names and #s to place on the back of the concepts?
Ryan: I meant to include that in the Jersey Design Kit but since I obviously forgot, I've updated the post above. Thanks for catching that!
What are the rules on font choices? I probably know the answer but since it's not covered it might be beneficial to clarify.
Any chance of including image files of the teams' wordmarks that we can download and work with? Obviously, Icethetics readers would be quick to vote down any jersey that used them in a prominent way, but some teams' wouldn't look bad as shoulder patches, for example, and at any rate it wouldn't hurt to have them just in case.
Tyfighter77: Font choice is up to you. Just make sure you include a full alphabet in your submission.
Duncan: None of the wordmark logos are suitable for use on the jerseys so there was no need to include them. However, if you'd like to design a text-based jersey similar the Rangers or Stars, that would be acceptable. Just as long as you aren't created a new logo.
Do helmets have to be white with the white jerseys or can they be any colour?
Can we include a 3rd jersey?
Are we allowed to use black and white, or just the colors given? I want to do something similar to the Flyers' road jerseys with the nameplate.
Ben: White helmets go with white jerseys. Red helmets go with red jerseys. Etc...
Eric (Arsenal GM): Home and road jerseys only right now. Let's leave a little something for the future. Maybe we can tackle third jerseys next year.
Jack: That was in the very first rule. You may only use the team's colors. You may not add colors that aren't already in their palette.
Do we need to put numbers on the front of the helmets?
How do you get the logos smaller so they fit on the jerseys but still look good and not all pixely on MS Paint?
Armada entries submitted. :-D
Already submitted designs for New York and Quebec. I'm having a lot of fun with this!
Does the primary logo have to be on the front of the sweater, could one use the secondary instead?
Is the entry strictly limited to that Paint-template format or are we allowed to utilize others as long as the basic shape of the template is the same as the one you've used?
I'm working on a Colonials set right now and I'd like to know the answer to Jeff's question too since I am a first timer
Am I allowed to use yellow as the away jersey color for the Colonials? I didn't want to get half way through the jersey and then learn it wouldn't work. :)
Been meaning to ask a few questions.
First, "Design 2 jerseys, light and dark." Does this mean that we can have a colored light jersey? (within reason of course)
Secondly, are we allowed to send in multiple designs for one team?
Hi guys. Sorry for being so slow in replying to questions.
Chance: No numbers on helmets, please. Light jerseys don't have to be white, but if one team has a yellow road jersey and another team has a yellow home jersey, we might have to make some tweaks.
Jeff & Harrison: Don't worry about pixelated logos. There's nothing you can do about it in Paint. Plus I plan to "remaster" the winning jerseys as needed.
Colin: You can use either logo on the front of your jerseys.
Victor: You must submit your final design on the template provided but it doesn't matter what software you use to develop your design.
Brendan: You may send in as many designs for as many teams as you like.
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Chris,
will we vote on entries for the northeast division following the nov. 11 submission deadline, or will we vote on all the entries together after all the submission deadlines?