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CAPITALS | THRASHERS |
Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
| Poll opening date Thu Dec 27 | Poll closing date Mon Dec 31 |
07SCTRN | #3B | WSHvATL
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BLACKHAWKS | CAPITALS |
Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
| Poll opening date Tue Dec 18 | Poll closing date Sat Dec 22 |
07SCTRN | #2B | CHIvWSH
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CAPITALS | SHARKS |
Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
| Poll opening date Tue Dec 11 | Poll closing date Sat Dec 15 |
07SCTRN | #1D | WSHvSJS
I got an email yesterday from the graphic artist we know as GhettoFarmBoy, responsible for the San Jose Sharks redesign I recently posted. His real name is Matt, by the way, and he's got a new rebranding concept that's been out for a little while. As I mentioned in that Sharks post, he said his next venture would be the Washington Capitals.
Prepare yourself.
The primary logo is awesome, but my favorite is the secondary. That is the best logo representation of the Capitol dome that I have ever seen. There's just so much about that logo that's right on the money. He just keeps outdoing himself, doesn't he?
And I couldn't be a bigger fan of the jerseys.
One of my favorite things is the gold accent color in the logo. But at the same time I think it's right that only red, white and blue were used in the uniforms. It's knowing when to stop that can make or break a design. I'll continue to say that any team would be lucky to wear a uniform or logo that looked this good.
And by the way, since it was brought up a while back, yes I would put these designs right on par with the likes of the Blues and Canadiens. Talk about making hockey look good.
I'm continually impressed. As it happens, Matt has informed me that his next project is the New Jersey Devils. He says he's nearly finished so I'm looking forward to being able to post that here very soon. I thought I'd finish off this post with something he wrote in his email to me.
I want to thank you for posting my concepts on your site. I sincerely appreciate all of your hard work putting together the site/blog. It's been a great resource for me and I will continue to visit it.
I'm so glad people are enjoying my concepts. As a young graphic designer (I just turned 18 a few months ago) it means so much that my designs are appreciated. I have never taken any design clases or anything of the sort, so when I hear a compliment like "fire reebok and hire this guy" it makes my day....
Anyone want to guess what Glen Hanlon is thankful for today? Because it's not having a job as an NHL hockey coach. Poor guy. Of all the days to get canned, you just wouldn't expect it on Thanksgiving, right? So with the Washington Capitals opting to replace their coach, I have concept art! (And it's really good stuff, too!)
We'll start out with something simple and rather obvious. Take the new secondary mark and stick it on the front of the jersey.
I'm personally of the opinion that it makes for a better primary than the wordmark. But it's not my call to make, now is it? Working off a similar tack, I could totally see this being a third jersey as part of the set above.
The red striping is a little strange, though. We might want to tone that down a bit. I like it but I don't really know what's going on. I like the next design because it uses a logo that mixes the old and new similar to what we saw in a couple of previous Freak Out posts.
Quite fascinating, really. Though this is probably more worthy of Freak Out Friday by itself, I still like it. Keeping that in mind, however, what about a similar look but with the old blue and bronze?
I think you know how big a fan I was of those colors despite the fact that I completely understand red, white and blue for the Washington, D.C. club. You might also notice that these jerseys are really just recolored Ducks sweaters. But let's finish up the post with these colors.
Other than the Lightning's, there's really no color combination I like more than this. My absolute favorite is that blue one on the right as well as the blue jersey the Caps actually wore in the late '90s. Am I the only one? (If I am, I'm all right with that.)
Hope you guys enjoyed that. I have over 100 graphics waiting to be posted at the moment, so it goes without saying I'm falling a little behind. It also goes without saying that if you've sent in something that hasn't been posted yet, don't lose hope.
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's the end of another work week and we all know what that means — Freak Out Friday! A series, which by the way, has become very popular. So as long as you guys keep sending in crazy crap, I'll keep posting it every week. I'll start things off tonight in New York.
I felt I couldn't properly begin a Freak Out Friday without involving the Buffalo Sabres somehow.
See? This is what happens. What is that anyway? Somebody call Paul Bunyan. We found his ox. Yay.
Easily the most maligned logo in the NHL, imagine the "Buffaslug" on what's been one of the most maligned jerseys here at NHLToL. How much do you guys love this concept right here?
Not that much? Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. Anyway, while we're on the subject of the Atlanta Thrashers, see if you can endure this monstrosity.
I know that wasn't easy, but don't worry, it's over now. Let's not let this happen again, all right?
Gradients on jerseys is a personal pet peeve of mine. Who was it that thought these looked good?
Oh yeah, those guys did.
Have you ever tried to use red, blue and black together? Here's why you don't.
And here's another reason.
Finally, I'll leave you this evening with one simple concept and a profound statement.
Only you can prevent forest fires.
Until the next time, try not to freak out too much.
Today's concept post will deal strictly with recoloring things. Yes, that's right. For instance, let's suppose the Florida Panthers had opted for the more traditional red home sweater over the blue one they actually went with.
Not bad, but despite the fact that I loath the Stinkin' Panthers, I prefer the blue. The old red sweaters were nice, but I don't care much for this one pictured here. But that's just me.
Speaking of me being a Lightning fan, someone remade the Sharks' and Habs' sweaters with Bolts colors.
I don't know. No. They'll always be a teal team. That's just who they are. Don't question it. As for the Habs, you can't have that jersey in anything but red. Even blue would be weird.
Here's something else that might make you question whether this is the Freak Out Friday post. Not quite yet. Just a misguided attempt at giving the Canucks new colors.
I'm all for the return of a green team to the NHL, but this is not how that is achieved. No, no, no. I know I'm sounding very negative right now, but just no.
Anyway, here's something I like. The Blue & Bronze Age of the Washington Capitals was my favorite. Even though it fits them perfectly, thematically speaking, the red/white/blue combo is so overused in this sport. Check out the current EDGE unis in the old colors.
It may not be the most brilliant thing you've ever seen, but come on. That's not too shabby. I like the white "capitals." Very sharp, right there, if you ask me. I'd just like to see the black jersey in blue instead. I was more a fan of the blue '90s jerseys for the Caps. I like the black one as a third jersey — not so much a primary home sweater.
And finally, we'll finish off with something a bit different. This is the Islanders uniforms recolored — but for a different team.
Wow, no. I'm sorry, but those sleeves don't look good on any team if you ask me. The more I see it, the less I like it. Granted it looks better in black and orange than blue and orange, but still, I'll pass on this one.
What do you guys think? Any winners here? Or should we go back to the paint bucket?
Washington
CAPITALS
42% 762 votes
1,822 total votes
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals| Poll opening date Thu Oct 18 @ 4:26 AM | Poll closing date Mon Oct 22 @ 11:59 PM |
07VNTRN | #2D | WSH74vTOR38
Finally! I know I failed you guys yesterday in that Freak Out Friday never came to pass. But perhaps you'll allow me to get away with a Freak Out Saturday. The Everblades game aside, yesterday was a very busy day for me. Not to mention Blogger has been having issues with image uploading, an important piece of this puzzle. Anyway, here goes.
We'll kick things off with the team whose logo was named the champion here at NHLToL — the Montreal Canadiens. Some very strange artwork has made its way to my inbox — and now to your computer screen.
The concept on the left makes use of a little-known logo that the Habs wore back in 1910, prior to the formation of the NHL. As you can see it's on a Thrashers home jersey, which is weird, for more reasons than the light blue. The one on on the right is just as intriguing if not more so. It's a half maple leaf, half fleur-de-lis. And check out the Flames-influenced shoulder patches. The 100-year logo at the bottom is what puts it over the top. Well, then there's that logo of course. And the team name above it.
There just aren't any words for that. Nightmares.
Speaking of nightmares, the Nashville Predators have been trying to get more folks in the building this season so as to avoid something like this from happening.
Somebody really wants a hockey team in Hamilton? Raise your hand if you think that's going to happen. Now keep your hand up if you think they'd wear a jersey like this. Put your hand down. You're looking at a computer screen.
Before I leave Canada, I just got this one emailed to me today. It may be a little harsh that I'm sticking it in the Freak Out post, but it scares me just a little.
I realize I suggested attempting to work Alberta into the logo, but I'm not sure this is the winner. I do like the wordmark part (not as a primary!), but the province is weighing the whole thing down on the left side.
Wow I just had a weird visual. Imagine going on one of those insane diet pills. Maybe they get the formula wrong and you only lose weight on your right side. Sorry, just freaked myself out there. What's going on with me tonight?
Anyway, I know the new Washington Capitals secondary logo has been a big hit, but here's exactly how not to use it.
That's so bad I almost want to see what it would look like on a player. Damn.
Since we're on the subject of really bad, we'll top things off tonight with my team.
I was seriously considering posting this and trying to make you guys guess what team this logo concept was designed for, but I'm not sure you'd ever figure it out. I think the secondary logo is meant to resemble the state flag of Florida. Hmm. But as for the primary, I have no clue what's going on there. However, I have woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with this as the last visual in my brain.
As we inch ever closer to Halloween, the freak-outs seem to be getting more freaky. Thanks to everyone who's sent in work!
And if you have any of your own or have spotted anything crazy out there on the web, feel free to email it to me at nhllogos@gmail.com and I may make it part of next week's Freak Out Friday. (And I plan to actually post it on Friday this time.)
 |  | |
CAPITALS | MAPLE LEAFS |
Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!
| Poll opening date Thu Oct 18 @ 4:26 AM | Poll closing date Mon Oct 22 @ 11:59 PM |
07VNTRN | #2D | WSH74vTOR38
Thursday · Dec 27 · 2007 | 3:38 PM PST