Strauss NHL Rebrand VIII
Monday · Apr 12 · 2010 | 10:43 AM PDTAfter a slight delay we pick up with Part 8 of the NHL Rebrand series by Elliott Strauss. Today we see big changes out west and sometimes change isn't really necessary — if you're part of the Original Six.
The Kings, Bruins and Canadiens are featured this week. Elliott's descriptions are in bold text.
 Elliott Strauss |
This is the one concept that gave me the most trouble. I went through about five drafts, with secondary logos that included a lion and an interlocking LA, but all secondaries were eventually scrapped. I finished with this rendering of a crown and the lack of purple in favor for the Gretzky era colors of black and silver. The striping is very atypical and was inspired by the old alternates from the mid-90s. Unfortunately I am not happy with the final product here but I'm showing it anyway. I'm thinking about a complete redo, which I will send to Chris if I get around to doing it. It's certainly not as bad as Elliott is making it out to be. But it does look like it is still in the process of being perfected. Is it better than what the Kings currently have? Maybe not. But with a little more work it could be. |
 Elliott Strauss |
Not many changes here. I made the stripes on the arms go white-yellow-white on the home to match the white outlining on the numbers. Same goes for the shoulders, reversed on the roads. A new thing is yellow socks on the roads as well with stripes tweaked to match the arms. Not much has changed at all here. Kudos to Elliott for recognizing some teams are perfect already. |
 Elliott Strauss |
Obviously this team's identity is timeless but lets face it, the home and away aren't consistent, which is slightly bothersome to me. I tried making them correspond more, it's a little hard to even explain my thinking here, but hopefully you can see the consistency this design brings. I actually sort of like the blue backdrop stripe for the logo and numbers, which plays off the current homes. The uniform change is significant and might require some getting used to, but it's certainly not the worst thing we've ever seen. And here again, there are some classic, iconic logos you just can't change. |
Just six more teams left to cover in this series. Check back for some very sharp rebrands for the Predators, Canucks and Rangers in the next two weeks.
Reader Comments (17)
I think the worst thing about that Montreal jersey is the fact he used Jaro Spacek.
LA: Yeah, I don't like it much. To me, the logo is a downgrade to what they currently have. No offense, but it just looks.... stupid?
Boston: Is there any difference here from what they already have? Looks almost the same. Not really a "rebrand"
Montreal: eh. The band across the chest looks bizarre without the white border, and makes it look too plain to me. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the shoulder yoke. I think we could do without. And thanks to Rbk Edge, we have a "tail" on these jerseys. Not sure I like or dislike the red tail, but it's alright.
Montreal's jerseys were so awesome before that they didn't change it coming into the Rbk Edge era. I don't think they "should' be changed. Great the way they are.
why bother even posting boston if its not een a change? this is supposed to be a rebranding series, regardless of how nice the jersey is i would like to see a new rendition of it
as for the kings logo, why? it looks way too cartoony and not like a professional logo but the jersey is interesting, tweak the logo and we have a good jersey
i think for montreal the minor tweaks are ok but i think either add another stripe around the shoulder yoke and chest band or scrap them all together it would make it more appealing to me at least
the home jersey for the canadiens is neat, i actually like it alot
Bruins concepts are his best so far!
The Gretzky-era Kings jerseys, like the current thirds, were designed to be black and white with significant silver trim. As such, they look(ed), if nothing else, cohesive. These ones look like greyscale pictures of colour jerseys
Personally for me, the best way to match the Habs jerseys would be to make the mid-40s white throwback the main design to replace the red-shoulder look. I love the striped red shirts, but have never been particularly fond of the plainer red-yoked whites.
The LA and MTL concepts are just shy of terrible and the Bruins' looks the same as what they currently have with the bizarre addition of yellow socks accompanying the white jersey. All-in-all, I'd have to give this crop of 're-brands' a failing grade.
Habs and Kings are the firsts ones I really do not like out of all the Rebrands. For the Kings, the colors and the logo are fine, but the jersey is just may too bland. No black in the road and no white in the home jerseys. It would get the jerseys to pop more. For the Habs, I get the consistency, but it just doesn't work. Get rid of the red diaper on the white jersey and fix the striping.
Also, no third jerseys??? The Bruins should have one and the kings should have one (a silver one maybe?..that'd be new).
Bruins- YELLOW SOCKS!!!!
I love the color reversing on the Boston concept, very clean, exactly what the best kit in the NHL was missing. But having 2 very similar socks like that would be hell on the equipment manager, I would expect to see lots of miss-matching, even seeing a player wearing one on each leg, for the first couple of months of the season.
not really a big fan of these this time around, sadly.
on the kings jerseys, like someone else mentioned, the logo just looks to cartoony. the crown logo that they have now great, i think, because the details in the logo that dont take away from the overall shape. also, a few more sharp points would work too. beyond that, the stripping on the jersey is interesting. like like it a lot on the sleeves but am not to sure about it cutting across the middle. there is a reason those kings jerseys always show up on the "worst jerseys of all time" list.
i like the minor switches in boston but was really hoping for a major overhaul to get something new.
maybe its tradition but im not a fan of montreals jerseys at all. it looks like half finished concept to me. the blue and red look awkward right next to each other. i think a white stripe along separating the red and blue would make everything look more complete.
There are so many options to go with for the kings, they could have a plethora of alternate logos. I can understand that it can give you some trouble trying to think of which direction to take it. All in all, your designs have been fantastic, and I can't wait to see each submission.
woah, woah, wait a minute Chris. I'm a long time reader, but come on! In this article, you said "Kudos to Elliot for recognizing some teams are perfect already" and "And here again, there are some classic, iconic logos you just can't change."!?!? Not to long ago you said, and I quote," I think that's a mental block. We can improve upon the Red Wings' logos and uniforms but we choose not to out of a misguided reverence to tradition." Make up your mind big guy!
Aw, you caught me little guy! Only not so much. You made one big leap in logic in placing those quotes together. And that's the assumption that the Red Wings logo is one of those "classic, iconic logos you just can't change." Definitely not the case, if you ask me. Yes, it may be old, but it stinks. At least the Bruins keep updating their spoked B every decade and a half or so and adding a new secondary mark to freshen things up. (No need for Montreal.) The winged wheel has gotten stale and needs some work. But that's just my opinion. It could change tomorrow.
I guess I'm the odd man (or woman) out as I like the design of the LA crown. It may be a tad cartoony but to me its better than the crest they've got now. And what's to bad about cartoony? Penguins, anyone?
what template does elliot strauss use and where could i find it? not trying to copy him but i personally think they just look the best.. keep it up elliot