Creative Inspiration

Has it really been seven weeks since the last concept post? Unacceptable. Yes, there have been a lot of blog and tournament updates. And yes, I've been busy lately. But seven weeks is a long time. So I'm going to try some new things to keep the concepts flowing.

Since getting this page updated is lower on my list of website priorities due to the time/effort required, I'm going to start adding new concept art to our brand new Facebook page on a regular basis to keep everyone satisfied. However, I will continue to save some items to be showcased here on the site.

So I'm taking some time out this holiday weekend to post a handful of new work. Most of the concepts sent in tend to be a slight re-imagining of a team's uniform. Usually some stripes are rearranged or colors changed. But every so often, an especially creative concept appears. That's today's topic.

---

Peter Debay	Peter has an interesting take on the look of the Vancouver Canucks. Interesting choice of colors and type. Gives the sweater a very classic feel.
Ryan Haslett	Ryan is one of our most prolific designers, and here I've got three of my favorites. (I know there's only one rating, by the way, so just make it an average.) First, awesome Canucks jersey. Forgot the Johnny Canuck V logo, go Johnny Canuck all the way! I also like this Avalanche concept. Great callback to the old Colorado Rockies logo in the burgundy and blue. And green is just what the doctor ordered for the Ducks. Heck, I'd settle for orange if they'd just use the webbed D on the front!
Matthew Duke	This post is about creativity and sometimes that can yield a somewhat disappointing result. I like where Matthew is going with the uniform designs, but that ATL logo was not well-liked as a 10th anniversary mark, and it's sure not any better here. But at least it gets us thinking about things for the Thrashers.
Vin Maccioli	Here's a cool one. Vin offers up a unique alternate sweater with a very retro feel. It may not work for the Red Wings on a regular basis, but maybe as a one-off specialty thing instead. And yes, I'm also posting this one as a tribute to my Bolts' new GM — Stevie Y! I'm expecting great things from him.
Jake Slavik	The last concept is a little Winter Classic 2011 bonus. And with all respect to Jake, this is pretty far out. He's combined so many different eras of the Penguins and Capitals that it's become kind of a jumble. On the other hand, it does help us see what was good and what was bad about these clubs' past uniforms. For example, Weagle good, funky striping not. And sadly, he's left the gold out of the Penguins' jersey entirely. Despite the blue sweaters in the Pens' early years, the penguin logo was never without gold.

I'm shooting for concept updates on a weekly basis, but that may be too much to ask for. Just know that I'm doing the best I can. I'm assuming things will quiet down on the news front as the summer goes on, which will allow more time for concept posts.

Southeast Visionaries

Time to ring in February with some new concepts! Icethetics artists have been hard at work on a couple Southeast Division teams these days. Let's take a look at what they're working up for the Capitals and Thrashers.

---

Glen Cuthbert	Just last Thursday I posted the news that the Washington Capitals are planning a special 35th anniversary celebration this coming Friday. The release tells us they'll wear a red jersey with a unique commemorative patch. While the rest of us are getting our hopes up for some type of throwback sweater, Glen is being a little more realistic in his interpretation. Not as exciting, but likely what to expect in D.C. on Friday.
Ryan Haslett	But speaking of throwback, Ryan has taken some liberties by merging two different eras of Caps logos on this white jersey. Sad to say, I am not a fan. But I must admit I always liked the Caps' blue and bronze days of the mid-90s and early 00s. It gave them a unique identity until they ditched the blue jersey for a black one.
Brian Brideau	I can always tell when a team's uniform design is unpopular with Icethetics readers — because concept art just comes pouring in. And evidently, the Thrashers are one of those teams. Brian's jerseys may not look much different from Atlanta's actual sweaters — and honestly, the blue one isn't — but look closely at the white one. It's been simplified and freed of piping. Actually, it's really just a white version of the maroon third jersey. Amazing what a few slight alterations can do.
Ryan Haslett	And to go with that design, imagine Ryan's dark blue sweater as an alternate. It harkens back to the Thrashers' original dark uniforms and a time when it was rare to see an NHL club with two different crests for their home and road jerseys. I'd love to see that make a comeback.
Glen Cuthbert	Now we finish with the artist, Glen, who began today's concept post. He offers up another maroon option for a Thrashers third jersey. Only the logos have been changed from the current alts. But even that is a major improvement.

Thanks to everybody who's been sending in concept art — keeping the reserves full. All of your amazing work will be posted soon!

Rebranding the East

I'm sure I'm enjoying Sin City right about now. And I'm sure you guys are enjoying these daily concept posts. This is the second of five auto-posts and today's theme is rebranding.

Rebranding has become a very popular topic among Icethetics concept artists — giving a complete uniform and logo overhaul to a given team. Sometimes the overhaul is drastic and sometimes it's subtle. But it usually results in something better than which actually exists.

---

Robert Giannone	We start with Robert Giannone's rebranding of the Philadelphia Flyers. Robert isn't looking to replace the classic P logo so much as give it a nice complement that could be used as a shoulder page, third jersey crest or merchandising mark. He's created an F lettermark based on the P used on the team's old orange alternate sweater. And he's put an awful lot of work and thought into it. He's had patches embroidered and attached to an actual Flyers jersey as well as a cap. They don't look out of place at all. So I'm completely with him — that is until we get to his wordmark. That's where you lose me. That does not say Flyers at all. To me, it says graffiti. But aside from that, I like this logo, and although we've seen versions of it before — and by that I mean this Zephyr X-line hat — it's always nice to see someone putting some effort in. You can see more of Robert's work on his web site.
Ryan Broda	Next, Ryan Broda offers the Atlanta Thrashers a newer look. He's kept the same color scheme and wordmark but has made some adjustments to the other logos — ridding them of the primary mark often ridiculed as looking like a bird stirring itself into a bowl of soup. Ryan's kept the strongest element of that design — the bird head — and has added some additional details to the logos to make it look a little meaner. It's a very sharp concept.
Julian Kazmierczak	Julian offers us something a little different for the Ottawa Senators. He's decided to drop the gold completely and stick with the black and red which were most prominent when the Sens first existed in the early 20th century and were later revived in 1992. The logo is back-to-basics but the striping may be a bit much. Overall, however, I think he may be on to something. It's simple and isn't that what we've been wanting ever since the beginning of the Age of Reebok?
Matt Marczel	I've got one more item to share today. This comes from the always prolific Matt Marczel. However, Matt hasn't so much rebranded the Capitals here as offered up a third jersey to die for. Every time the topic comes up, we look for ways of getting the Caps into a blue third jersey with the Weagle heavily featured. This does that in the best way. But better yet, I'd vote that this be the primary home jersey. And even if we can't have that, what about putting the Weagle on the front of the red jersey? The Capitals have a brilliant logo here and it seems to just be going to waste.

Excellent work by all of these artists. They should be proud. And you should come back tomorrow for more concept art.