Portland Sawbucks NHL

[Dan O'Mac]

Maybe they take a jab at Seattle and call themselves "Portland's Finest"?

[sparkychewbarky]

Love this. Another masterpiece from Sparky!!

Thanks Spanna...still needs a little tweaking....

So, I'm claiming the colours of such champions as the Packers, Athletics and the CFL's Eskimos, for Portland's NHL franchise.

I'm pretty sure that fans of Portland's MLS Champion Timbers would recognize the Sawbucks' color scheme, as well.

Hi Brian...{not being a soccer guy) I didn't even think to check out the colours of the city's MLS team. Duh!!!

Oh well, two teams from the same place sharing the same palette...not the first time.

I'll up my research game next time

The Portland Sawbucks

I decided to go with "Sawbucks" as a team name...

It's unique, crisp and of course can be shortened to "Bucks" when needed.

It combines the lumber and deer/stag/buck elements.

As far as I can tell, "Starbucks" has 3 meanings...

I went with #3...

...

... it may be a little too similar in sound to Seattle's finest coffee.

However, perhaps the Portland marketing folks can have a bit of fun with the coffee thing...

So similar in sound it even crept into your writing when you meant sawbucks! You also may not be aware that a competing coffee brand calls itself "Seattle's Finest."

As usual, you show a lot of flair and talent with this concept, and I know you're just getting started! I'm thinking faux crossed suspenders on the uniform would be in keeping with the lumberjack theme, and would also tie in the X shape of a sawbuck...

Good catch sportsherald...that was quite a freudian slip on my part.

The suspender idea's a good one that I'll try to work into some promotional stuff.

Thanks sh.

Maybe they take a jab at Seattle and call themselves "Portland's Finest"?

...Could have some fun with that Dan.

Like this...

[sparkychewbarky]

But I think I would like to see a more flat vector of the logos rather than on a presentation graphic. It takes away from it if you ask me.

Thanks WW. I cleaned up the presentation. It was looking a little muddy.

Great advice.

As far as the marks go... I feel like the Primary is great, but missing something. I just can't put my finger on what it is. The Secondary is very good, nothing I'd change about that.

Maybe a little yellow, or another shade of green on the inside of the bucks head on the primary logo. I agree it looks good just a little... incomplete.

I feel like the primary should be rotated down a little bit...

But otherwise fantastic work!!!

I feel like the primary should be rotated down a little bit...

I would agree. It looks like it's scoffing at the viewer at that angle.

Good feedback guys.

I added a bit more yellow, rotated the logo (the new angle sits better on the front of a sweater), and made the head a tad larger within the blade.

Thank you.

I like the way you rendered the deer's head, but I don't like it in the saw blade. The saw blade feels too detailed, like the teeth would get muddied at smaller resolution. The deer head also feels unbalanced inside the saw blade.

I think it'd be good to go another direction and work a saw more subtly into the antlers or legs or something of the deer.

I'm not sure how I feel about the overall name. Sawbucks is very cool and unique, but it really doesn't feel NHL. It'd fit into a minor league a lot better.

Thanks suplauren.

I think I'm gonna stay with the name.

It's not overly long, it unites the 2 themes of a buck and logging.

It's got a great short form in 'Bucks.

I agree with you about the blade, but I still want to keep the shape, so I simplified it (fewer teeth) and changed the shape somewhat. (a little more defined)

Hopefully the newer version will hold up better in small applications.

The new blade shape will be a constant throughout most of the related logos...

[sparkychewbarky]

Uniforms

This is gonna seem like a cop-out,

but I did try various unique striping patterns, only to keep coming back to this tried and true (and very Bruins-ish) super-traditional striping pattern...

[timberwolf]

I like how it's a (unintentional, I assume) throwback to the North Stars colours.

The jerseys look good but as you say, it could clash with the Bruins faithful...maybe even try a North Stars-type design?

Been waiting for a dedicated Sparky thread for some time now....could this be the next four-month project??

[sparkychewbarky]

...One of the patterns that I played around with was an old "plaid" design from a previous thread.

Rather than just a sweater made from plaid material, I tried to work in a pattern of stripes that would suggest plaid...

By swapping out the light green for red, and by replacing the bright yellow-gold with a more metallic gold, the sweater takes a Christmas-y vibe for a special-event holiday uni.

(The deer gets a "Rudolph nose" as it does on the actual Portland sign)...

[sparkychewbarky]

I like how it's a (unintentional, I assume) throwback to the North Stars colours.

The jerseys look good but as you say, it could clash with the Bruins faithful...maybe even try a North Stars-type design?

Been waiting for a dedicated Sparky thread for some time now....could this be the next four-month project??

Thanks timberwolf.

Didn't the North Stars also have black in its colours?

But you're right, the old Stars were predominately green white and yellow. I liked those old unis.

Hopefully the colours and a few subtle differences will distance this enough from the Bostons.

If not, I''l have to come up with something different.

[BrianVlietDesign]

Those uniforms are so fresh! Also your primary makes great use of space and gets the point across well. Good job, man!

[Axe]

I love this a lot. I agree that Portland should be considered for NHL expansion in the future. The Pacific Northwest needs more hockey.

As for the logos and uniforms, I think they're spot-on. I can't see how you could improve them, honestly. They're clean, traditional, and the green and gold just works for that template. I look forward to what kind of merchandise you're going to present.

[JMtexan09]

Nice job.... i love the Sawbucks as much as I loved Las Vegas Aces too, keep it up

[sparkychewbarky]

Those uniforms are so fresh!  Also your primary makes great use of space and gets the point across well.  Good job, man!

I love this a lot. I agree that Portland should be considered for NHL expansion in the future. The Pacific Northwest needs more hockey.

As for the logos and uniforms, I think they're spot-on. I can't see how you could improve them, honestly. They're clean, traditional, and the green and gold just works for that template. I look forward to what kind of merchandise you're going to present.

Nice job.... i love the Sawbucks as much as I loved Las Vegas Aces too, keep it up

Thanks for the feedback guys, and I totally agree with you Axe... that there should be a team up in the U.S. Pacific NorthWest...Seattle or Portland (or both).

 

...Do you guys "get" this one?...

 

[BRX]

These are great. Is the player template public?

[Uglybus]

Will we see a hockey cod for the Sawbucks?

[Canuckleball]

These would not look out of place in the NHL, and I'd go as far as to say they'd be in my top 10. Really excellent work. I'm disappointing we didn't get to see more plaid, if even as a yoke or hem stripe. If you were to do another jersey, I think the shoulder crest would work great as the primary logo with a Montreal-esque chest strip behind.

[chcarlson23]

I like how it's a (unintentional, I assume) throwback to the North Stars colours.

The jerseys look good but as you say, it could clash with the Bruins faithful...maybe even try a North Stars-type design?

Been waiting for a dedicated Sparky thread for some time now....could this be the next four-month project??

Thanks timberwolf.

Didn't the North Stars also have black in its colours?

But you're right, the old Stars were predominately green white and yellow. I liked those old unis.

Hopefully the colours and a few subtle differences will distance this enough from the Bostons.

If not, I''l have to come up with something different.

The North Stars Did have black in their color scheme, but that was for the last 10 years or so. The First 20 years (or so ) were just green, white, and gold... Like this!

[suplauren]

Great update to the logos! They look much more polished now. I loooove that understated plaid-style jersey as well.

[Whittier S]

I don't get "Puckenschlapper." Care to give us a hint?

[Guest darkpiranha]

Yay!  A new Sparky!  Everything looking good.  My only suggestion would be to make the two tones of green an official part of all the versions.  I love how the logo looks against the dark green t-shirt, and with the "plaid" jersey.  For me, at least, that would help differentiate it a bit more from the Stars and Beavers without having to do anything drastic.  

[sparkychewbarky]

On January 16, 2016 at 3:45 PM, BRX said:

These are great. Is the player template public?

Not yet B. I'm gonna clean it up, make it more user-friendly, and then put it out there for use.

Right now, there's about 12 layers to it.

On January 17, 2016 at 9:59 PM, Uglybus said:

Will we see a hockey cod for the Sawbucks?

He's (it's) on its way!

On January 17, 2016 at 11:56 AM, Canuckleball said:

 I'm disappointing we didn't get to see more plaid, if even as a yoke or hem stripe. If you were to do another jersey, I think the shoulder crest would work great as the primary logo with a Montreal-esque chest strip behind. 

Hi Canuckleball. I tried putting the plaid with the stripes and it seemed a little much.

So, I did up the Portland Plaid uni (which could be the home), and there'll be a whole whacka plaid in the merchandise.

On January 19, 2016 at 10:48 PM, suplauren said:

Great update to the logos! They look much more polished now. I loooove that understated plaid-style jersey as well.

Thanks S, and thanks for your suggestions.

17 hours ago, darkpiranha said:

Yay!  A new Sparky!  Everything looking good.  My only suggestion would be to make the two tones of green an official part of all the versions.  I love how the logo looks against the dark green t-shirt, and with the "plaid" jersey.  For me, at least, that would help differentiate it a bit more from the Stars and Beavers without having to do anything drastic.  

That's a good idea darkp. It could be pretty subtle but there. I'll try that later.

On January 19, 2016 at 11:08 PM, Whittier S said:

I don't get "Puckenschlapper." Care to give us a hint?

Hi Whittier.

I try to include as much local flavour as I can in my concepts.

I discovered that a TV series called "Grimm" is filmed in Portland.

I checked it out. It's not bad...good escapism stuff.

It's a fantasy police show where some people (Wesen) turn into Grimm-Fairy-Tale-inspired monsters.

Most creatures have a Germanic-sounding name like "Bauerschwein".

I thought a "Wesen" version of the "Bucksaw" mascot would be fun...

 

The "model" wearing the T-shirt is David Giuntoli, the star of the show,

and, of course, "Puckenschlapper" is Grimm-ish for "Puck-Slapper"...

[CanucksBrad]

I definitely like the jolly Buck mascot over the rabid, bloodthirsty one. Though one thing that stands out to me is his eye. It seems to be staring off into nowhere, giving him a "simple" or "dumb" look, like there's nothing going on upstairs. It the pupil was looking forward, it would give him the appearance of purpose, or "with-it-ness". Does that make sense?

 

Great work overall, though.