Start of a concept...

[RedEye]

OK, Did some tweaking. Worked the feathers a bit and I tweaked a bit on the face. I also skewed the whole head a little which gives it a little motion to the right.

I want a stately, youthful Chief and I think I am where I am completely satisfied.

I threw together a wordmark really wuick as well.

edit: just noticed the cut-off point of the feather in the gray outline...I fixed that as well.

[rtrich11]

Yep. You got it.

[cyandlux]

If this is for football its better than what the Cheifs have I dont know, Im not sold on the neck and shoulder, you should try and see what it might look like without it. Wheres Ogallalalalala?

[RedEye]

Cyandlux,

I have tried it without and I got the floating head look which I didn't like too well.

Ogallala is in southwest Nebraska.

[ltravisjr]

I really like it, and that wordmark is stunning. However, the logo just isn't "fitting" into the wordmark. If you could find a way to jigsaw them together somehow it would really help. For instance, to me that curved outline running from the bottom of the neck to the back seems to want to cozy in either with the outline of the "D" or with the "S" in the wordmark. I wonder if there would be a way to accomplish that...

LT

[RedEye]

ltravisjr, I hear ya!

I thought the same thing after I threw it together.

I had the head at the end of the text and it threw it way off balance but I like the idea of placing it nested with the "D"...I will give it a shot.

[quantum]

I like the design and colors. The wordmark is killer. Great job.

[RedEye]

One last set of tweaks, altered the wordmark to allow the head to fit in better.

Couldn't get the head to nest with the "D" well so I compromised.

I think I like this version the best yet. C&C?

[B-mer]

looks awesome

[ltravisjr]

Much better! I am really impressed (and jealous too) with this!

LT

[benJAMMIN039]

Unbelievable job here, love your stuff Redeye.

[RedEye]

Thanks for the feedback folks.

The good news is the AD likes what he sees and is going to try to get all the coaches onboard for an overhaul of the athletic department identity. Their real issue, after having grown up there, was that there was never an official logo. Many different Indian mascots have been used and they used to use the Seminole's spear logo on their helmets. But nothing that was official and final.

Would really like them to place this everywhere, b-ball court, football field, uniforms etc. but they are a smaller community / highschool....5,000 pop..... and funds may not be there for all of that type of stuff.

Will probably be a long process, given history with many differing opinions in an athletic department.

[Sterling84]

Sorry I missed the crit phase of this Redeye. But it is really a wonderful concept. No major issues what-so-ever.

I think you could spend some time even further "defining" what you want the emotion of his face to be...if you wanted.

But it is just very well done. Love the colors, the balance, the shape, the wordmark.

Nice.

[BBTV]

I love how the bottoms of the Ns extend down below the rest of the letters.

[andrewharrington]

youthful Chief

This is a little bit of an oxymoron, which is why I think you should go with an older individual, but to each his own. That said, I really like the look of the logo, it has great shape, balance and motion. The colors are swell, but I think the wordmark could be improved.

I am not a fan of fonts, like the Broncos insignia, in which bridges of letters extend outside the letter boundaries without tapering, for example, check out the left side of the H in OHS, and the F and B in FOOTBALL, and the top serif on the A is just ridiculous. That irks me in a typeface, which is why I do not like this one personally.

Anyway, your logo has a dark, organic, earthy, grounded feel with the black, orange and sand colors, but your wordmark looks bright and almost metallic because of the angular, silvery bevels.

If you must include a fifth color, silver, I would limit it to the outline and use one of your other colors, probably sand, for the bevels and see if that works. I don't think the silver outline is even necessary. Think about cost of production when working for a school of this size.

Maybe even see how the letters look in plain white, but maybe in a thinner weight, i.e. give the letters a slight negative offset, thus increasing the size of the orange outline.

In addition, the OGALLALA and FOOTBALL lettering just seems to be floating. Try making it a bit more substantial and bold.

You've done a great job on this. Keep experimenting until you find the best and most cost-effective compromise. Also, theres a tiny, tiny triangle of space between the bottom of the logo, the A and the N.

[RedEye]

Tempest,

I understand the points you are making...

Youthful chief does sound like an oxymoron but the idea is that this logo represents youth 15-18 years old and is a reflection of the youth. While MOST chiefs were old, many I have found pics of were actually not all that old. Artistic license came into play here. When making him look older the face got very busy and destroyed the clean thick lines look I wanted.

The chiseled features of older Native Americans are represented without making him look elderly. At the same time the Chief appears virile and able to kick your butt so I like the balance.

Also, a concern about stereotypical depictions of Native American features was raised (NCAA be damned) and rather than risk the image looking like what could be considered a negative, Native American profile, this style was created in order to NOT play up any particular stereotypes.

The word mark I actually like. The bridges of the letters you spoke of don't bother me when the surrounding colors envelope them and they become less stark. But like you said to each his own.

I like the chiseled look of the font better than a flat look mainly because when this word mark stands alone without the head, I want the wordmark to have the same impact as the illustration in terms of power and statelyness (is that even a word???).

The Ogallala and Football placement and weight I don't really have a problem with either. I know many designers would work it into the logo more...maybe dropping a field of color behind it etc. but I think often that gets over done. Nobody says that text can't float as long as it has a reason to be there and doesn't look out of place. I feel they have a good area to nest in and that is why I placed them the way they are...also the individual sports will be interchanged and this makes for easy modification.

The gray will actually be needed when the logo is placed on black helmets and basketball floor. Also it is one of the unofficial colors used a lot now and will act as a buffer between the black keyline and dark backgrounds which, given the nature of the schools merchandising tendancies will be necessary. A lot of black garments and jerseys are created and sold.

I appreciate the comments and I actually experimented with some of your ideas earlier in the design process but they simply didn't have the effect I wanted. Thanks though...it is always good to get fresh eyes and perspectives.

[VitaminD]

At the same time the Chief appears viral and able to kick your butt so I like the balance.

What did he come down with? I think you meant "virile". Remember, antibiotics don't help viruses...

Sorry, forgive me. I've been watching this set evolve. I am a huge fan. Very nice work. Nothing much to add; my only thought was on the "OHS" logo, you could use the natural curve of the "O" to blend the chief's head and shoulders into. But it would probably be too offset. Take it for what you will.

[RedEye]

Holy crap! Thanks Vitamin...was typing faster than my brain! Where the hell did THAT come from???

Typo is fixed!

[RedFalcon7]

B-E-A-utiful... love the final product. Liked this from the beginning... excellent primary and a fantastic job inter-twining it with the wordmark. Expertly done.

[iccomics]

that looks friggen sweet!