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Buffalo Sabres Early Conceptual Work


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So, over the past couple years, a lot of people have questioned the origins of the infamous "Buffaslug"... Look no further!

Figured it was way past time to share this, but oh well... better late than never!

Here's some early conceptual work that I dug out from the archives circa 2004-05... when I was still wet behind the ears in sports identity development.

Feel free to comment... I kinda grew a thick skin after this project.

Buffalo Sabres Concepts

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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Something that a lot of us have wondered for a long time: Was the Sabre formed by the streak on the side and the horn intentional?

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

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Something that a lot of us have wondered for a long time: Was the Sabre formed by the streak on the side and the horn intentional?

Honestly, I just tried to do something that conveyed speed and motion... totally unintentional.

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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So, over the past couple years, a lot of people have questioned the origins of the infamous "Buffaslug"... Look no further!

Figured it was way past time to share this, but oh well... better late than never!

Here's some early conceptual work that I dug out from the archives circa 2004-05... when I was still wet behind the ears in sports identity development.

Feel free to comment... I kinda grew a thick skin after this project.

Buffalo Sabres Concepts

YOU are the designer of the Buffaslug? Wow, you must be thick skinned.

Kudos for having the gumption to post this stuff.

Not certain you improved on the black/red/silver Angry Goathead logo but the colorscheme is a marked improvement---but those were not your calls...

I'm shocked they picked a bison without legs :-(

Again, thanks for sharing these shi++y concepts. The rest of your work is miles better than this rubbish...

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So, over the past couple years, a lot of people have questioned the origins of the infamous "Buffaslug"... Look no further!

Figured it was way past time to share this, but oh well... better late than never!

Here's some early conceptual work that I dug out from the archives circa 2004-05... when I was still wet behind the ears in sports identity development.

Feel free to comment... I kinda grew a thick skin after this project.

Buffalo Sabres Concepts

YOU are the designer of the Buffaslug? Wow, you must be thick skinned.

Kudos for having the gumption to post this stuff.

Not certain you improved on the black/red/silver Angry Goathead logo but the colorscheme is a marked improvement---but those were not your calls...

I'm shocked they picked a bison without legs :-(

Again, thanks for sharing these shi++y concepts. The rest of your work is miles better than this rubbish...

Man, it's been crazy, to say the least!!!

In hindsight, there are probably a lot of things I'd done differently, but it was a learning experience, and I'll always be thankful to have gone through that... especially that early in my career.

Who knows, I might not've pushed myself as hard had I not gotten blasted like that!

Take it easy.

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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In hindsight, there are probably a lot of things I'd done differently, but it was a learning experience, and I'll always be thankful to have gone through that... especially that early in my career.

Would you consider doing a version 2.0 in the concepts section here?

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

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I did see a redesign of the classic charging bison and crossed swords among your proposals. How could the Sabres reject it?

kpbl would know better than me but didn't Reebok have some lame excuse like "the circular logo wouldn't fit on the edge template?" Also I remember seeing on these boards some very early hand drawn iterations of this logo. Can anybody post those?

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6elec248g0248fybjjx0.png

A couple questions about the final product (I apologize if I come off as offensive but I guarantee you I'm not intending to, you have a great attitude about this and I'm glad the experience has helped you as a designer). The part the red arrow is pointing to... is that meant to be the other buffalo horn or was that intended to be a tuft?

Also which is the buffalo's chin? Green #1 or green #2?

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I did see a redesign of the classic charging bison and crossed swords among your proposals. How could the Sabres reject it?

kpbl would know better than me but didn't Reebok have some lame excuse like "the circular logo wouldn't fit on the edge template?" Also I remember seeing on these boards some very early hand drawn iterations of this logo. Can anybody post those?

0222-buf-06sketches.jpg

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

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Did you know of the buffalo bills prototype logo before you designed the buffaslug? Also what do you think of the "Buffaslug" nickname?

http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=fa2ed86heghaczg9phhfigavw

I'm sure this image was gathered as some sort of reference point in the early stages.

The "Buffaslug" nickname doesn't bother me really... I thought it being referred to as Donald Trump's hair was the funniest!

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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6elec248g0248fybjjx0.png

A couple questions about the final product (I apologize if I come of as offensive but I guarantee you I'm not intending to, you have a great attitude about this and I;m the experience has helped you as a designer). The part the red arrow is pointing to... is that meant to be the other buffalo horn or was that intended to be a tuft?

Also which is the buffalo's chin? Green #1 or green #2?

I don't find your comments offensive at all, I'm easy.

The yellow at the top of the head is supposed to be a horn... I thought coloring it yellow would set it in the background.

Green #1 is supposed to be the chin, and Green#2 is supposed to be the nose.

Keywords: Supposed to be.

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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I never really had a problem with this logo, I think it would've been better served on the shoulders though. It's too horizontal for a crest, that's why it would've flowed so much more with the yoke.

Did you try using the navy on the horn to give the impression it was behind the head, or would that have muddled it too much?

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I did see a redesign of the classic charging bison and crossed swords among your proposals. How could the Sabres reject it?

kpbl would know better than me but didn't Reebok have some lame excuse like "the circular logo wouldn't fit on the edge template?" Also I remember seeing on these boards some very early hand drawn iterations of this logo. Can anybody post those?

0222-buf-06sketches.jpg

I honestly couldn't tell you the in's and out's of how that logo in particular worked with the Edge jerseys... sorry.

The top sketch you've provided was done within the department... I can tell you this for sure. Wasn't me, though.

The other sketches were provided on the boards by someone who was at the Sabres or Rbk's HQ... not qute sure on that. As you can tell by the last sketch, that is a trace of a few of my works that were slightly altered.

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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I never really had a problem with this logo, I think it would've been better served on the shoulders though. It's too horizontal for a crest, that's why it would've flowed so much more with the yoke.

Did you try using the navy on the horn to give the impression it was behind the head, or would that have muddled it too much?

Can't recall if I had tried the navy option with the background horn... I probably did, but didn't feel good about it at the time. It's been a minute.

Kristopher "Baze" Bazen

www.krisbazen.com

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I'm glad people finally have nice things to say about the logo now that it's been proven the designer is a human just like you and me instead of a faceless, big-name sportswear corporation or marketing agency :P. In all seriousness, though, I think it would be fun to see how this logo would be executed today, with the benefit of hindsight and all that.

I still don't have a website, but I have a dribbble now! http://dribbble.com/andyharry

[The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the position, strategy or opinions of adidas and/or its brands.]

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