Griffins Alternate Logo WIP (Unifrom Added)

[McElroy19]

Howdy Guys! I'm working on a new Primary logo for the grand rapids Griffins and I'm sort of stuck so I'm hoping to get past my block with the help of the community. So please comment and help me move this design forward!

Version 1:

For my first attempt at this logo I came up with this

I was really happy with this untill I looked at it more and more. It looks cool and strong and powerful at first but the more and more I looked at it the less and less I though it looked like a Sports Logo and the more I thought it looked like a character from a TV show, just it looked more like a drawing than a Logo.

Version 2:

For version two I wanted to address the problem areas I had in the first attempt like the Feet and front legs and also make the lines bolder and thicker to give it more of a logo feel and came up with this

While I do feel like this version looks more like a logo it lost a lot of the intensity that the first logo had and is just not as impressive all though it is much cleaner and simpler. I'm not saying I don't like this version I'm just not sure where to go from here. Let me know what you think I can do to move this bottom logo from okay/good to great/exceptional.

BONUS:

I also came up with these along the way. Maybe I can work it into a secondary or something

[nddurst]

Great job fixing the issues with version 1. The wordmark was hard to read due to the tri-color scheme and looks much better. Overall, version 2 is a much better sports logo, as version 1 I think has a bit too much detail in the griffin, which takes away from the simple, iconic look that sports logos usually have.

It is still quite similar to the current Griffins logo, so I'm not sure this would qualify as a re-brand. More like a tweak. Nice work!

The secondary logos pretty good. I definitely prefer the versions with "GRIFFINS" arched over the griffin, on the left. I think this would look pretty cool on an alternate uni. Have you considered entering the contest here? http://www.hockeyjerseyconcepts.com/p/grand-rapids-griffins-competition.html

[Asian_Vegan12]

Yeah, I would have to agree with nddurst.

I perfer the second logos because the second logos are much neat and simpler than the first!

[nddurst]

Another thing I would suggest adjusting is reducing the spacing between the letters in GRIFFINS. Once you do that, you might need to reduce the size of Grand Rapids a bit, or increase the size of Griffins to make that part work but I think the letters are a bit too far apart as-is.

[Christian Legault]

I love the shade of gold. So for me version 2 top left corner is the best. The secondary logo looks great as well. Maybe putting it in some sort of shield. But seriously.. You should do these concepts blindfolded so some of us have a chance. If you wanna see what I have up to now feel free to tweet me.

[crashcarson15]

This is really strong work.

I'm a fan of the gold but also a fan of the white outline, so the top left corner in V2 works best for me. The biggest issue I see with the red outline is that it muddles the beak a bit.

And from the standpoint of someone who does mostly soccer designs, your secondary logo is absolutely golden. That'd look great set in a crest, man.

Well done.

[McElroy19]

Great job fixing the issues with version 1. The wordmark was hard to read due to the tri-color scheme and looks much better. Overall, version 2 is a much better sports logo, as version 1 I think has a bit too much detail in the griffin, which takes away from the simple, iconic look that sports logos usually have.

It is still quite similar to the current Griffins logo, so I'm not sure this would qualify as a re-brand. More like a tweak. Nice work!

The secondary logos pretty good. I definitely prefer the versions with "GRIFFINS" arched over the griffin, on the left. I think this would look pretty cool on an alternate uni. Have you considered entering the contest here? http://www.hockeyjerseyconcepts.com/p/grand-rapids-griffins-competition.html

This is for that contest! I wasn't sure what to call it so I just went with rebrand.

I love the shade of gold. So for me version 2 top left corner is the best. The secondary logo looks great as well. Maybe putting it in some sort of shield. But seriously.. You should do these concepts blindfolded so some of us have a chance. If you wanna see what I have up to now feel free to tweet me.

I had planned on putting the secondary in a shield of some sort so that'll be coming at some.

This is really strong work.

I'm a fan of the gold but also a fan of the white outline, so the top left corner in V2 works best for me. The biggest issue I see with the red outline is that it muddles the beak a bit.

And from the standpoint of someone who does mostly soccer designs, your secondary logo is absolutely golden. That'd look great set in a crest, man.

Well done.

I'm working on the beak are now I think that opening up the mouth more will help fix that problem, we'll see!

Thanks for all the feedback so far guys!

[McElroy19]

So I took what you guys said about the Beak and played around with the whole head. I also fooled around with the Spacing on the letters and came up with this. I think it helped a lot.

Version 3:

As always feedback is greatly appreciated!

[nddurst]

Awesome work, looks much better! The only thing I'm noticing now, more so on the red version, is the empty white space between the front and rear legs. I think I liked that better when it was broken up. On a white background it wouldn't stand out at all but it does on the red quite a bit.

[jdp]

Wow, version 3 is good. Really good. There are a few small details I would shore up, but I'm not even sure they are worth mentioning.

[McElroy19]

Awesome work, looks much better! The only thing I'm noticing now, more so on the red version, is the empty white space between the front and rear legs. I think I liked that better when it was broken up. On a white background it wouldn't stand out at all but it does on the red quite a bit.

Yeah I'm very torn as to which way to go about that. I also like it more with the Gaps but thinking about it from a Practicle standpoint it's probably easier for them to produce with less holes. However I think I'm going to go back to the space.

Wow, version 3 is good. Really good. There are a few small details I would shore up, but I'm not even sure they are worth mentioning.

No no no, no detail is to small! Let me know!

[jdp]

Very well. Let me say that my statement of "not worth mentioning" is more because I'm not fully versed on designing sports logos. If the things I mention here are accepted conventions, then ignore me, obviously.

1. The weight of the navy outline of the smallest "ear" (?) feather is inconsistent with the rest of the feathers. Maybe just add a small notch there, too, to bring in more of the navy?
   
2. I suppose this one is more of a question and/or learning experience for me. This one relates to the second instance (right) of version 3. The beak and how it overlaps the back feather: Should that feather get the same navy outline? The fact the red beak outline goes right in to the gold of the wing was blatant to me; it was the first thing I noticed, actually. I realize adding that navy outline to the wing will cut into some of the gold and ultimately may not look good, but there is something about the red-into-gold there I'm having trouble unseeing.
   
3. Square off the navy text box. I see why the G would create the notch, but it seems unnecessary to keep it. The right edge also is not squared. My assumption is the the bottom curve of the S is pushing out that outline, but it doesn't need to be there.
   

Like I said, (overly) nitpicky.

[T-ROY]

No no I don't like any of these. I don't think you have any chance of winning with these, you should stop now *wink* *wink*

[McElroy19]

Very well. Let me say that my statement of "not worth mentioning" is more because I'm not fully versed on designing sports logos. If the things I mention here are accepted conventions, then ignore me, obviously.

1. The weight of the navy outline of the smallest "ear" (?) feather is inconsistent with the rest of the feathers. Maybe just add a small notch there, too, to bring in more of the navy?
2. I suppose this one is more of a question and/or learning experience for me. This one relates to the second instance (right) of version 3. The beak and how it overlaps the back feather: Should that feather get the same navy outline? The fact the red beak outline goes right in to the gold of the wing was blatant to me; it was the first thing I noticed, actually. I realize adding that navy outline to the wing will cut into some of the gold and ultimately may not look good, but there is something about the red-into-gold there I'm having trouble unseeing.
3. Square off the navy text box. I see why the G would create the notch, but it seems unnecessary to keep it. The right edge also is not squared. My assumption is the the bottom curve of the S is pushing out that outline, but it doesn't need to be there.

Like I said, (overly) nitpicky.

1. So just so we're clear going forward the reason that feather is black is it's supposed to be on the other side of the head but because it comes out so far you can still see it so to give it perspective I made it smaller and all black just to show that it's there and give it some dimension and not really call any attention to it.

2.You and I are both in the same boat on this one It's really baffled me as to what to do there I've tried a bunch of different things but can't seem to find anything to fix that. I'll continue to play around with it how ever.

3. The boxed in corners don't bother me because they are symmetrical with the adjacent corner so it works for me. I didn't however notice the "S" not being flush and I've fixed that.

[McElroy19]

Update 4:

For this update I fixed the wings to fit in with the design better as well as fixed the problems with the beak.

As always let me know what you think! And what you think needs changing!

[crashcarson15]

Gold beak is great. Really fixes the problems you've had there. Not sure that I see anything else I'd change. Well done!

[Christian Legault]

I like the adjustments to the tail also. Nice

[McElroy19]

Glad you guys like it! I think changing the tail helped a lot.I'm working on the Word mark bit now.

[McElroy19]

So here's my final logo and what I'm thinking for the uniforms. I've got about 1000 jersey ideas for this so let me know if you guys think this one works or not.

[crashcarson15]

It's different but I really like that jersey.

I'd flip "Griffins" around on the secondary logo though so it doesn't read as being upside down.