Jump to content

MLB Tweaks: Rockies Updated


SFGiants58

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 159
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I love everything about the Rockies update except for the Colorado flag-themed logos. They feel unbalanced, leaning too heavily to the left. I'm sure it's probably due to the font you chose (which is great, by the way), but both the cap and special event diamond logos irk me just a bit.

3834694136_f375c335e2_o.jpg3833900697_df7864756a_o.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/12/2017 at 4:50 PM, SFGiants58 said:

This one is more of a total overhaul than a tweak, but I wanted to revive the thread for a few more tweaks.

 

COLORADO ROCKIES - Version 1 and Version 2 (2.5)

 

This one has been a long time coming. My previous Rockies redesigns have mostly tried to salvage the current identity (minor tweaks in the first, significant recoloring the second), but as time has gone by, I've realized that their current identity really can't be salvaged. The Times New Roman font (with inserts that render the scripts near-illegible), the mountain logo, and the "CR" insignia all had to go for this update. I started with a simple revision of my purple/powder blue color scheme from my second concept, and then I attempted a new branding direction using the Toledo Mud Hens' font to do a "drop shadow-centric" look. While I liked it, I thought it looked a little too cartoony and similar to the Rangers' fonts. This concept taught me that tall lettering was the best course of action, with an emphasis on purple. In the meantime, I also made this mockup of what the team would look like as a purple/grey/minimal black team.

 

When I began this concept, I looked to sources from around the boards for inspiration. Two concepts, in particular, one by @McCarthy and another by @CreamSoda showed me that the best way to handle the Rockies would be to incorporate the mountain imagery into the main logos of the team (in the primary logos and cap logos). Both of them also used cap logos inspired by the Colorado flag (with both of them doing a particularly excellent job at incorporating the mountains into the flag-style "C"). Building off of their work, I changed up the "C" to have a slab serif and a different mountain pattern.

 

I've revised my color scheme from my previous concepts, most notably dumping powder blue and changing the shade of purple. This new shade of purple (Pantone 2623C) has far more red in it than the previous purple shade, which separates them nicely from the other primarily purple team in my series (the Royals). I dumped powder blue, as it didn't go all that well with the logos and uniforms of this update and I thought it would be good to have one fewer team using blue as a main color. In its place is grey (shown as Pantone 429C for web use and jersey/cap fabrics, with Pantone 877C for embroidery/twill application). I felt it worked better with the mountain theme than powder blue did, and I liked that it had some precedence with the team (being the color scheme of their first two road jerseys ). I didn't want to bring back black, as I prefer that there be no unnecessary black in the majors (and black/purple/silver is an ugly color scheme, save for Starscream repaints )

 

The primary logo features five mountains atop of a home plate design, which also features a home plate, basepaths, and stripes (to mimic both backstop/outfield wall panels and the socks stripes). While this is my second concept with a home plate-shaped logo, I think that the mountain pattern differentiates them enough from my Padres concept. The font is a modified version of Carton, originally designed by Nick McCosker . Since the original font was not nearly as tall as I originally wanted, I modified the letterforms to make them taller (which was something I wanted to preserve from the "Mud Hens" stage of the concept).

 

The secondary logo is my version of the rounded slab serif "C with mountains," featuring three mountains layered atop one another (with snow caps and purple lines defining each mountain's border). The special event logo is a rhombus/diamond featuring a recoloring of the cap logo with a white stripe behind it, mimicking the Colorado flag in a way that's a bit more tasteful than the Calgary Flames' tactic of slapping their flags on their shoulders.

 

32202087306_1dbd04c099_b.jpg

 

The home and road uniforms feature a significant restyling from my previous concepts. The letters are arched as opposed to arc-ed, to emphasize the height of the scripts. Placket trim returns, in an asymmetrical purple/secondary color pattern (grey at home, white on the road). The sleeve trim takes influence from McCarthy's concept, mimicking the five mountains of the logo (with the mountain's main color reflecting the secondary color on each uniform). This mountain pattern is connected to standard sleeve trim, which bears the asymmetrical pattern of the plackets and the pants. The number font is not Carton, as Carton's numbers weren't slab-y enough for my tastes. Instead, I used a modified version of the Seattle Supersonics' old number font, with some more slab serifs added and a few numbers tweaked (namely the "2" and the "4"). The NOB's now use serif block. The sock stripes are a grey-white-grey-white-grey pattern, which adds more of the accent colors to the uniform. 

 

32217985615_9a79b59fab_b.jpg

 

The main alternate is a purple jersey, bearing the "C with mountains" cap logo. The front numbers move to the left side and down (to avoid comparisons to the Reds), and the buttons are evenly spaced. Silver takes precedence as the main color of the striping, numbers, and NOB. This alternate also has a grey cap, for wear on the road. I love white- and grey-crowned caps, and this concept's color scheme allowed me to implement a grey cap beautifully. The second alternate is the standard uniform, with the aforementioned grey cap (presumably, this would be a Sunday road alternate).

 

32179782106_19132b4ec5_b.jpg

 

The second set of alternates would each only be worn once a season. The first special event uniform is a throwback to my favorite Rockies alternate, the 1993 black jersey.This was the only uniform in their history that felt like a "real" throwback (and didn't look too much like the rest of the concept), and I like it far more than the "Rocktober" vests. The nameplate and "Inaugural Season" patches are present on the jersey, and I've taken the liberty of adding the "CR" logo to the socks (to give that logo a bit more exposure, given its importance to the team's identity).

 

The second alternate was a fun little idea that came to me some time ago. In the past few years, I've noticed how popular the Colorado flag has become. It's on loads of merchandise, is constantly cited as one of the best flags in the United States (I'd put it in the top ten, certainly), and has inspired the color schemes of two Denver teams (the Nuggets in several iterations, and the short-lived NHL Rockies). It's strange that the MLB Rockies haven't capitalized on this market with some kind of alternate, so I set about rectifying that. I created an alternate uniform meant to be worn on Colorado Day (August 1), using the "Vintage Hockey Franchise" sRGB shades (which matched the Pantone shades of the Colorado flag). I placed these colors on a tweaked version of the road uniform, with a blue base, gold mountains (paired up with red and white trim - sorta tributing the Denver flag ), collar trim instead of placket stripes (which looked pretty bad in three colors), and one-color numbers (for the purposes of clarity). The pants have a three-color stripe pattern, and the sock stripes change to reflect the new color scheme. The cap features a white stripe and yellow circle behind a slightly off-center "C with mountains," to both mimic the flag and differentiate the team from the Cubs (which can be a problem, as Monfort ineptitude, midwest transplants, and WGN's legacy has shown).

 

31407545893_f416b13a43_b.jpg

 

Edit: Here's a close-up on the sleeve striping, in case it didn't come across well in the main renderings.

 

32239534726_702fb0f130_c.jpg

 

Now, the Rockies won't be dressing in the image of the 1990-present White Sox anymore (as they, along with several other teams, have done). Instead, they'll have a unique and clear color scheme (purple/silver-grey/white) with retro-esque fonts for scripts and numbers (meaning one fewer team using block standard, which is a slightly overused block font) and a neo-retro uniform template (mountain stripes, asymmetrical placket trim, and sock stripe pattern). This new branding will also tie them closer to their state's iconography, through both direct (the Colorado Day alternate) and indirect (the cap logo minimizing the state flag's letter) means. Should the Rockies eschew their dated uniforms and color scheme, this is the direction they should take. C+C is greatly appreciated, as always.

 

 
 
 

 

Quoted to bump it to the next page.

 

6 hours ago, Matito said:

I love everything about the Rockies update except for the Colorado flag-themed logos. They feel unbalanced, leaning too heavily to the left. I'm sure it's probably due to the font you chose (which is great, by the way), but both the cap and special event diamond logos irk me just a bit.

 

 

I was thinking about balancing it out with a thinner version of the "C" letter, but it made the logo look a bit too much like the Cubs' cap logo. Would a longer serif help to balance it out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Would this be a more balanced cap logo? I've simply thinned the letter out a little and flipped the mountains so that the tallest one is on the right (thereby diverting more attention to the right side of the logo):

31465290114_c53c526612_n.jpg

 

Yep, I think this solves the problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the changes to the "C" logo work well. I'm never a fan of the capital letters at both beginning and end of a work mark, even though the RockieS use that style now. One other change I'd make would be to make the "C" and the mountains different colors. I look at the grey "C" logo and think it just feels a little better to have that contrast. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Improvements all around. I like the Sonics number font (reminds me of the 1998 Home Run Derby...the finest All Star unis to date...and the best look for them, IMO). The mountain piping makes too much sense for them. Glad you got rid of the black, save the throwback which looks great. Not feeling this shade of purple, though, maybe because I feel their current shade can work well with silver and white. Finally, the newer 'C' looks much better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2017 at 1:20 PM, Carolingian Steamroller said:

I think the changes to the "C" logo work well. I'm never a fan of the capital letters at both beginning and end of a work mark, even though the RockieS use that style now. One other change I'd make would be to make the "C" and the mountains different colors. I look at the grey "C" logo and think it just feels a little better to have that contrast. 

 

 

Thanks. I was worried about the contrast of the mountains, and I figured that the silver/grey outline would be enough. I've decided to rectify that in the update, by using a darker purple for the mountains (Pantone 2627C). It not only provides contrast for non-purple backgrounds, but it also allows the mountains to have a horizon-like look in the primary logo.

 

Here is a preview of this direction:

 

31588954354_a8a0883061_b.jpg

 

I'm probably going to keep the larger bookends to the wordmarks (and the arched wordmarks), if only because it's one of the few features I like from the current set (gives them a sense of height, befitting the team's name).

 

On 1/16/2017 at 1:22 PM, Paul Lucas said:

Improvements all around. I like the Sonics number font (reminds me of the 1998 Home Run Derby...the finest All Star unis to date...and the best look for them, IMO). The mountain piping makes too much sense for them. Glad you got rid of the black, save the throwback which looks great. Not feeling this shade of purple, though, maybe because I feel their current shade can work well with silver and white. Finally, the newer 'C' looks much better. 

 

 

Thanks man! I tried to work with the current shade of purple, but I really don't like it that much. It has way too much blue in it (making it look navy in certain lighting conditions), and I'd prefer the Rockies to have a purple with more red in it (reducing the navy lighting issue). 

 

Totally off topic, but this may be one of my last posts in this specific thread. I think it's gotten too weighed-down by the backlog of concepts (over the past two years), and I really want one cohesive series for these concepts. Look for an announcement soon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

Totally off topic, but this may be one of my last posts in this specific thread. I think it's gotten too weighed-down by the backlog of concepts (over the past two years), and I really want one cohesive series for these concepts. Look for an announcement soon!

 

Not really sure what you mean by this. Sure, it's taken a while, but you're already 2/3 of the way through the league. Does that mean you're stopping now? Or just starting a new thread and re-posting the teams you've already done while continuing on with the rest of the league?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, coco1997 said:

 

Not really sure what you mean by this. Sure, it's taken a while, but you're already 2/3 of the way through the league. Does that mean you're stopping now? Or just starting a new thread and re-posting the teams you've already done while continuing on with the rest of the league?

 

 

The plan is more of a relaunch. I'm hoping to re-do my presentation style, update more of the teams to incorporate C+C from this thread and some radical revisions, and to have a consistent plan for all the teams (not making it up as I go along like I've done in this thread).

 

I'll keep this thread open as a backup/small concept outlet (kind of like what @oldschoolvikings has done for his NFL threads - go check his work out if you want to see my favorite NFL concepts). This thread is more of a random dumping ground, while the new thread will be a linear MLB-wide redesign.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds good. I just wanted to be reassured that you still plan on revisiting the rest of the league. In particular I'm looking forward to your next White Sox tweak. 

 

Great update on the Rockies logo, by the way. The darker purple mountains make a big difference. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

The plan is more of a relaunch. I'm hoping to re-do my presentation style, update more of the teams to incorporate C+C from this thread and some radical revisions, and to have a consistent plan for all the teams (not making it up as I go along like I've done in this thread).

 

I'll keep this thread open as a backup/small concept outlet (kind of like what @oldschoolvikings has done for his NFL threads - go check his work out if you want to see my favorite NFL concepts). This thread is more of a random dumping ground, while the new thread will be a linear MLB-wide redesign.

 

Thanks for the shout out... it brought me to this amazing thread. So much great stuff here. The Kelly green on the A's, the brown and gold Padres, that awesome plaid Mets throwback. Terrific work. I'll definitely keep checking back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I know it's been a while, but here's my update for the Rockies!

 

I've incorporated the "mountain purple" and the re-balanced cap logo into the uniforms and logo sheets. I kept my original purple shade, as the Rockies' current purple shade is still a little too blue for my tastes. I've also decided to re-do my presentation style (the old one dates to mid-2013, BTW), to show off Pantone shades, sleeve details, NOB fonts, and larger representations of the uniform templates. 

 

33651272811_2081d2cd68_h.jpg

 

33624208132_604fdb0106_h.jpg

 

33624208342_8121f37da0_h.jpg

 

33651273011_cafb3124d5_h.jpg

 

C+C is greatly appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, coco1997 said:

Great work!

Are you going to continue posting new tweaks in this thread, or are you going to start a new one like you indicated a few months ago?

 

A new thread will be coming at some point in mid-late May. When my schedule clears up a bit more (and I have more teams finished), I'll debut it. I just wanted to give the new presentation style a test run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been a while since I have come back to this site, but I was really glad to see some of your updates here. I especially like the new hat logo. I also tried to use the Colorado flag C (and gave the sun seams) in my MLB series, but I was always concerned that the C from the flag was too close to the Cubs' hats. I have thought about redoing the concept with a slab serif C but hadn't gotten around to it. And you showed exactly how to do it: the slab-serif top clearly differentiates it from the Cubs and cutting the bottom to match the mountains is great. Fantastic work, and I look forward to your upcoming project.

award%20sig.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.