NAFA Project | MIA, CHI, SA, DET updates added 1/19

[LaGrandeOrange]

Have you designed a graphic with all the club logos in one place? Or broken down by division? Visiting your Behance and seeing them together you get a good sense of your overall aesthetic, I think it'd be cool to see a league logo breakdown (or something like the league logo compilations you see here on Sportslogos.net !)

[PERRIN]

Ahoy gamers, I've got a handful of updates, some minor, some medium, one overhaul that I'm not sure about yet.

 

Atlanta Honeybees

Atlanta get a tweaked logo with a sturdier and more realistic bee, as well as redesigned uniform set that uses a hexagon pattern in striping similar to the 2017-2020 Arizona set, which I thought were underrated. The peach color has been made bolder and the wordmarks have been updated.

 

Baltimore Warriors

Baltimore gets a tweaked primary logo, refreshed alternate logos, slightly darkened colors, and updated uniforms. Striping retains the sublimated flag pattern but reflects the logo better for a more balanced look, and the number font gets a much-needed update.

 

Carolina Flyers

I’m not quite sold on this update yet, but I think it’s a good start. Firstly, the name changes from Charlotte to Carolina, as I couldn’t figure out a Charlotte-focused look that I liked. The Flyers name honors both racing and aviation, specifically the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Aviation Museum, and the Kitty Hawk Flight. The shade of blue and crown in the logo are nods to The King, Richard Petty. The logo and wordmarks are where I’m unsure, as they feels a bit too plain at the moment, though I managed to fit in some nice symbolism and even a subtle F in the negative space. I’m happy with the uniforms, though I may have gone overboard in using the wing-inspired striping. I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts on this one, suggestions on where to take the logo would be especially welcome.

 

Pittsburgh Hammers

Pittsburgh gets an updated logo, nothing too special but it does the job well. I’m considering changing the name to Vulcans, though I’ve had trouble including fire or other forge-themed elements into the logo without making things too cluttered. Uniforms are tweaked, moving the striping from the sleeves to the shoulders.

 

Seattle Emeralds

Seattle gets a tweaked logo, swapping out the hexagonal badge for a diamond-shaped badge that fits the Emeralds moniker a bit better and looks less awkward. The wordmarks have also been changed to be taller and less sharp, but retain the gem-inspired beveling. Uniforms are updated to match.

 

That's all for now. The only teams I plan on updating soon - excluding Carolina's ongoing development - are San Francisco and Jacksonville, though I may make some minor tweaks to Miami, LA, and perhaps San Diego. I still think I can finish all the updates I have planned before I move out this fall, but I can’t say for sure.

 

Made in Affinity Designer. C&C appreciated.

[neo_prankster]

Great updated today.

 

I look forward to what you have in store for San Diego.

[mrcubfan415]

That Carolina Flyers logo is excellent!

[sky1324]

Glad to see you back! I'm liking what we have here for the most part. Here are my thoughts:

 

ATL: Really good update here. The new peach color is great and I love the uniforms. The use of the honeycomb pattern is excellent.

 

BAL: I was never sold on the old number font so this is an upgrade. The new shade of red is nice as well.

 

CAR: I'm sure you expected this from me but use Charlotte instead of Carolina. Blue + a crown + a C? That's Charlotte. I think the logo is nice, the only thing I'm not sold on is the drop shadow on the crown. The other change I'd make is lightening up the blue, especially if it's supposed to be a Petty blue. The uniforms are great, I love the use of the wings in the striping. I think a white facemask may also be an upgrade.

 

PIT: I love the keystones in the handle of the logo, nice touch. The thin outlines on the numbers don't seem to fit the rest of the brand, I'd either make them thicker or drop them. I think the helmet could use a little more white but I'm not sure how to add it. Everything else looks great.

 

SEA: I like the switch to a diamond container and the logo remains great. Always loved the beveling on the numbers for them.

 

Keep up the good work, you're almost to the finish line!

[PERRIN]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:30 AM, CDCLT said:

CAR: I'm sure you expected this from me but use Charlotte instead of Carolina. Blue + a crown + a C? That's Charlotte. I think the logo is nice, the only thing I'm not sold on is the drop shadow on the crown. The other change I'd make is lightening up the blue, especially if it's supposed to be a Petty blue. The uniforms are great, I love the use of the wings in the striping. I think a white facemask may also be an upgrade.

I knew you'd have something to add, I'm always worried you'll be displeased when I'm going over ideas for Charlotte haha

 

Anyways, here's an update colorway for Charlotte, per your suggestions. The blue is lightened to be more accurate to Richard Petty's iconic car, and the black is swapped out for a deep plum for an extra Charlotte-y flair. I tried a white facemark, but it completely threw off the color balance of the whole set. 

[sky1324]

Wasn't expecting the purple at all but that is gorgeous. The new lighter blue is awesome as well, I love this set. It's a team I'd be proud to support.

[PERRIN]

Ahoy gamers, it’s been a while. Looks like my goal to finish the league by the start of the school year has failed, but surprisingly I have enough free time to work on side projects.

 

First up, I was unhappy with San Antonio. I liked the monogram and badge logo alright, but I wasn’t fond of the color scheme, shield logo, or uniforms at all. Thus, I completely redesigned the team, changing up the name from Marshals to Wranglers and shifting the color scheme to green and black. I recycled the logo from a rebrand I made for LongHorn Steakhouse (no joke, you can find it on my website) and added a custom word mark, barbed wire patterning, and some supporting logos. Uniforms utilize the barbed wire pattern in the pants and helmet striping. I’m much happier with the team now, though I might tweak the logos a bit more.

 

I also made a crude mockup of a player in uniform just for fun a while back, just to see how well the uniforms translate from flat to in-person. The brown and orange team is my current placeholder for San Francisco. They’ll probably be called either the Redwoods or Grizzlies and emphasize redwood imagery, but I’m struggling with a logo at the moment, as per usual lmao

 

That’s all for now. I still plan to finish San Francisco, update Jacksonville, and add alternate logos to about 10 other teams. After that, I think I’m just about done. Almost there.

 

Made in Affinity Designer. C&C appreciated.

[neo_prankster]

I would've suggested Gatekeepers for the Golden Gate Bridge or Hilltoppers for the many hills of the city. Would a name like Gatekeepers carry too much baggage?

[PERRIN]

1 minute ago, neo_prankster said:

I would've suggested Gatekeepers for the Golden Gate Bridge or Hilltoppers for the many hills of the city. Would a name like Gatekeepers carry too much baggage?

I've considered it, but it's a bit too on the nose and I can't really think of any imagery to use outside of the bridge itself, which is a bit too generic for my taste. It's gonna be Redwoods or Grizzlies.

[neo_prankster]

Just now, PERRIN said:

I've considered it, but it's a bit too on the nose and I can't really think of any imagery to use outside of the bridge itself, which is a bit too generic for my taste. It's gonna be Redwoods or Grizzlies.

I like Grizzlies since that is the animal on the state flag.

[Dion Jones Jr.]

I think Grizzlies would be a good name for San Francisco, considering the fact that you already have a team referencing nature and trees in the Minnesota Evergreens. 

[sky1324]

San Antonio looks great! The new logo is really nice and I love the barbed wire striping. The green, black, and silver color scheme really works for me as well. How would the logo look when it's not on green? Would there be a green outline or maybe the star would become green?

 

As for San Fran, you've got a really nice start. If you're gonna use the really cool tree ring detailing in the striping, I'd go with Redwoods as the nickname. I feel like with Grizzlies you'd expect more bear/animal imagery instead of tree stuff. I like it either way, though. Nice work as always!

[BurdBranding]

I think the best name to represent the Redwoods would be Giants... but I am sure you see the obvious problem with that. Only other thing I could think of would be Colossals, but that isn't the most attractive option. Not to echo CDCLT, but a visual identity that goes one way and a name that goes the other isn't very cohesive. This could result in a full identity that conveys the organization doesn't quite know who they are or what they want to be.

[PERRIN]

12 hours ago, CDCLT said:

San Antonio looks great! The new logo is really nice and I love the barbed wire striping. The green, black, and silver color scheme really works for me as well. How would the logo look when it's not on green? Would there be a green outline or maybe the star would become green?

 

As for San Fran, you've got a really nice start. If you're gonna use the really cool tree ring detailing in the striping, I'd go with Redwoods as the nickname. I feel like with Grizzlies you'd expect more bear/animal imagery instead of tree stuff. I like it either way, though. Nice work as always!

 

37 minutes ago, BoysClub said:

I think the best name to represent the Redwoods would be Giants... but I am sure you see the obvious problem with that. Only other thing I could think of would be Colossals, but that isn't the most attractive option. Not to echo CDCLT, but a visual identity that goes one way and a name that goes the other isn't very cohesive. This could result in a full identity that conveys the organization doesn't quite know who they are or what they want to be.

Thanks for the kind words! For San Antonio, it's a simple color swap. Green base, white or silver outlines depending on background color, like this. 

As for San Francisco, I'm probably sticking with Grizzlies as the team name. As much as I like the tree imagery, I see that it feels a bit disjointed and confusing, so I'll steer away from it for the most part. I think it's a fun addition to the branding for tertiary material, but it's not consistent enough with the Grizzlies moniker to warrant keeping it as part of the logo or uniform set as both of you pointed out. The uniforms would look fine without the patterning. If I really want to add a modern flair, I'll consider having the stripes terminate into claw marks. We'll see. I definitely appreciate the comments, glad y'all are helping me make my brandings the best they can be.

 

Also, before I forget, I tweaked the uniforms of the Boston Mariners a bit, adding stripes to the sleeves to make it feel a bit more classic, plus I put together an 80's-style throwback. I'm trying to slowly sort out the history of the league, so I'm warming up to the idea of throwback alternates.

 

[sky1324]

Oh that Boston throwback is class. I'm a sucker for drop shadows and it's giving me UNC throwback vibes in the best way possible. The updated striping works really well here as well. Nice stuff as always!

[thesieve22]

That throwback logo for Boston is amazing. Really pops on the helmet. Late to the party but great work on this entire series

[Megildur]

10 hours ago, thesieve22 said:

That throwback logo for Boston is amazing. Really pops on the helmet. Late to the party but great work on this entire series

 

I'd echo that -- the throwback Boston is awesome (especially from Massachusetts dude to another!). Keep up the good work!

[texashockeyfan]

Any more cities ?

[PERRIN]

1 hour ago, texashockeyfan said:

Any more cities ?

Was already planning on posting soon, excellent timing.

 

I haven't done that much since the beginning of the school year, assignments ate up a lot of my free time and I was stuck in a creative funk for the latter half of the semester. I've mostly just been goofing around with template ideas, other projects, and trying to flesh out the league's history, rules, and traditions. I've only recently worked on logo concepts that are still in progress, but I thought I'd share them along with a few small uniform updates for some teams. 

 

I also made a new flat template, heavily inspired by @raysox's Danger brand series. It's basically just the Nike Vapor Untouchable template with my own logo slapped on it and added seams near the shoulders. My old template served me quite well, lasting almost two years longer than any other template I've made, but it was time for a change towards something a tad more realistic.

 

Boston Mariners
It seems like I grow unhappy with Boston every six months. This time around, I found myself unimpressed with their uniform set and didn't feel like the lighthouse logo captured the nautical vibe I was going for, so I leaned in favor of a boat logo for them. I also brightened the color scheme a bit and updated the uniforms, going for a shoulder yoke stripe that I toyed with for Boston years ago. It felt right to bring it back in this color scheme. I kept the throwback uniform, but swapped it to an away set to make room for a navy alternate. The logo could probably still use some cleaning up on the spacing, but this is the first logo I've made in months that I'm legitimately happy with. Gonna explore some alternate logos and supplementary branding with a more ocean-y vibe in the future.

 

Jacksonville Stingrays

Jacksonville gets a name change, first and foremost. Cyclones was generic enough that it felt difficult to come up with a logo I liked, so I recycled the Stingrays name from my old Mexico team, though this time with a darker and stormier color scheme. Logo is - again - a bit of a rough concept, but it's good enough for now. I'm mostly happy with the custom word marks and uniforms, which I think are here to stay. 

 

New Orleans Corsairs
New Orleans gets an updated striping pattern throughout, something that's still very ornamental and whimsical but not quite as complex as the previous stripe. The gold color has also been made darker and richer to emulate the sheen of brass instruments, a staple of jazz music in New Orleans.

 

That's all I've got for now.

 

Still limited progress on San Francisco, haven't come up with any logo ideas that have gone anywhere. This semester is gonna be quite busy for me, as I'll resume classes and will likely start an internship throughout the school year, plus I have a few other personal projects planned in the next few months. I will still try and work on this league; it's one of my favorite things I've ever made and I always enjoy exploring new ideas with it, but it might end up taking a backseat for much of the semester. We'll see.

 

Made in Affinity Designer. C&C appreciated.