NHL’s New Seattle Kraken Announce Name & Logos

[Ridleylash]

16 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

I'd argue it's fun. It might not be traditional, but it's fun.

It's like watching an old Godzilla dub; like, it's not good by any stretch. But it's possible to be both fun and still kinda corny.

 

Like, penguins aren't really "traditional" sports mascots, but Pittsburgh makes the whole identity work pretty well. But that's also a name associated with some of the best players in the game like Lemieux or Crosby and multiple back-to-back Cups, and Seattle almost definitely will not have that kind of start; I'd argue it's likely they end up a middling team after what Vegas pulled removing the wool over GM's eyes for this expansion.

 

It's easy to put up with a name like "Kraken" if your team is doing well. Probably not as easy if you spend the first half-decade or so of your existence as either mediocre or bad. Well, unless Florida gift-wraps them a bunch of stars again.

 

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It has its roots in the Brandiose school, but I'd argue it transcends it.

In terms of logos, definitely. But (and I'll admit my bias is showing) I don't really feel all that enthralled with team names that try really, really hard to come off as "cool", either. Like, I don't want teams like the Y'Alls or Baby Cakes as major-league names, but names like Kraken veer too hard in the other direction, and loop into being similarly corny as a name like Baby Cakes for very different reasons. One tries to be really wacky and silly, the other tries a bit too hard to come off as really cool and awesome.

 

I like names that are evocative without leaning too hard into the "wacky" or "cool" camps. Good brands have a healthy mix of both.

[IceCap]

So this is a meme from 2008 via Brandiose's 2010s design philosophy with 2020's minimalism and restraint?

[Guest darkpiranha]

1 minute ago, IceCap said:

I mean...

There are a thousand ways to answer this, but the easiest way to do that is to just say that historical fiction exists that presents these things as closely as possible. It's out there.

 

Which is what fosters this idea that designers need to be historians. And they're not.

 

I'm not a fan of insistent ignorance. @andrewharrington explained the needs of balancing accuracy with accessibility. And while I don't like the ideas that this approach leans on in this case, I do get it.

Whereas I DON'T CARE NERD is an active rejection of knowledge, and that's just, well, dumb.

 

They're both very similar in so far as they both try to work the team name into the locale's initial. The Kraken have the tentacle and eye with the S, the Knights have the knight helmet with the V.

 

I'd give the edge to the Knights, but the logos are very much from the same school of thought.

 

lol.  I needed an extra transition word in that first line you quoted.  The "never seen" was in reference to pirate stuff.  The other stuff was just listing off other historically-fact-check-able graphic designs that no one cares to check because it all just now falls under the "Greek" or "Pirate" or "Viking" look that covers a million different real and fictional and exaggerated visual cues.  

 

When it comes to sports branding, especially when using the established history of INaccuracy, reliance on historical accuracy for BRANDING purposes, is pointless.   Is it Greek-ish without being offensive?  Then it's good to go.  Michigan State can release a new hyper-stylized modern looking Greek-ish logo, and if it looks cool, then that's all that matters.  I'm going to shout down anyone who raises a stink that real Spartans never wore that style of plume.  Sure, go ahead and TRY to make it historically-accurate, and if you can do that AND deliver something cool, then awesome!  But I'll sacrifice authenticity every day of the week for something cool.  That's not to argue that Kraken accomplished that.  YMMV.  But I've seen dozens of amazing Kraken concepts on these boards that absolutely knocked it out of the park and showed that Seattle Kraken is a worthy 2020 identity for the NHL in 2020.  The official logo and branding is... okay.  I don't love it.  But I don't hate it.  Which means that in a year's time when the team takes the ice, all of this complaining in here will be a hazy memory.  (who am I kidding?  The arguing in HERE will continue to be hot and heavy for years to come, but the rank and file will be long over it.)

[BBTV]

What's the 2008 meme?  I'm sure there's something I'm missing here, but I associate Kraken with the House Greyjoy sigil.  TBH, that's the first time I heard the term.

 

 

 

[M4One]

12 minutes ago, Bayne said:

So I know it's sooo soon, but who has the better logo? Seattle or Vegas? My vote is Vegas. Seattle's is good but Vegas' is much stronger IMO.

 

It's Golden Knights and it's not even close.  Seattle has got a clip art thing going for it where it feels more like a minor league baseball team logo. (it probably looks better in real life on a jersey). A couple of small changes might make it more major league.  It's not a dumpster fire of a logo, but it could be a little better.

 

 

[Ridleylash]

Just now, BringBackTheVet said:

What's the 2008 meme?

 

[IceCap]

1 minute ago, darkpiranha said:

But I've seen dozens of amazing Kraken concepts on these boards that absolutely knocked it out of the park and showed that Seattle Kraken is a worthy 2020 identity for the NHL in 2020. 

Whereas I found most of those to be lacking. If anything has actually made me somewhat ok with this? It's the logo they've went with. It blows everything from the Concepts section here out of the water (heh).

 

2 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

What's the 2008 meme?  I'm sure there's something I'm missing here, but I associate Kraken with the House Greyjoy sigil.  TBH, that's the first time I heard the term.

The whole RELEASE THE KRAKEN thing. I got the date off, as the movie came out in 2010. Still, that whole meme was something I remember laughing at in the early 2010s. Which was a decade ago for those keeping track.

[Ridleylash]

2 minutes ago, IceCap said:

Whereas I found most of those to be lacking. If anything has actually made me somewhat ok with this? It's the logo they've went with. It blows everything from the Concepts section here out of the water (heh).

The colors also help, honestly. Like, the name is bad, but the logos and colors are surprisingly restrained for this kind of identity. I would've expected some kind of tentacle detail on the jerseys or something more weird.

[BBTV]

Huh.  I've never heard that until clicking on that link just now.  Yeah pretty dumb.  Nice sweaters tho.

[El Scorcho]

The only real issue I have with Kraken is that "Seattle Kraken" doesn't really flow when you say it, but practically you're gonna be saying "Seattle" or "The Kraken"  so I don't think it's a big deal. I don't really agree that Kraken is minor league or even that "minor league" sounding names are bad. Sockeyes was a favourite here and it's at least as 'minor league' as Kraken.

 

The name is thematically no different from what Raptors was when Toronto entered the NBA. A cool animal that had recently been thrust into prominence and popularity by a blockbuster movie. Does anyone think Raptors sounds minor league after 25 years? Sometimes a cool name is just a cool name and that's fine.

 

Give it some time to bed in, which it will, because they absolutely knocked everything visual out of the park. Wow!

[Ridleylash]

5 minutes ago, El Scorcho said:

The name is thematically no different from what Raptors was when Toronto entered the NBA. A cool animal that had recently been thrust into prominence and popularity by a blockbuster movie. Does anyone think Raptors sounds minor league after 25 years? Sometimes a cool name is just a cool name and that's fine.

I remember when the Raps were seriously considering a rebrand to become the Huskies, and that wasn't really that long ago after a long period of the team being rather bad. The name only stuck around because they won a 'chip; but even now, they've been very heavily minimizing the dinosaur imagery to distance themselves from the real stinker years.

 

If Seattle stumbles out of the gate with a mediocre or bad team for a while, there will be people who associate the name with said teams, and that kind of stench doesn't wash off easily for this kind of name. You'd basically need another Vegas-calibre team to even get people to begrudgingly accept it.

[Cujo]

4 minutes ago, El Scorcho said:

Does anyone think Raptors sounds minor league after 25 years? Sometimes a cool name is just a cool name and that's fine.

 

Yes. And so did the team. They were looking into shedding 'Raptors' when they did their identity overhaul with Drake's help a few years ago

[El Scorcho]

11 minutes ago, IceCap said:

So this is a meme from 2008 via Brandiose's 2010s design philosophy with 2020's minimalism and restraint?

 

I think this is harsh. The name isn't a lot different from the Raptors in 1995. They just picked a cool and popular monster from a blockbuster movie. Brandiose would have called them the Sea Buffaloes or something like that

[IceCap]

Just now, El Scorcho said:

 

I think this is harsh. The name isn't a lot different from the Raptors in 1995. They just picked a cool and popular monster from a blockbuster movie. Brandiose would have called them the Sea Buffaloes or something like that

Jurassic Park was a much more successful movie than the remake of Clash of the Titans 

[Guest darkpiranha]

Just now, IceCap said:

Whereas I found most of those to be lacking. If anything has actually made me somewhat ok with this? It's the logo they've went with. It blows everything from the Concepts section here out of the water (heh).

 

The whole RELEASE THE KRAKEN thing. I got the date off, as the movie came out in 2010. Still, that whole meme was something I remember laughing at in the early 2010s. Which was a decade ago for those keeping track.

 

I think the "Release the Kraken" wasn't a starting point as so many people seem to want to insist.  Kraken has been a cool word and image for my entire life (I'm 50).  "Release the Kraken" was a fun thing that came along that just added to it.  The meme, surely though, came up when discussing branding and merch opportunities.  It's just built in.  It's fun to say.  In looking at the other branding directions they were considering, you see the discussion at the table.  "What is Seattle known for?"  "Water."  "Space Needle"  "Native American heritage"  "Fish"  "Trees.   "A don't forget the original Metropolitan hockey team."  That's day one.  Then you just start brainstorming words and phrases and imagery associated with those ideas.  "Kraken" is going to be one of the first things that comes up. "What's that giant squid called? A kraken? Man, that sounds wicked!"   It's just a no-brainer of a potential name.  It just evokes a whole line of imagery that doesn't exist in any of the four (or five) pro sports or even in colleges.  Or even in European sports.  Charlotte FC just debuted yet ANOTHER crown logo.  See how excited people are for that?  See how that rock-solid traditional, conservative sports image just fires up the world and makes them stand out?  

 

Does Kraken skirt on the edge of cheesy?  Sure.  But so would "Yankees" in 2020.  So would "Penguins".  It's going to all depend on what they do with Kraken from here on out.  "Release the Kraken" is not something I'll count against them because there's no way of avoiding the existence of that phrase or pretend people aren't going to say it.  So I'm okay with them leaning into it.  It's fun.  

 

(and I know you hate all the other Kraken concepts.  We'll just have to agree to disagree, lol)

[El Scorcho]

3 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

I remember when the Raps were seriously considering a rebrand to become the Huskies, and that wasn't really that long ago after a long period of the team being rather bad. The name only stuck around because they won a 'chip; but even now, they've been very heavily minimizing the dinosaur imagery to distance themselves from the real stinker years.

 

If Seattle stumbles out of the gate with a mediocre or bad team for a while, there will be people who associate the name with said teams, and that kind of stench doesn't wash off easily for this kind of name. You'd basically need another Vegas-calibre team to even get people to begrudgingly accept it.

 

1 minute ago, Cujo said:

 

Yes. And so did the team. They were looking into shedding 'Raptors' when they did their identity overhaul with Drake's help a few years ago

 

But they haven't shed the Raptors name and it remains globally popular. Even without the championship, they'd have faced massive opposition to changing it now.

 

Agree totally that the popularity of this franchise will be dependant on wins, but that's the same with literally every expansion franchise.

[Brian in Boston]

1 hour ago, andrewharrington said:

Too easy, man.

Hmmmmm. Seems as though Tacoma's Triple A baseball team should become the Kraken, freeing up the Rainiers identity for Seattle's NHL franchise.   

[IceCap]

1 minute ago, darkpiranha said:

See how excited people are for that?  See how that rock-solid traditional, conservative sports image just fires up the world and makes them stand out?  

If your point is just go BORING then I'm unsure what the point actually is.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a boring name and logo that uses an archaic spelling and they're a billion dollar sports brand. You don't need to be QUIRKY and EXCITING to have a solid identity.

[Dexter Morgan]

44 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

Hmu when the Cubs, or any MLB/NBA/NHL team, break into a *cute* game of limbo following a win

 

 

Baseball players regularly throw pies in each others faces after wins. 

[-kj]

Just now, IceCap said:

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a boring name and logo that uses an archaic spelling and they're a billion dollar sports brand.

 

Plus, they haven't had to put in any effort for fifty years.  Brilliant!