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WHL Concept Series (Series Complete)


vtgco

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22 hours ago, jwinters said:

The updated boot logo for the Rebels looks perfect, and the updates for Spokane and Moose Jaw are great too!

 

Your Oil Kings concept is incredible, maybe my favourite of the series. It's not at all what I was expecting but it works so well. I know they're out of vogue, but I think it would be cool for one hockey team somewhere to use a nice gradient in their uniforms. I don't like it for Prince George, but it's a fantastic idea for Edmonton.

I'm glad you like Edmonton! I figured it would be sorta love-it-or-hate-it, so it's good to see that people like it. Certainly I'm glad it's better than that PG jersey :P

Also, thanks for all of your feedback to make the updates happen! 

 

And now, for a BONUS IDEA for Winnipeg so that Kootenay can keep the Ice brand:

q9jHrfP.png

The name and design is based on the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons, who represented Canada in the Olympics to win the first ever gold medal in hockey. The name was considered during the return of NHL hockey to the city, so maybe it should be considered for the WHL's return too!

 

The neo-retro style jersey design is *very* loosely based on the original team's design (seen on the left in this image). The primary logo combines the Esplanade Riel logo from the main concept with a falcon. The secondary logo shows the famous Golden Boy's torch which also stands in for the Olympic flame.

 

Next up will be a new Kootenay expansion brand... 

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  • vtgco changed the title to WHL Concept Series (Winnipeg v2 added)
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On 5/10/2021 at 10:00 AM, jbird669 said:

I like the colors for Edmonton and how you laid them out. 

Thank you! Strange to do color balancing with a rainbow, but I'm glad you like it :)

 

It's another bonus concept for a Kootenay expansion team!

Cup0ixw.png

If the Ice brand stays in Winnipeg and the Kootenay region ever gets a second chance, I think Kootenay Crows would be the name to go with.

The team name is inspired by the Crowsnest Highway which crosses Crowsnest Pass, which has been an important trade route through the Kootenay region.

The crow in the primary sits on a railroad spike representing the region's railway history. Its wing is in the stylized shape of the Kootenay region. The shoulder patch is based on the Ice's old logo.

The colors are carried over from the old Ice scheme.

 

I imagine this team would end up in the BC Division, so I'm probably gonna try to pull off one US Division expansion to even all the divisions out at six... 

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  • vtgco changed the title to WHL Concept Series (Kootenay added)

Here's a update to Prince Albert's secondary logo, motivated by @monkeypower's critique and in line with @jwinters's pirate theme suggestion:

Tdepy5P.png

Pretty self explanatory: skull & cross-sticks in the beveled style. The city flag logo no longer appears on the jersey.

I put it as the new shoulder patch, and it goes front and center on a new BFBS alternate jersey!

 

I also attempted the Langley flag striping for the Giants again, and I think I figured it out...

YD0ftk8.png

A canoe from the Langley coat of arms and an oar from the Vancouver city flag replaces the old, now redundant shoulder patch. I could easily imagine this Giant rowing a big boat to get around 😄

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And for the last entry in the series, a Tacoma expansion team:

mEFLMh9.png

 

The Rockets name appears to dominate Tacoma's hockey history (and the '90s-tastic Sabercats was the only other option)... so I tried to think of something new.

In my time out on boats on Puget Sound, I've seen more harbor porpoises than any other sea creature, so I figured it might work as a theme. I thought "Harbors" sounded a bit better than "Porpoises," but I'm open to suggestions for a more dynamic, less literal name for the team!

 

The jerseys are a sort of mixture of two photos of the 1940s Tacoma Rockets and the Stars' classic geometric design, set in a sorta Defiance-adjacent, Rainiers-adjacent color scheme.

The triangular stripes are made into the shape of the Tacoma Dome.

 

As I wrap up, I wanna thank you all once again for all of your response and constructive feedback! It was definitely quite motivating to get through the series.

Barring any final requests/comments, I'll catch you all on the next concept series!

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  • vtgco changed the title to WHL Concept Series (Series Complete: KTY & TAC added, PA & VAN updated)

That's a really cool retro design for the Falcons! For Kootenay, I'm glad you brought back blue/black/gold. I know it was derivative of the Caps and doesn't really match the Ice identity, but it's a great combination and works perfectly for a team called the Crows. Your Crows logo is so clean, I love it.

 

The alt logo for the Raiders is pretty cool, and the updated template for the Giants is a definite upgrade. I like how you used a classic layout for Tacoma, but modernized it with that angular pattern, it's an awesome template. And I like having a team or two in a league with asymmetric home/aways, although to nitpick, I'd rather see the logo on the home jersey and the wordmark on the away. In baseball the rule of thumb is to wear the team name at home and city name on the road, and a lot of teams ignore that but I think it's a good approach.

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I actually don't mind Harbors. It has a very old school hockey kind of feel to it. Its a name you wouldn't really see a new team take but definitely one from a team still existing from the earlier 1900s. It has a nice double meaning with both the porpoise and the body of water which would make great branding opportunities.

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On 5/12/2021 at 12:05 PM, jbird669 said:

The Harbors is very unique! I and the like the effect on the PA numbers.

Thanks! And yeah, I'm glad the beveling worked out for Prince Albert :)

 

2 hours ago, Chromatic said:

I actually don't mind Harbors. It has a very old school hockey kind of feel to it. Its a name you wouldn't really see a new team take but definitely one from a team still existing from the earlier 1900s. It has a nice double meaning with both the porpoise and the body of water which would make great branding opportunities.

Thank you for the kind words! I hadn't considered the idea that "Harbors" *does* sorta feel like an old-timey name, so that's a bit of a relief since I wasn't sure about that decision. Hopefully it's not too weird that I chose it for an expansion team though... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

17 hours ago, jwinters said:

That's a really cool retro design for the Falcons! For Kootenay, I'm glad you brought back blue/black/gold. I know it was derivative of the Caps and doesn't really match the Ice identity, but it's a great combination and works perfectly for a team called the Crows. Your Crows logo is so clean, I love it.

 

The alt logo for the Raiders is pretty cool, and the updated template for the Giants is a definite upgrade. I like how you used a classic layout for Tacoma, but modernized it with that angular pattern, it's an awesome template. And I like having a team or two in a league with asymmetric home/aways, although to nitpick, I'd rather see the logo on the home jersey and the wordmark on the away. In baseball the rule of thumb is to wear the team name at home and city name on the road, and a lot of teams ignore that but I think it's a good approach.

Yeah, I'm not sure I'm sold on those colors for the Capitals or a team called "Ice" but someone should use them; bronze is sorely underappreciated! Glad you think they work for the Crows.

 

As for Tacoma, I'm glad the modern and retro mesh well for you! I like the asymmetric home/aways too (Carolina looks good with that 'Canes away jersey) but it was hard to know what to do for the Harbors. You make a good point about baseball jerseys, but gray is the road color for baseball, and the WHL switches from dark-at-home to white-at-home halfway through every season, so it's all sorta muddled... Anyways, no reason to not try switching them around, here's my take on your request:

HmixSZw.png

Looks alright, but I can't get outlined text to work very well on the white jersey, so it's blue only.

Anyways, thanks for the feedback, and now I'm looking forward to see your take on the WHL should you go forward with it once your OHL series is done!

 

Thank you everyone for your comments!

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Good points that I hadn't thought about home vs away! Between that and seeing how they look flipped, I think you were right to put the wordmark on the grey jersey in the first place.

 

This has been a fantastic series, one of my favourite on this forum! I'll definitely be revisiting it for inspiration as I slowly make my way through the CHL.

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Has been some time since I first commented and I felt obligated to show appreciation for the completion of such a high quality series. The way you merge traditional and modern is funky, and very creative. While I must admit that sometimes there were hard swings and misses, I'd rather see designers go all or nothing and there wasn't very many of them overall. Your series is a great example of pushing the limits, and I think it is very good for the overall progression of design in the sport. That being said, here is my breakdown. 

 

Everett - I like the look of my suggesting, but I think the one with only the mountain and bear is much better. It simplifies the chest, making it less overwhelming.

 

Kelowna - I miss the monster logo, but that is really all I miss. These colors can be hard so I appreciate the effort you put into balancing them. I like the black diamond idea a lot and the jerseys are a unique take on vertical striping. Only change I'd make is to the hem just because it is pretty black heavy compared to the rest of the striping. That goes for the socks to that have 0 teal on them.

 

Prince George - I like what you have cooking here. I would definitely sub the silver texture for plain white. I know the idea is fun and I personally love the treatment, but it is overstimulating in this scenario. Other than that, I like the logo a lot and thing the striping and colors are real pretty. I'd maybe emphasize the darker color on the white jersey because the two lights with light pants might be much, but I'd still wear it. 

 

Vancouver - Outside the logo, this one is a miss for me. I think I can't back the jerseys because the LA Kings template is much overplayed in juniors, and I have just come to expect more from you. To make it worse, the generic template has a very generic color palette. Not your fault because it is their colors, but you've gone wild with other teams so why not include this team. Lastly, there is absolutely no way I can support practice socks. In a way I see how it is different and "creative", but it comes off as cheap.

 

Your revision makes Vancouver much better. I like the focus on red and white. Striping is also much more consistent. Thank you for doing something with the socks.

 

Victoria - Shoot that double purple into my veins. These are some of my favorite colors I never get to see, and the way you balanced them in a Penguins template is perfect. Additional points for the sublimated pattern in there, but I could see how some may argue that it is still busy. Maybe drop the opacity just a little more? I've never been thrilled about Victoria's logo and would actually prefer seeing your logo on the chest.

 

Prince Albert - Honestly, this one was a lot for me. You might be able to get me behind it with baby steps of progression, but even through all the retooling I just don't like it. More use of black would be great! I also think the hem stripe could stay flat.

 

Portland - Gorgeous third. Thank you.

 

Saskatoon - This one made me uncomfortable just because it was a hard shift back to traditional. That being said, I love it. I would maybe go thicker blue logo outline on the yellow jersey, but have no other input.

 

Winnipeg - Only thing I really don't like is the "Winnipeg" word mark, but what's that matter? I'd maybe go for more navy, but I think this is perfect for a team named "Ice".

 

Brandon - I really like the logo! The chest stripe is not a must just because it is already used sufficiently in this league, but I do like the pattern in it.  I'd advocate for nothing on the chest just to give that logo a platform to be shown off. Would also like an all out wheat alt that utilizes the patch logo on the chest.

 

Regina - Since I am going through all the teams, I have not read the breakdown in full. I am saying this because I am not sure if you tweaked the red, but I love what was done to make it pop more than the one they use now. Excessive use of white on a dark jersey is one of those funky things I love, so thank you for that. Although the navy jersey is perfect, I think the white misses. There is not enough navy and the chest stripe is forced. Let that script breathe! Love your patch logo! The crown does not quite match the style of the dog, but overall it is pretty cohesive. 

 

Calgary - Bottom tier from this series, but it is only because of personal preference when it comes to the Hitmen. Either you go pink or you keep their awesome copper color, that is just my objective opinion... whoops did I say objective? I will double down on that take haha! I am also just not sold on the flames, especially on the side panels. While their logo is cool, it is stuck in the past. I would have loved to see the continued using only the mask as the chest logo. Your rework in a later post makes it better, but I'm still not punching my ticket for that train.

 

Lethbridge - Wow this is a fun traditional! Love the scripts on both jerseys and the striping. I am a little confused about the lack of white on the dark jersey and the odd balance of color on the white, but it is almost there. I'd buy the white just because it is funky. It would look very good on the ice if they used red pants with that light set. Also, again, great job on the patch logo. Give yourself a pat on the back by making a third jersey with that logo on the chest.

 

Swift Current - I like your monogram much more than their chest logo, but that is my only complaint. After you added yellow to the light jersey later on, I was completely satisfied with what you produced. 

 

Red Deer - This new logo is rootin and tootin. I personally would prefer the script on the chest, but that doesn't hurt this look at all. I think your blend of modern and traditional striping is executed perfectly on this one. 

 

Medicine Hat - You have a great start with the striping, but it could use a tweak. On the orange jersey you should either go black/white/black or just swap the black and white. There is far too much white for how light the orange is. I think the white works, but still wouldn't mind that altering color suggestion going black/orange/black.

 

Edmonton Oil Kings - And this time it's going to get funky. To keep my Cha Cha Slide joke rolling, your Oil Kings concept truly made me clap my hands. The oil slick is slick and the use of silver compliments the gradient perfectly. Speaking of gradient, way to resurrect this fad in the most appealing way possible. I hate gradient when it is done wrong, which is about 90% of the time, but this is the best look in the league. Also applauded the patch logo, again.

 

Moose Jaw - Waited on this one until it fully progressed because the original post needed polishing, and it seemed you knew that. The logo results are much better than what was started with. I think this is a very nice look that fits with the rest of the league. The thin stripe is classy, and I can't say there is a better route to take. I do find the white outline on the numbers unnecessary for the white jersey because it breaks consistency not only with the jersey striping, but for the whole identity.

 

Winnipeg - Yes on the logo and the general striping concept, but there are too many chefs in this kitchen. The most bothersome is the giant block on the back. I would just put a shadow outline on the numbers so they don't get lost in the stripes. I don't think the city name/team name adds to the front, you should just make the logo bigger. If the pants are going to be tan, then tan can't be the most consistent color on the white jersey. I would alternate the color of the stripes for that. The navy set is so close to perfect. I would remove the block and make the numbers tan.

 

Kootenay - Now that the shining, metal look is the focus of the brand, I am completely sold. The Crows have been knocked out of the park. The Ice are never welcomed back after seeing this set. Great logos and awesome jerseys.

 

Tacoma reminds me of Edmonton, but I still like the approach. Interesting choice going diagonal lettering on the white when you have such a good logo, but it doesn't hurt anything. I'd suggest an outline on the numbers for the gray, but that is all I got. Love the logo and think the patch logo is perfect.

 

Thank you for something to look at! People like you keep this section of the site alive, and I appreciate it a lot. Can't wait for the OHL and QMJHL!  ;) 

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On 5/18/2021 at 2:37 PM, jwinters said:

This has been a fantastic series, one of my favourite on this forum! I'll definitely be revisiting it for inspiration as I slowly make my way through the CHL.

Aww, thank you so much! I'm thankful for the inspiration I got from your OHL series and all your encouragement.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Has been some time since I first commented and I felt obligated to show appreciation for the completion of such a high quality series. The way you merge traditional and modern is funky, and very creative. While I must admit that sometimes there were hard swings and misses, I'd rather see designers go all or nothing and there wasn't very many of them overall. Your series is a great example of pushing the limits, and I think it is very good for the overall progression of design in the sport. That being said, here is my breakdown. 

Thank you so much for your comprehensive feedback! Really appreciate it. There's a lot here so I might need to come back to some of them later, but here are a few quick tweaks.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Only change I'd make is to the hem just because it is pretty black heavy compared to the rest of the striping. That goes for the socks to that have 0 teal on them.

That's a good point, I don't know why I didn't figure that out before!

dsf6EOl.png

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Your revision makes Vancouver much better. I like the focus on red and white. Striping is also much more consistent. Thank you for doing something with the socks.

Thank you. Yeah, I wasn't really happy with my first take on Vancouver, either, so that's why I just redid it 🙂

And I actually think I just forgot to add striping on the socks the first time around 😅

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Winnipeg - Yes on the logo and the general striping concept, but there are too many chefs in this kitchen. The most bothersome is the giant block on the back. I would just put a shadow outline on the numbers so they don't get lost in the stripes. I don't think the city name/team name adds to the front, you should just make the logo bigger. If the pants are going to be tan, then tan can't be the most consistent color on the white jersey. I would alternate the color of the stripes for that. The navy set is so close to perfect. I would remove the block and make the numbers tan.

Well, the boxes and team/city name are there to increase the fauxback reference to the original Falcons... I still like them but it does look pretty good without as well:

iKRmhXn.png

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Tacoma reminds me of Edmonton, but I still like the approach. Interesting choice going diagonal lettering on the white when you have such a good logo, but it doesn't hurt anything. I'd suggest an outline on the numbers for the gray, but that is all I got. Love the logo and think the patch logo is perfect.

Kinda funny to hear you say this, because I feel like my Tacoma logo was probably the weakest in the series ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But thank you!

I really couldn't get white outlines to work on the gray jersey or gray outlines to work on the white jersey, sorry...

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Calgary - Bottom tier from this series, but it is only because of personal preference when it comes to the Hitmen. Either you go pink or you keep their awesome copper color, that is just my objective opinion

Wdym, like a pink base? Have they ever done that before? Uhhhh I guess I can try that...

CjoF2WE.png

I'm really not a fan of the mask-only logo. It looks so incomplete on its own, especially when it's black on black like they have it IRL.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Red Deer - This new logo is rootin and tootin. I personally would prefer the script on the chest, but that doesn't hurt this look at all. I think your blend of modern and traditional striping is executed perfectly on this one. 

Thanks, I'm glad you like the barbed wire striping. The boot logo is okay on the chest, but I really like the team's current logo. Also wow this boot logo is hard to center!

FFIp2Oy.png

 

On 5/23/2021 at 12:58 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

Edmonton Oil Kings - And this time it's going to get funky. To keep my Cha Cha Slide joke rolling, your Oil Kings concept truly made me clap my hands. The oil slick is slick and the use of silver compliments the gradient perfectly. Speaking of gradient, way to resurrect this fad in the most appealing way possible. I hate gradient when it is done wrong, which is about 90% of the time, but this is the best look in the league. Also applauded the patch logo, again.

Too silly, you need to take it back now, y'all... Glad to hear the gradient worked out okay. Certainly don't want to be like the 90s when they were drunk with power with the shiny new gradients.

 

Anyways, thanks again for your thorough comments!

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  • vtgco changed the title to WHL Concept Series (Series Complete)
44 minutes ago, Eastport76 said:

So Cool Wow GIF by Bob's Burgers

Hopefully that's fascinating in a good way 😅 Thanks!

 

39 minutes ago, Eastport76 said:

I think that's my favorite of this series.

Glad you like it! I was definitely worried it would be too out there but I'm glad people think it's fun.

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