Minor/Independent/Collegiate League Baseball Logo/Uniform Changes

[C-Squared]

5 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

I think I may be in the other camp - the name is fine, but the logo and uniforms are lacking. 

 

Agreed. For as campy as the name is, the logo seems bland and frankly a smidge amateur... feels like an attempt to play to all tastes without successfully playing to any.

[Thaumatrope]

10 hours ago, Gothamite said:

Yeah, I think there’s something of a disconnect between “Milwaukee” and “Milkmen”. 

 

Unless they continue to lean on the “deliverers of milk” theme more than “producers of milk”, in which case Milwaukee could be a good choice for the 1950s associations, be it the Braves’ glory days or Happy Days.

 

Not enthusiastic about what we’ve seen so far - Black and white can be a striking color combination but can also be exceedingly boring.   And with the complicated logos shown, it’s not a great choice. 

 

 

Here’s the uniform set: 

 

 

Bonus points for a cream alt, but no “Milwaukee” jersey?

 

The cap logos are pretty terrible - they really need an “M” logo.  Something better than the M on their word mark, which is awkward. 

 

 

Agreed. Now that we've seen the whole brand I can't help but question the insistence on a monochromatic palette. I realize they're trying to channel the classic milkman uniform, but even within that space there's still room for a touch of color. A nice light blue would be a natural choice (especially in conjunction with the off-white cream...which is definitely the best set of the bunch), although a judicious use of medium value red could add a nice "pop" to everything as well.  That being said, I give the designer a lot of credit for restraint. In this age of six color cap logos (I'm looking at you Brandiose) it's refreshing to see an organization take the "less is more" approach. 

[Gothamite]

57 minutes ago, Thaumatrope said:

Agreed. Now that we've seen the whole brand I can't help but question the insistence on a monochromatic palette. I realize they're trying to channel the classic milkman uniform, but even within that space there's still room for a touch of color. A nice light blue would be a natural choice (especially in conjunction with the off-white cream...which is definitely the best set of the bunch), although a judicious use of medium value red could add a nice "pop" to everything as well.  That being said, I give the designer a lot of credit for restraint. In this age of six color cap logos (I'm looking at you Brandiose) it's refreshing to see an organization take the "less is more" approach. 

 

I agree on the "less is more", I just don't think the logos they have are quite strong enough to anchor such an approach.

 

As for the red, they're already using it on the site.  A judicious application, as you say, would really look good.

 

[Gothamite]

Here's the full logo slick.

 

Good, but they really don't have a strong cap logo.  

 

And I really, really hate this modern trend of matching the squatchee to the crown, not the bill.  Terrible.

 

[rtrich11]

Not that mine is better, but I had a concept design for the Milwaukee Milkers a few years back. Brilliant minds...

 

I think I sold a few shirts on CafePress, if I remember correctly.

[Gothamite]

From the megathread:

 

 

Click to embiggen.

[The_Admiral]

Needs a little splash of red or blue.

[Gothamite]

They use red on the website - a small dash would make all the difference.

 

[coco1997]

Why are the front numbers so low on the jersey? 

[panthers_2012]

They could've done a milk mustache for the cap logo.

[MilSox]

On 9/17/2018 at 11:25 PM, Gothamite said:

Yeah, I think there’s something of a disconnect between “Milwaukee” and “Milkmen”. 

 

Unless they continue to lean on the “deliverers of milk” theme more than “producers of milk”, in which case Milwaukee could be a good choice for the 1950s associations, be it the Braves’ glory days or Happy Days.

Even this is a stretch.  The idea that the 1950s had some sort of lasting impression on Milwaukee is pure Hollywood fiction for the most part.  The Braves left, the breweries Milwaukee was known for at the time are no more for the most part, and people are still shocked to learn our mayor at the height of the red scare was a socialist.

Ironically, this is a team that plays in Franklin, which incorporated in the 1950s because it didn't want to be part of Milwaukee.

[The_Admiral]

2 hours ago, NicDB said:

people are still shocked to learn our mayor at the height of the red scare was a socialist.

Does this guy know how to party or what?

[MilSox]

Ironically, "Goodlanders" still would have been a better name for this club.

[Gothamite]

3 hours ago, NicDB said:

The idea that the 1950s had some sort of lasting impression on Milwaukee is pure Hollywood fiction for the most part.  The Braves left, the breweries Milwaukee was known for at the time are no more for the most part, and people are still shocked to learn our mayor at the height of the red scare was a socialist.

 

Eh, I think the Milwaukee Braves still have a wistful but strong following in town.  The sense of nostalgia is very real.  I don't think people realize how turbulent the 60s really were in Milwaukee, and a lot of old-timers I know pined for those lost days for a very long time.  But also don't forget that there's no nostalgia as powerful as a fondness for a time period you didn't actually experience, and the 50s are ripe fodder for a slightly-campy throwback like this.

 

3 hours ago, NicDB said:

Ironically, this is a team that plays in Franklin, which incorporated in the 1950s because it didn't want to be part of Milwaukee.

 

That's the interesting part to me, whether a Franklin team can appeal with the name "Milwaukee".  We will see.

[MilSox]

Given how quick the Braves were to leave town not even a decade after winning those pennants, I'd say any nostalgia for them is bittersweet overall.  Besides, it's not like Milwaukee is Memphis, which actually produced its share of 50s icons (Elvis, BB King) and still has tangible relics from heyday of that era (Beale Street, Sun Records).  The 50s nostalgia for Milwaukee is the equivalent of those tacky malt shops that popped up in every suburban shopping mall in the 80s.

I could see a name like Custard Kings or Creams (Cream Citys?) working if they absolutely had to choose something dairy themed.  But Milkmen is a reach, plain and simple.  They botched the branding on this one.

[Wings]

San Francisco Giants broadcaster & former major leaguer Duane Kuiper, who grew up in nearby Racine, says there is actually still quite a bit of Braves nostalgia in Milwaukee. 

[MilSox]

There is, I'm not denying that.  But how does that actually connect to the Milkmen identity apart from being a baseball team and vaguely referencing the era when the Braves played here?

If they were going for Braves nostalgia, it wouldn't have been hard to call the team the Milwaukee Hammers.  Which also would have been a much stronger connection to the actual Milwaukee of the 1950s.

[Dilbert]

Round Rock has a new logo to go with their new affiliation with the Astros

[mmejia]

[Gothamite]

On 9/19/2018 at 1:29 PM, NicDB said:

There is, I'm not denying that.  But how does that actually connect to the Milkmen identity apart from being a baseball team and vaguely referencing the era when the Braves played here?

If they were going for Braves nostalgia, it wouldn't have been hard to call the team the Milwaukee Hammers.  Which also would have been a much stronger connection to the actual Milwaukee of the 1950s.

 

I think we're conflating my own idle speculation with something intended by the team.

 

I don't know that they ever intended any connection with the Braves at all.  I personally think that they wanted to go for something kinda kitschy, kinda retro, and settled on an identity that referenced Wisconsin's dairy themes without at the same time being too rural for Milwaukee County.  Perhaps we shouldn't read anything more into it.