Blue jays new logo

[Avenger]

I am sick and tired of everyone hating on everything new that comes out. Very few things that are brought out these days is well-received. (Note: there may be a few exceptions, but the general trend remains relatively consistent.)

Well, just as a flat statement, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

That said, my opinion is that the recent logos and uniforms to debut have been downright atrocious (Falcons uniforms, Houston Rockets anything, Charlotte Bobcats logo, Denver Nuggets unnecessary change, the Blue Jays latest garbage, the Oregon Ducks flaming yellow unis, just to name a few) and as a professional graphic designer it offends me that stuff like this is being allowed. Nothing I've seen recently is deserving of praise because, quite frankly, it sucks. Until something relatively good debuts, (and nothing has since the Houston Texans logo, which is excellent in my opinion), I'd expect the cynical trend to continue, at least from me.

Testify, my brother. I agree 100%.

[zer0dotcom]

I can't help but shake the feeling that I'm looks at tampa bay, it just has that weird similarity, that and I miss the maple leaf, they shoulda kept it 'Blue' jays instead of just jays. thoise uniforms they showed at the debut weren't that great either

[yh]

Of course what's the real reason for removing the leaf? Not because "every colour of the rainbow" would be involved. I know the real reason, but I'll just keep my lips sealed to protect my butt :cool:

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome your Portland Blue Jays!!!

   

[Braden]

You know what? I really like the logo! I don't know what the big fuss is about. Yes, It is disappointing thet the "Blue" is out and there's no red, but who cares? I think it's a step up from their stupid corny and clashing logo and unis right now.

And for the T-Bird logo being outdated... it is, they may be only using it as a PRIMARY logo for one year, but they've had that as an Alt. Logo for a little while now, seems like around 3-4 years.

One thing though... the unis suck. I'll agree with you on that. I was wishing that they'd have some sort of striping.

Here is my new Jays concept

Copy / Paste you know the drill...

I was hoping something along that....

I really like the logo though... It's classy and it's modern, which is a huge step up from their current pile of crap.

The next step for the Jays is to get a better look and atmosphere at Skydome. Back in the early 90s the Dome was the shiznit, a decade later it's crap. Too much concrete. at least add that new high tech turf that Tampa Bay has, and either cover up the concrete, make it look better, or something!

Those are my 2 cents!

[BrentyN3]

Nice concept, Braden, thats what I would have pictured for the Jays. I totally agree thta piping is in order, and you added that. Solid concept.

[X-Man]

The new logo is not bad. The Jay head looks fine, and it's better than the T-Bird, which tried to update the original Jay and incoporate Toronto, but everyone has to admit a Blue Jay with bulging biceps is just wrong. Making T-Bird the main logo just compounded problems. Guys, you named your team after a cute little bird, the new logo is a healthy step closer to accepting that fact.

The old Jay is not a "classic." It has not aged well, especially the creepy round eye that steals your soul. As such, this is probably not going to be a repeat of the Isles, where a truly ageless logo was replaced by the Gorton's Fisherman and HAD to be undone. It's more like the original Tampas, which were awful, but only needed some minor mods to the colors and lettering to look much better.

That said, this needs some tweaks, but I have a feeling they will be made. The pictures must not be correct or color-accurate - the team press release said the main road uni was "graphite" aka a "dark grey," not deep blue. Also the Jay in the photo seems darker than royal blue. Those unis look like what gets cranked out ASAP to capitalize on a new message--slap the logo on a white jersey and $ell. This explains the "minor-league" appearance: lack of shoulder insignia (which all teams have now, even the Dodgers), piping, etc. The final unis, I have to imagine, will be quite different and more "pro."

The "Toronto" script on the road uni is a nice touch.

The black uni is definitely an alternate; team confirmed this. Now take a deep breath ("Bluejays are supposed to be BLUUUUUUUE!"). Orlando had black road unis and adopted the blue alts full-time pretty quick. Black is going out; the Jays will wise up and go with a blue alt. full-time.

They def. need a maple leaf somewhere (esp. if the Expos move to the States), but I suspect that will be in there when the team releases a secondary logo. Don't think the J-birdhead is going to be the official secondary logo - it's too similar to the main one. Every team has a pretty distinct secondary logo these days, so I doubt the Jays will break with this tradition.

"Jays" looks too much like "Rays," so I hope they're not using that on all the jerseys. Having the full "Blue Jays" in basic lettering on the home unis is masculine and cool. The "Jays" logo makes it look, again, minor-leaguish, so I think they'll change the look in the final versions. Team has acknowledged that "Jays" is just a nickname; it might be like the A's elephant.

Can't believe their official hats will feature "J," and not "T" or just the birdhead. Is the only other team to put the team and not the city name on the hat Oakland? That makes sense because A's have moved cities 3 times; it makes no sense for Toronto.

So here are my predictions, or, at least, what I hope they do. This may take a few years, but teams usually wise up - the M's dumped teal jerseys and silver hats, Dodgers dumped blue softball unis and silver-brims also, O's, KC and Boston all dumped alt-color hats, too:

1. White home unis will say "Blue Jays" on the front, with a new birdhead 2nd logo on the shoulder with a leaf. Hopefully, the hats will dump the "J+bird" and just go with a birdhead - it would look very cool on a navy background.

2. Road unis will be very dark gray with Jays logo or "Toronto" in script. Nothing to be ashamed of there.

3. Home alternates will be royal blue with the "Jays" logo and J-bird 2nd logo on sleeve.

[puckcool22]

idk if this was posted but i believe on the website it said that they wont be worn untill next season

[Mac the Knife]

Can't believe their official hats will feature "J," and not "T" or just the birdhead. Is the only other team to put the team and not the city name on the hat Oakland? That makes sense because A's have moved cities 3 times; it makes no sense for Toronto.

Unless, of course, they might be considering the possibility that the team will have to move at some point down the road...

Remember, the BJ's have allegedly been bleeding money for the past several years.  Maybe the "J" instead of the "T" is a really subtle way of saying the team could someday move.  I hope I'm wrong in this theory, but you gotta admit it is a possibility.

[Sterling84]

Guys, you named your team after a cute little bird, the new logo is a healthy step closer to accepting that fact.

Bluejays aren't that little and they certainly aren't cute. Bluejays are *$$holes. They are basically gorgeously colored (and half the size) crows. The are loud and bully all songbirds nonstop. There is something aggressive to having that name.

Regarding the classicness of their old one...we'll just have to agree to kinda disagree. It weren't the Yankees, but it held up far better than you give it credit for.

1. White home unis will say "Blue Jays" on the front, with a new birdhead 2nd logo on the shoulder with a leaf. Hopefully, the hats will dump the "J+bird" and just go with a birdhead - it would look very cool on a navy background.

2. Road unis will be very dark gray with Jays logo or "Toronto" in script. Nothing to be ashamed of there.

3. Home alternates will be royal blue with the "Jays" logo and J-bird 2nd logo on sleeve.

I don't know where you are getting your optimism from, but lets all hope you are right. I don't think they'd bother releasing a set that was THAT different from what they'd wear next year....but we'll see.

[nitroseed]

Hm, maybe this is the MLB's subtle way of expunging all the Canadian teams (all 2 of them) from the league, sort of like how the CFL got rid of all the American teams a while back.

[X-Man]

Sterling 84: teams have done a great job in the last few years of being more reponsive to the market and dumping ugly unis. Examples:

-M's dumping teal unis, silver brim hats, compass logo hats, sleeveles unis, etc. They've tried every possible iteration, and stuck with what works best.

-Dodgers trying blue alt unis, silver hats, etc.

-Isles dumping the Fisherman

-The Rockets

-Clippers cleaning up unis

-Tampa "Rays" re-design

-BoSox, Orioles, Astros, Royals, etc. dumping ugly alt-color hats

-NFL teams trying the monochrome look once, then dumping

-Sonics dumping brick-red unis, dumping RYG colors and ugly Space Needle logo, etc.

-LA Kings refining new unis (putting crown on chest), etc.

-Knicks dumping black

-Cleveland Cavs dumping all-time ugly "zig-zag" unis

In short, teams that come out with disastrous new designs tend to shed them pretty quickly these days. Bad new ideas still happen, but there's hope that such travesties as the Red Sox blood clot unis, Oregon's "Rollerball Yellow," UWashington's gold piping and, worst of all, the Boston Bruins "Honey Bear" will all be banished to the dustbin of history soon.

MLB will not move the Jays, they're having a hard enough time finding a city that's will do a better job with the Expos than Montreal (still think the 'Spos should just stay put and get a new park).

[Sterling84]

X-Man,

yeah, I know they have itchy trigger fingers to a degree and have cleaned up a lot of the TRULY atrocious stuff fairly quickly.

I've just never heard of cleaning it up before it is even worn once. Who knows, maybe that's the rationale for releasing it mid-season. Call between now and next March, cover your a$$ time Jays.

Plus, I think a lot of the instances you listed where teams removed unsuccessful merch super quickly, happened to be baseball. That PJs rockets thing was here a long time...somebody back me up?? 7 years? Way TOO long considering the unanimous terribleness.

I think baseball might be the least strict about screwing around with your looks/hats/ etc. I think other leagues have fees to change anything and so forth. I mean, the NFL wont even let teams have two helmets.

MLB is like...yeah sure fine..whatever. You want 4 alternate caps? THey've got bills right? Sure. Good then.

And I dont know how long those Cavs things were around, but it seemed longer. That yank wasn't nearly quick enough if you ask me.

Like I said though, here's hoping you're right.

[CC97]

I have photos of the Home, B.P., and Road jerseys which were on display at last night's game, pics of the front and back, I will post when available.

[vicfurth]

I am diggin' it.:cool:  Much better than this year's. For the uni question, I'll say the hat will be black with the "J-Bird" with a blue bill. I remember someone saying the current logo looked liked Sesame Street. I agree. This new version is awesome. Definitely Top-5 logo material.

[LogoCollector]

The change is for the better.  The bird itself is good but the script is a little suspect. I need to see it on the field.

[DAJackson7]

Wow, this is just horrible. I don't hate all new uniforms that come out either, the Angels was great, i liked Tampa's redesign on all levels, but the inclusion of black into the Royals, Reds, and Mets was a bit much. This "Jays" uniform is just awful, i mean the first thing is the J on the hat, that makes no sence and looks just rediculous escpecially since putting a T there would have hurt nothing. The jersey's are plain and lose the classic Blue Jays line script and try to be to much like Cardinals 2003. The script itself is very uninspired and minor league-ish, not to mention the road jersey and the terrible inclusion of black that has no place at all. The bird logo they had before the TBird was very nice and they could have just used that and updated it or at least just put this new bird head on the hats by itself and come up with a better (complete name) script for the jersey's. Hopefully they will end up like Tampa's first uniforms and they'll find something new in a couple months before the season starts.

[rozilla74]

I liked the 70's maple leaf logo and I like the stylings of the current Bluejay flipping the ball, but the "T" font was a horrible choice.

After seeing this new logo, it is obvious that the goal is to sell tons of merchandising. I think the bird head is sleak and nicely done but it doesn't say baseball.It doesn't capture the spirit of the game. I always felt baseball logos needed to take in the history of the game, show simplicity and character. Baseball logos always had a different feel than other sports. Just look at the minor leagues. If they had gone with a more classic baseball script ala the St. Louis Cardinals it might work a bit better in my opinion.

It looks more NFL to me but there are aspects I like about it.

[oilfaninvan]

what a crock of plop. they said they wanted to appeal to a younger, hipper crowd?? yeah these would have been really cool in 1994. when my generation still held belief that there would be flying cars in the year 2000 and robots that drove us to work.

when nothing came to pass, we wimped out and turned to decades gone by, specifically the 70's and 80's and made those fashions popular again with a modern "grunge/gap" tweak. right now, vintage is in. it is becoming the main stream very very quickly. especially in TO.

if i were the jays i'd bring back the oldest jays uniform possible. just like the oilers should bring back the old orange/blue jerseys.

i think i am right because at the end of the day it's about $ is it not? it's not really about team identity at all. it's about creating the next nike swoosh. market to your audience, not to the boooing masses.

the logo as a logo is ok. it's nice looking without the J.

go old school, add the "blue" to bluejays and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

[JQK]

This is what happend when you dump a perfectly fine and healthy tradition for money and marketing. You get your hometown fans booing when you display the new stuff.

And you know why they made this change? one of two reasons:

1) Moving.

2) To Appeal to a broader, American, market, while forsaking their Canadian home.

Now i'm not great fan of the great white north. I've spouted off on it on more than one occasion. But if this change was done for the latter reason, then it is completely shameful and unacceptable.

Not to mention this is completely shamefull and unacceptable simply based on the suckness of all the new they trotted out...

[Cianfrocco]

Any word yet on the color of undershirts, socks, etc?  And if the powder blue hat isn't an onfield hat, what about the other black ones?