Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

[andrewharrington]

When I finish this, I am planning on sending it to the team since they asked for submissions, but you get to see it now, in progress. Enjoy.

[jgsmith725]

the only thing so far that i would change would be the placement of the crab claws (hands) it looks like it a left handed batter and you have the bat on the left shoulder but the hands as a right handed batter

[fiasco!]

dunno, man...this doesn't look very Tempest-y to me....especially the font chosen for the wordmark.

for a script, i'd either go with something that has a more classic baseball feel or i wouldn't use a script at all. maybe a block wordmark that either arches or waves, and you could mimic the claw in some custom serifs.....or not. just internal brainstorming.

the crab is pretty cool, but it's red. i know, artistic license....the logo crab is cool with the red highlights, but i think the crab in the crest should be blue.

it's a good look, but the wordmark really doesn't do it for me. sorry.

[leopard88]

jgsmith is right . . . it looks like your crab is batting cross-handed. When waiting for the pitch, the hand on the side where the bat is resting should be on the top.

Joel, the red crab isn't totally wrong, however blue crabs don't turn red until they're steamed. So a red crab is dead and ready to be eaten (and they are GOOD eating -- I highly recommend trying them if you EVER get the chance).

As for everything else, I like the script font for "Blue Crabs", however the text for Southern Maryland (in the wordmark, not the crest) seems a little plain to me. Perhaps something more narrow like the San Francisco Giants' road text would work better.

Finally, I really love the crest, simple as it is. The sublimated state seal looks great.

All in all, very good work.

[AAO]

I like the rendering of the crab.

Aside from that, yes the crab's batting position is off but that's a minor issue.

If they're the blue crabs, they should definitely be blue and not so much red...i'd maybe use the two tone dark blue/light blue scheme (though it may be getting old).

I like the styling of the wordmarks, but not the wordmarks themselves.

The plain font (Southern Maryland) looks ok on the patch logo, but I can't see the uniforms with that wordmark. You'd probably be better off, like Joel said with a custom font that's more form fitting as to the angles on the crab, or a standard block with possibly a few tweaks.

I'd also ditch the scripty wordmark because here you've got this crab that looks like it's about to bite someone's head off, but then the scripty wordmark. Yeah, it's baseball, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need a script wordmark. I think you could go with something more dynamic.

Other than that, good job. Like the overall feel.

For reference, here's a real blue crab (i lived in Rose Haven, Maryland for a while...its not southern MD but the crabs are all the same):

So, based on this picture i'm thinking you could use a dark blue/light blue and gold or orange scheme, ditching the red. Or something else. It's on you.

[leopard88]

Close, but not quite, AAO. THIS is a Chesapeake Blue Crab.

I don't know what yours is.

For the record, here is one ready for the table.

[Mings]

1. I know why you chose the colors you did, but I think a simplification of them is in order. Just too many primary colors going on in this one. I would simplify to just blue and yellow.

2. You have a nice script for Blue Crabs, but the Southern Maryland is so plain. I would maybe create a custom font for it. If creating a custom font for Southern Maryland, go ahead and do it for the Blue Crabs as well.

3. The Maryland flag in the patch is a nice touch, but it seems to be there is too much going on in it.

4. The red crab sticks out like a sore thumb in the patch as well.

5. The crab is well rendered except for the bat placement.

All in all I'd say its 75% there. The crab does look like a good hat logo and a good minor league logo as well. So it fits in well. If you want to keep all of the three colors in there, maybe darken one or two of them up.

[gordie_delini]

i really think that a script font doesn't fit the rest of the concept here - as well as a plain away script. I agree with mings that you should go for a more custom font. I disagree, however, about the colors - i think they look really good together, and I think the maryland flag in the background is awesome, and not too busy. I love the crab cap logo - what would you do for an alternate/bp logo? a claw with "SM"? but yeah, i definitely think you need new scripts for the jerseys

[GMS1122]

dunno, man...this doesn't look very Tempest-y to me....especially the font chosen for the wordmark.

for a script, i'd either go with something that has a more classic baseball feel or i wouldn't use a script at all. maybe a block wordmark that either arches or waves, and you could mimic the claw in some custom serifs.....or not. just internal brainstorming.

the crab is pretty cool, but it's red. i know, artistic license....the logo crab is cool with the red highlights, but i think the crab in the crest should be blue.

it's a good look, but the wordmark really doesn't do it for me. sorry.

echo.

the scripts are definately the weak spot of this set. I think you should start on a clean slate with something more custom that fits the identity. The crit you've recieved so far has been on point for the most part.

looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[1stDownCreative]

i know blue crabs aren't blue, but...

[charliec107]

I like the colors. I would not mind seeing it on the field next summer.

Could you put blue pinstripes on the white one to see how it looks and compare it to the plain one?

[andrewharrington]

Joel, what would give the script a more classic baseball feel? For the record, the letters are completely hand drawn, and thus, custom.

The reason Southern Maryland is so plain is because it would be a difficult script to read. It's the same philosophy as the Giants using plain block lettering on their road uniforms. I think I'll try that as well, with some custom mods.

My original color scheme was brown and blue to anatomically match the colors of the animal, but I ended upchoosing red and yellow, the same values used in the MD state flag, and blue for obvious reasons. The photo AAO posted has a Wizards color scheme, which I don't think I want to do. The photo leopard88 has posted, though, has a really interesting sage, copper, and light blue scheme, which I think could be quite interesting.

The crab is not actually batting, but rather standing with a bat in hand. I do see the issue with the claws even though that was not the intent.

[DDR]

I really like that script....moreso now that I know it's completely original. The only thing would be the lower case b....since you drew it, you can make a slight adjustment, the loop at the end is a bit awkward. It almost looks like "crales."

[nwtrailtrekker]

i see "Blue Crales" in that wordmak. dont like the twirl in the "b"

[andrewharrington]

I redid the claws, and realizing that space on the jersey was going to be an issue with the 'Southern Maryland' wordmark, I redid that in a very condensed block letter. I put together a few color schemes as well. I'm kind of partial to the top left, with the actual blue-colored crab. Which do you like? [The outline on the blue and green crab at top right should be yellow. I'm not going back to change it, so you'll have to imagine it. ]

[Lumbergh]

I redid the claws, and realizing that space on the jersey was going to be an issue with the 'Southern Maryland' wordmark, I redid that in a very condensed block letter. I put together a few color schemes as well. I'm kind of partial to the top left, with the actual blue-colored crab. Which do you like? [The outline on the blue and green crab at top right should be yellow. I'm not going back to change it, so you'll have to imagine it. ]

holy crap! I started my logo a few days ago, and it looks hauntingly similar! Kinda weird, i also used the same picture since it was the biggest i could find. I'll post my logo soon!

EDIT: here it is

[andrewharrington]

It really doesn't look all that hauntingly similar, besides the fact that it's a crab holding a bat. Ya know, that may have something to do with the fact that these are both for a baseball team called the Blue Crabs. Who could've imagined?

[Lumbergh]

guess your right, sorry for jackin' your thread.

[uniguy22]

I like the top left colour sheme the best, but I fel there is not enough yellow in the primary logo. Maybe make a bigger outline on the circle in yellow? Also, I agree with the others who said the script looks like it says Crales instead of Crabs.

[eRay]

the updated version is excellent, and i like the top left package as well. the colors are very nice together, and the only problem i notice is once again, the "Blue Crales" wordmark. i would just like to add that your crab with the bat is amazing. it is intimidating and well designed, but still looks like a crab. a little thing that caught my eye is that the crab in the patch isnt exactly symmatrical, i think that is a great little detail that shows how involved u were with the design.