A 'Colorful' Dilema

[BB61]

So a couple of weeks ago, 33Hooligan was nice enough to piece together a logo for my CCSLC fantasy team, the Philadelphia Blackbirds.

I had my font picked out months ago (SF Ironsides Extended), but I didn't know how to go about creating the wordmark. For whatever reason, I really liked the beveled look on the font (which I know is frowned upon in most instances), so I wanted to keep it for the numbers and the lettering.

I faced a problem the coloring, though. I created the wordmark using the Black and grey of the bird itself. So I based the concept for the home jersey on those two colors, and I really liked the results.

The only problem was that I noticed that the red and yellow marking on the wing of the bird stuck out like a sore thumb. I could not find any way to subtly use those colors in the uniform without it looking too gaudy, and I didn't want it to turn into black, red, and yellow. So I left it as is.

When I went to create the away jersey, I found that I had a lot of trouble using the black and grey on a grey jersey, too afraid that it would blend too much. So I figured that for giggles and :censored:s, I would use red and gold and see how it would turn out.

So my problem is that I like them both, but obviously, the colors are different. Do any of you think that this would work, or are the mis-matched colors a faux pas?

Any other C & C you have is welcomed, of course.

[neo_prankster]

The uniforms are pretty cool. Nice job with the logos.

[walkerws]

Just because they are so different is not a bad thing. The wing color does stand out. There is nothing saying you could not go to a dark cream on the road and keep it black and gray.

[Grish]

what about highlighting the colors around your text versus the fill coloring... just a thought.

[BallWonk]

I think this is generally a solid concept. Things I would look to change or tweak:

1. The beveling. I like beveled letters, as a general rule. But the bevels here are too thick relative to the width of the letters and they're too complex, with different colors on differently angled surfaces. It's distracting: I'm seeing the bevels, not the letters. Simpler, subtler bevels would be much better. Or better yet, black letters with red or yellow highlights, possibly not even bevels but highlights as in the blackbird's wing.

2. How can you have a redwing blackbird as your nickname and not have any flash of decorative red or red-and-yellow on the sleeves? Whether it's in the piping, or some kind of chevron device, or whatever, a flash of red on both sleeves is basically mandatory here.

3. Too much gray. You've got such a strong color scheme with the bird, black with shocks of red and yellow, that the gray weakens your overall look significantly. Black, gray, and white looks cold and industrial, even metallic. Ornithological accuracy aside, a name like "blackbirds" needs a warmer, more organic color scheme, and the gray works completely counter to that. When I see that home uniform, my first thought is, "Where's the airplane?" But that's not the kind of blackbird you want people to think of. Black caps, no gray. Black letters, with secondary color highlights/bevels. Also, I'd think about making your home cap look much more like your road cap, with red and yellow on the cap logo, not white.

4. I'm sure you don't want to look like the Orioles, or else you'd already have put the bird on the cap, but to heck with that. This is too good a bird logo to waste on the sleeves. It's just gotta go on the road cap. Lighten the road gray uniform up a bit while you're at it, and then black letters with red and/or yellow bevels/highlights will bring out whatever you put on the cap, whether it's the same red P or the bird. Plus, you'll have a more coherent design overall if you switch the road lettering to black with secondary color bevels/highlights, which will look good if you lighten the fabric gray a bit. But the main thing is, I think you just absolutely need to put that beautiful bird illustration front and center somewhere, and the road cap is the right place to do it.

[joedoe_22]

Hmmmm...... Looks like the DC/Batimore Starlings of the WAFL Women's American Football League.

http://www.logoserver.com/WAFL.html

[BB61]

That's probably because it is. The body was tacked on by 33Hooligan.

BallWonk -- I appreciate your input. I'm trying a bunch of different things at home, but alas it's difficult considering that black is the only color I like on the outline. I don't want to ditch the outline altogether, unless I go to black, with a red outline and then another thin black line. The only reason I didn't put any red or yellow in the home piping was becasue I thought it would look out of place with the all grey lettering.

I think I have a bolt of inspiration. I'll update this later.

[Brick]

I think the real red-winged blackbird is the most beautiful bird around. Have you considered adapting your design into a concept for the Detroit Red Wings or the Rochester Red Wings?

[BostonBlazer]

I'm diggin' the logos. Awesome!

[BB61]

I think the real red-winged blackbird is the most beautiful bird around. Have you considered adapting your design into a concept for the Detroit Red Wings or the Rochester Red Wings?

No, actually. That may be a future project, but maybe when I have time.

Anyway, I want to update everyone on this, as I've already posted the final draft to the AA board, so if you haven't seen it, here it is:

I want to thank everyone for their comments, especially BallWonk who took the time to write out a lot of helpful hints, most of which I used. Here are the changes I made:

- The wordmark: Black and less beveling, obviously, but I kept it small and gold so that I could use the red more prominantly on the outline. It helped incorporate all the colors while still keeping a dynamic effect.

- The uniforms: I wanted to use piping, but I was having a hard time using it with Roger Clemente's template. I used Swiss's for these, and it improved the look and feel about a million percent. I thought the red piping would really pop out, and it did, especially on the home and alt uniforms, and it really goes well with the black lettering. I also used a lighter grey on the away.

- The BP uni: Instead of using piping, I simply made the wordmark black to bring it down to BP simplicity, and used the logo's wing design on the sleeves. Unique, but functional.

- The Caps: Went with the bird a-la the Orioles instead of the P. Used a red bill with the home and the alt because they went well with the uniform better.

- The sleeve logo: Could not possibly think of anything for this, but I drew some inspiration from the Orioles shoulder patch -- a completely different yet similar logo that ties in. A friend of mine directed me to this one (I'm not sure where she got it), but I liked it because it seemed very retro, and I just added the wordmark about it.

Again, I thank everyone for their help, and thanks to 33Hooligan for putting together a solid logo to build on.

[BallWonk]

I was traumatized as a young man by the colors red and black, the hues of my high school in the Minneapolis suburbs. In my four years there, our football team, clad in some of the most beautiful uniforms any high school team has ever worn, won about four games. (We were recently promoted into a tough conference; the year I started college, my high school hired Bud Grant's son to coach and started a tradition of statewide football dominance. Go figure.) I mean, the team was so bad that our cheerleaders would cheer things like, I kid you not, "The Eagles are wild, They've sure got style!" You know you suck when you have a national-champion cheerleading squad and the best thing they can think to say about you is how stylish you are. It was traumatic, and I've been hating on red and black as a color combo ever since.

Plus, I hate all things having to do with Philadelphia sports, except for Mike Schmidt and certain of his 1981 teammates.

But I would totally buy these hats. Probably a home jersey, too, and maybe a BP.

I would consider bringing back that red and yellow P, though, perhaps as a sleeve patch on the home and alt unis. That was a nice P, and P is a tough letter to make look good on a uniform. And I hope the owner of this fantasy team issues strict orders for players to wear their pants high to show the awesome striped socks.

[nwtrailtrekker]

why is the "I" in Richie gray? i like it though

[BB61]

why is the "I" in Richie gray? i like it though

Oh, I forgot to mention that. That's supposed to be a "1", but the 1's and the I's with this font look exactly the same. Richie Ashburn's number was "1", so it being gray is supposed to accentuate it as such.

[Grish]

nice, i like it. Much improved from the first. I like the batting jersey, nice touch on the wing coloring on the sleeves...

[sideshowbob]

thats a really cool set, Hooligan did a great job of adding the body onto the head, the uniforms are really slick too