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Minnesota Twins Concept


BallWonk

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I really like the amount of effort, thought and planning put into this design, but my one sticking point is the nearly illegible TC logo and the equally strange W and M in the individual scripts. It would go a long way, I think, to somehow clarify these letters up to make them more readable, and indeed it would improve the design greatly. While the colours don't exactly scream 'Minnesota' to me, they do a good job.

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I've been working on tweaking the letters, with slight revisions to just about all of the letters in my custom set and major reworkings of the M and W. I'm set on an M, but I still cannot decide which of two treatments for the W is the better one. So here are both versions of the new W in context. Which do you prefer, and is it an improvement?

twinsnew-homescriptsamples.png

Continued thanks for any comments, criticism, and suggestions.

20082614447.png
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Question for you as a fan: Do you prefer the home TC cap or the road M cap, and why? I'm always going back and forth about the TC cap myself; some days I absolutely hate it (with good reason: it's a terrible bit of cap design) while other days I love it (it has good history and character, and as they say personality goes a long way).

I was wondering if I was the only Twins fan who feels the TC is great some times and sucks some other times. Glad to see somebody is in the same boat as me.

The TC does have tradition, and I've been a Twins fan since I was 6 -- which was 1962. I love the original Twins uniforms, and the TC is part of that look.

But ...

Like you said, the TC isn't designed well. Plus, they're the Minnesota Twins, not the Twin Cities Twins, so ideally an M should be used instead of a TC. Another thought: They really represent the entire Upper Midwest, not just the Twin Cities. While Upper Midwest is impractical, Twins fans outside of Minnesota can live with the Minnesota name and, thus, the M logo.

But ...

Well, you know. Back and forth and back and forth. But I'd like to see what others who aren't Twins fans think.

And sorry I bashed your design. I would, however, like to see you tweak it. Let's see what you can do.

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Meant to have this all sorted out a week ago, but I'm still finishing my second draft of this concept. While I do so, I'd like to throw out for comparison/criticism a modified TC logo:

twinsnew-tccapsamples.jpg

Personally, I think the original is stronger, and given that the N in the Yankees cap logo doesn't look anything like the letter N that appears in any legible Latin alphabet but everyone regards it as the best cap logo ever (and it certainly makes my top five, if not higher), well, I guess I'm not entirely sold on the notion that the original (on the left) is insufficiently legible for a ballcap. Plus, the flat-bottomed C gives the whole TC logo a Minnesota-shaped profile. But I'm interested to hear if others find the new C to be an improvement.

Many thanks for any and all comments, criticisms, and suggestions.

20082614447.png
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Honestly, I'm torn. I think the original 'C' fits better with the whole font scheme, but the revised 'C' fits better with the 'T.' I don't think either will suffer from people not seeing that it is a 'TC.' I see where you're going with your silhouette of Minnesota in the original, but that's quite abstract I think. I'm going to go with the original as well, but it's just barely.

"In the arena of logic, I fight unarmed."

I tweet & tumble.

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'Wonk, I am as big a fan of your work as you'll find, but this one is just not doing anything for me at all.

I love the rationale behind everything you did, and I hope this would encourage other people to do likewise in the future, so we see where you're coming from. And on that end, I agree with everything. But the philosophy got lost in translation.

COLORS: Blue and green, yes. But the green comes across as too light, and doesn't make me think of forests. Green this light seems like it would better serve a coastal town instead of one of the major cities of the Upper Northwest. I'd say the blue should be darker, but I wouldn't want this concept to get so dark as to be depressing.

WORDMARK: Doesn't seem to blend with anything Minnesota, really. It aims for everything - the "win" in "Twins", the "M" and "W" - but winds up hitting nothing. And it's so rough-hewn that it appears hand-drawn, which would seem very out of place. Maybe in a different city, but the Twin Cities strike many as laid back and clean and proper, and something this rough would look amiss. It also looks very odd when juxtaposed with the simple, squared-off Varsity Block numbers.

LOGOS: I'm all for tradition, but I've always been against the "TC" monogram. As has been stated, their name is Minnesota Twins, so I'll always prefer the "M" cap logo. That always bothered me growing up - I had all the helmets on pegs around my room (alphabetical order by league), and having a "TC" helmet between the "MB" and the "NY" always made me think it was out of place. This "M" just isn't working, and it'd cause as many to misread it as read it right. Furthermore, your "TC" is jarring - the T has a graceful, arcing horizontal bar, and the top of the "C" curves as well... then there's the sharp angle at the bottom of the "C". Very out of place IMO.

UNIFORMS: This hits a lot of the elements that irritate me about MLB uniforms, like white pinstripes, pinstripes on road uniforms, and caps with mismatched logos. I understand about tradition, but I am also not one to promote traditions that don't make any sense in the name of preserving tradition. In times like those, sometimes a break from the past is advisable. To me, continuing those dislikable elements would fall into the latter situation (although again, I get the Twins' history of road pinstripes - so if any team would begrudgingly get a pass on this, it'd be the Twins).

I support the color change, and believe that there is a beautfitul Twins set in blue/green that accomplishes everything you proposed to do. This one just isn't it. Yet.

"Start spreading the news... They're leavin' today... Won't get to be a part of it... In old New York..."

2007nleastchamps.png

In order for the Mets' run of 12 losses in 17 games to mean something, the Phillies still had to win 13 of 17.

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Thanks for all for the input on my changes as I was making them. Here is a complete second draft, with better color reproduction, revised scripts and cap logos, and a few other tweaks. (Including more subtle gray-on-gray road pinstripes and the elimination of the tertiary logo/patch that nobody understood.)

twinsnew-seconddraft.png

Granting that there are plenty of people who just don't like road pinstripes or the TC cap, but that any remotely realistic Twins concept pretty much has to include both elements, any comments, criticisms, or suggestions? The scripts, for example, are actually ramrod straight and linear, as was the script on the first draft. Does this version, without an unnecessary underline, have less of an illusion of waviness?

20082614447.png
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Thanks for all for the input on my changes as I was making them. Here is a complete second draft, with better color reproduction, revised scripts and cap logos, and a few other tweaks. (Including more subtle gray-on-gray road pinstripes and the elimination of the tertiary logo/patch that nobody understood.)

twinsnew-seconddraft.png

Granting that there are plenty of people who just don't like road pinstripes or the TC cap, but that any remotely realistic Twins concept pretty much has to include both elements, any comments, criticisms, or suggestions? The scripts, for example, are actually ramrod straight and linear, as was the script on the first draft. Does this version, without an unnecessary underline, have less of an illusion of waviness?

Well, would you be up to making an update of this logo?

You know, I rarely visit ccslsc anymore. I really should fix that.

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I'm still not ready to throw my cash down to buy this, but it definitely moved in the right direction with what you've done in the revision. I am still having a hard time embracing a font that looks decidedly "minor league" for an MLB team. I wish I could define that better, but words are failing me. I do like the subtle greening of the road uniforms - this could kick off the "powder green" era! :P

"Start spreading the news... They're leavin' today... Won't get to be a part of it... In old New York..."

2007nleastchamps.png

In order for the Mets' run of 12 losses in 17 games to mean something, the Phillies still had to win 13 of 17.

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Those look great. The "M" is a spectacular improvement. the M-cap is much better than the one they (used?) to have. As before, I like the road pinstripes. The color change also was a great improvement as they look more Minnesotan. I think you nailed it now. While I'm not sure if it's necessarily better than their current set, if they did switch to this, I would not be opposed.

Excellent work BallWonk, you have put together a great concept.

"In the arena of logic, I fight unarmed."

I tweet & tumble.

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The only thing I dislike about your latest revision is the Primary logo (I know you could think of something more original), and the fact that there are two cap logos. I hate that in general! If I were you (Which I'm not keep in mind) I would stick with the "TC" logo. I like the subtle greening as well. All in all, this is an OUTSTANDING CONCEPT AND I LOVE THE COLORS, MOST OF THE LOGOS, AND EVERYTHING ABOUT THE UNIFORMS.

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