OPTIMUS THREAD: APPRENTICE

[GFB]

OPTIMUS' thread...

[heernumurr]

This sounds quite fun, it'll be nice to get into sports design after the first challenge. I'll get going on some research.

[lets_go_red]

Alright...lets keep the ball rolling. My nomination for PM is ColaCock- did a great job on the last project. I think he and William were our All-Stars. I've got some ideas, but lets get the project manager settled first.

[mania]

I believe Cola is gone for the week, he mentioned in the main thread that he was leaving for a week Saturday.

I definitely think I can do more this round. Unlike last time where I had seemingly designer's block, this time I think I have some good ideas.

[gingerbreadmann]

I'm going to do some research as well. Hopefully we can keep up the winning streak.

[lets_go_red]

Well, Brusch...do you want to be PM? If no one else wants it...I'd be more than happy to make it

[mania]

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'll volunteer myself if no one else would want it.

[mania]

I'll say this... what general ideas were you guys thinking about for this?

I was thinking royal blue, red, and metallic gold (although it might be too cliche, totally open to other ideas), with a strong uppercase script for the chest, and maybe numbers with a strong serif and curves on the back. Nothing coming to me about the shoulder patch though.

[ShinyHubCaps]

Is it cool if I take over as Task Manager this time 'round? I don't want to add to the confusion and I would love to move forward, but it sounds like you aren't entirely sure about it, and I am going to be home literally all week. I would be bored out of my mind otherwise.

Anyways, like William and GBM, I'm going to do some research and hopefully get a general idea of what would work.

Also, we should really bear down and work hard on this one, because I need that free T-shirt.

[gingerbreadmann]

Sure, if you volunteer you have my vote.

Edit: Here are some initial ideas. I think the color scheme we go for should be Royal Blue, Red, and Green. If necessary we could add white in there somewhere but IDK if it would count towards our 3 color limit since white is a given in pretty much every sports concept in some form. But basically the Senators implies poliics, and since the Capital of NC is Raleigh I decided to look there. Maybe we could incorporate a stylization of the State Capitol, seen here? Also, both the Raleigh flag and State flags feature red, so that's where I came up with that. Also, i don't know about the rest of the group but I don't think we should immediately go for a Patriotic American Red white and blue scheme. That's why I think green, featured on an oak tree on the front of the Raleigh flag, as it is known as the City of the Oaks. (http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/us-nc-ra.html).

This is honestly just an initial thought. I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions and what you all found in your research.

[lets_go_red]

Is it cool if I take over as Task Manager this time 'round? I don't want to add to the confusion and I would love to move forward, but it sounds like you aren't entirely sure about it, and I am going to be home literally all week. I would be bored out of my mind otherwise.

Anyways, like William and GBM, I'm going to do some research and hopefully get a general idea of what would work.

Also, we should really bear down and work hard on this one, because I need that free T-shirt.

No Summerfest??? You've got my vote

[ShinyHubCaps]

So as the votes for TM trickle in, I'm curious as to what people think. I think Bruschi has a good idea, but the colors will need to be fine-tuned. I thought also that for the wordmark, it might be cool for there to be a logo extending from the wordmark. That is, we design it with logos in mine, and the "primary" logo juts from the wordmark and the "secondary" logo would be the sleeve patch.

Here is the list of criteria from the original thread:

- List of colors chosen.

- Wordmark to go across the chest.

- A logo to put on the sleeve.

- Custom numbers. (Numbers only, letters are not required)

- A presentation of what the t-shirt will look like from the front and the back.

I can easily see more of a logo-wordmark than the regular type of a baseball jersey. This is a T-shirt, after all, and while the logo-wordmark wouldn't work for an embroidered baseball jersey, it would work on a nice, bold T-shirt. I was thinking of something like this but without the baseball, and possibly reversed.

Anyway, that is my thought. For the identity though, I don't really know what to expect.

William and GBM did some research... care to share your findings?

No Summerfest??? You've got my vote

Not much money for a little while... Sadly, Kansas and the Division BMX Stunt Team will have to wait.

[gingerbreadmann]

So as the votes for TM trickle in, I'm curious as to what people think. I think Bruschi has a good idea, but the colors will need to be fine-tuned. I thought also that for the wordmark, it might be cool for there to be a logo extending from the wordmark. That is, we design it with logos in mine, and the "primary" logo juts from the wordmark and the "secondary" logo would be the sleeve patch.

Here is the list of criteria from the original thread:

- List of colors chosen.

- Wordmark to go across the chest.

- A logo to put on the sleeve.

- Custom numbers. (Numbers only, letters are not required)

- A presentation of what the t-shirt will look like from the front and the back.

I can easily see more of a logo-wordmark than the regular type of a baseball jersey. This is a T-shirt, after all, and while the logo-wordmark wouldn't work for an embroidered baseball jersey, it would work on a nice, bold T-shirt. I was thinking of something like this but without the baseball, and possibly reversed.

Anyway, that is my thought. For the identity though, I don't really know what to expect.

William and GBM did some research... care to share your findings?

I definitely agree about the logo-in-wordmark or extending-from-wordmark idea. I shared some ideas in my post above (edited), but I have no idea about a concrete logo concept yet... I think we shuold nail down the basics first. bruschi's idea of gold might work even better than green.

What kind of style do we want the identity to be? Like classic, modern, cartoonish, ultra-clean.. I think this will have a big impact on hoe the final thing ends up.

[ShinyHubCaps]

What kind of style do we want the identity to be? Like classic, modern, cartoonish, ultra-clean.. I think this will have a big impact on hoe the final thing ends up.

I was thinking ultra-clean but maybe with big, bold edges on the logo-wordmark and numbers. I'm having a hard time finding a model of what I envision with the logo-wordmark... something like this but not so huge on the logo. A capital building would look great, kind of like the NCAA Frozen Four logo seen below but obviously not as large. The whole style would be clean and bold without looking too cartoony, I imagine.

Colors, I vote for royal blue, red like on the flags GBM posted, and I think metallic gold would look good if only for accents. If white would be counted in our three, then we may have to do without it or otherwise sub it in. I would hate for it all to be red, white, and blue, like so many teams in pro sports, though.

[mania]

I PM'ed Mac, to ask about some perspective on the name.

So when I hear back, I'll post it here.

[mania]

Ok.

Got a response.

The name came from a simple, alliterative concept: North Carolina's known as the "Old North State" or "North State," while Raleigh is it's capital, home of its Senate.

Maybe we could figure out something with the North Carolina senate building.... and maybe mix in a few other things that give it a "Carolina" feel.

[mania]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_General_Assembly

Perhaps a little more help.

[ShinyHubCaps]

Hmm... I sketched out a logo concept using the state capitol building, but I suppose it would work for the General Assembly. I'm going to go ahead and submit my name for Task Manager, then the next time I log on, I should have some idea of a schedule. In the meantime, think about the colors and the wordmark, and post anything that you made if you feel the need.

[mania]

A new thought for colors. The royal blue, green, and silver/white. Maybe having the capitol or general assembly building coming out of a Forest with the wordmark underneath.

[ShinyHubCaps]

In hoping that people will check this thread when logging on for their evening web sessions, I ask that they take a look at the items below.

1.) SCHEDULE

Wednesday, July 2 - Noon EDT

*have colors

*have logo-wordmark idea

Thursday, July 3 - Noon EDT

*present concepts for logo-wordmark

*present concepts for sleeve patch

Friday, July 4 - Noon EDT

*assignments for logo cleanup and following portions

Saturday, July 5 - Noon EDT

*have sleeve patch

*have numbers

Sunday, July 6 - Noon EDT

*have uniform representation (T-shirt)

*finishing time (12 hr) for any segment not complete

*put it all together

Monday, July 7 - Noon EDT

*final presentations

The point of the schedule is that, if you complete one portion of our event and have time, you can look forward to the next thing that you can think about or possibly work on. I will try to update with assignments, so depending on our pace, I may ask one person to do something that another person will not. Similarly, tell me if you would like a particular assignment, and of course, I encourage you to work ahead if you will be out of town or something on any particular day. I would also appreciate it if you tell me your plans ahead of time if you will be unavailable so that we can compensate accordingly.

2.) OPENING VOTE

As we are working as a team, I would like to get a baseline on what we think and the direction we should go before we get started. As per the rules, official business in the progress of our design will be conducted in this thread. However, as I am trying to configure some things, I believe an anonymous ballot should be acceptable.

So, the next time that you log on, please send me a PM with the following information in the subject line:

ONE COLOR (other than royal blue or white/silver)

YES OR NO (to the idea of a wordmark with some architecture protruding from it for the chest logo/wordmark)

This is just for an anonymous ballot to get the proverbial ball rolling. Any other concerns such as volunteering for a particular component may occur in this thread, and I guarantee that I will keep track of these.

3.) LOGO CONCEPTS

I understand that everyone has some sort of schedule and that it may be difficult to coordinate on this, but please post your concepts by Thursday at noon EDT for wordmarks and secondary/patch logos. It may be a lot to ask, but if you feel that you have a particularly strong idea for one but not for the other, then you may just do one. I'd like to hear from everybody, though, even if your logo is not fully fleshed out. I, for instance, worked on a logo and will post it, although it is still just a sketch at this point in time.

Well, it seems there is a lot to do, but again, just do whatever you can and try to adhere to the above deadlines. Also, I'll be home for a while, so I may update regularly, and I hope that you check regularly as well. I really look forward to seeing everyone's work, as well as getting your votes and seeing where we stand!