The Canadian Football expansion project

[dgnmrwrw]

I've been doing some reading about the CFL, and I've begun to develop a concept for possible expansion. I know the CFL is granting Ottawa another franchise soon, so I made this concept for a franchise to be awarded to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I know the history behind the Atlantic Schooners folding and the fact that Halifax still lacks a CFL-caliber stadium, but this is just for fun. I thought placing a team in Halifax would be good because it's the largest of the Atlantic Provinces cities, and it would make the CFL a coast-to-coast league. With the addition of the Ottawa team there would be ten teams, and Winnipeg could move to the West to balance things.

I nicknamed the team the Penguins. The logo (still in progress) was developed from a doodle of mine from ages ago. The colors come from the flag of Halifax (loosely--they aren't the same shade of yellow and blue) plus black, naturally. I think they are working well, and it would be a combo unique to the CFL. The wordmark is just a placeholder now. I know it looks too much like the Pittsburgh Pens' wordmark.

The primary home set is blue jerseys and white pants; the primary road is white on white. I included some alternate combinations.

C+C very appreciated. This is ongoing.

[dgnmrwrw]

Some QB action pics:

[GeorgesL]

This could work, but when will you do Quebec?

[dgnmrwrw]

This could work, but when will you do Quebec?

Quebec City was another possible location. I had a name, colors, and uniforms for Quebec done, but the logos weren't coming out right. I'm still going to finish it and post. Also started toying with ideas for London, ON.

[jaha32]

I love the colors you chose. I like where you are going with the logo but it is not that easy to tell it is a penguin. The nose is too long. looks more like an ant eater now. If you keep the main idea and just make it look like a penguin more I would love it

[siegel0572]

I like the concept overall, especially the colors. I was glad to see that the logo was in progress. It is very hard to see a penguin in the current logo, that is really the only criticism I have, nice job.

[logocruncher]

Very well done. Like the others, I'm not a big fan of the logo, but the colors are nice and I like the basic uniform template. You should put a little yellow on the numbers of the black jersey, but other than that and the logo this is an excellent concept. What was the name you had for the Quebec team?

[BBTV]

I happen to think that the logo is the strongest part of this! I agree that it doesn't look exactly like a penguin, but it's close enough. It's simple, easy to reproduce, and looks great on the helmet.

The blue you used looks a little purpleish to me, which gives this concept a Baltimore Ravens feel. I think if you blue-up the blue, it will look much better.

I'd consider a custom font (but please not one that is italicized as much as the wordmark is - that needs to be toned down some) but the block works too. It's a little odd seeing classic block on a modern template, but it's OK.

[dgnmrwrw]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far. Keep it coming.

I love the colors you chose. I like where you are going with the logo but it is not that easy to tell it is a penguin. The nose is too long. looks more like an ant eater now. If you keep the main idea and just make it look like a penguin more I would love it

Yeah, this was my biggest concern. I wanted the logo to be fairly abstract, made up of just a few shapes and quick strokes. It's a BIG stretch, but I was hoping to create another image from the overall silhouette of the logo--a football streaking through the air. Try to imagine the blue space behind the penguin filling the entire oval, with the tip of the beak as the streak tailing behind the ball. Again, it's a big stretch.

I guess I need to tweak it very slightly so I don't lose the simplicity of it. Of course, now ALL I can see is an anteater.

What was the name you had for the Quebec team?

Les Canonniers (The Cannoneers/Gunners). Colors are royal-ish blue, light gray, and copper.

I happen to think that the logo is the strongest part of this! I agree that it doesn't look exactly like a penguin, but it's close enough. It's simple, easy to reproduce, and looks great on the helmet.

I'd consider a custom font (but please not one that is italicized as much as the wordmark is - that needs to be toned down some) but the block works too. It's a little odd seeing classic block on a modern template, but it's OK.

Boy, am I glad I got some positive feedback on that logo. Custom numbers are probably a good idea. I'll give that a go too.

[StoneRaizer]

I like the royal blue and yellow, provided they stay royal blue and yellow. Navy and gold would look too much like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I thought about suggesting green and yellow like the Halifax Mooseheads, but then realized it would look like the Edmonton Eskimos. Unfortunately that's one of the tough things of the CFL - just about every decent colour combination is already taken:

Black/Orange - BC Lions

Green/Yellow - Edmonton Eskimos

Red/Black - Calgary Stampeders

Green/White - Saskatchewan Roughriders

Navy/Gold - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Black/Yellow - Hamilton Tiger Cats

Navy/Sky - Toronto Argonauts

Crimson/Navy - Montreal Alouettes

You could try a scheme with purple + another colour or orange + another colour and be unique. Actually, for a team called the Halifax Penguins what about putting together a colour scheme similar to the Carolina Panthers with Black/Sky/Silver?

[mantleisthebest7]

WOW. This is really, really good. The color scheme in my opinion is perfect, the uniform definetely fits in with the CFL, I love the logo, everything about it is great. A+++!!!

[fishheatcats]

This looks great. I love the logo the way it is. Very stylized, but you can tell it's a penguin fairly easily IMO.

[Viper]

The logo looks a little weird to me, but otherwise this is a very distinctive look. Heck, it would have been distinctive even in the NFL. Few if any teams in any of the major sports leagues use sky blue as their primary color.

[uniguy22]

The blue you used looks a little purpleish to me, which gives this concept a Baltimore Ravens feel. I think if you blue-up the blue, it will look much better.

I think that might be your monitor. Looks blue to me.

[BBTV]

The blue you used looks a little purpleish to me, which gives this concept a Baltimore Ravens feel. I think if you blue-up the blue, it will look much better.

I think that might be your monitor. Looks blue to me.

I think you're right. On my work monitor it looks Ravens' purple, but at home it's definitely blue.

[TFoA]

The only alteration I'd make would be to change the outline of the numbers from blue to yellow. The blue blends in too much with the black, and the yellow would do a better job of popping off the jersey.

Other than that, this is a pretty nice job. I could definitely see a team in the CFL looking like this.

[dgnmrwrw]

You could try a scheme with purple + another colour or orange + another colour and be unique. Actually, for a team called the Halifax Penguins what about putting together a colour scheme similar to the Carolina Panthers with Black/Sky/Silver?

My thought process for the colors was to use black and yellow (penguin colors) and add blue (blue + yellow = Halifax flag). Actually, the colors I have for the Quebec concept are close to what you describe. Their blue leans slightly toward purple, and the copper leans toward orange. I might push that concept's colors further in the purple/orange direction. One of the things I really like about the CFL is how distinct all the color schemes are (which is easy with only 8 teams, but still...).

The only alteration I'd make would be to change the outline of the numbers from blue to yellow. The blue blends in too much with the black, and the yellow would do a better job of popping off the jersey.

I had tried it this way, but I was afraid all the yellow on the black alternate jersey would make them look too much like Hamilton. But there might be enough blue in there to keep it distinct.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I hope to have an update soon.

[dgnmrwrw]

Here's a quick tweak to the logo. I added a yellow highlight at the mouth (like an emperor penguin has). I had one in my original logo, but decided it wasn't necessary. But maybe having it in there helps it not look like an anteater.

The one on the left has the back of the mouth following the same curve that the back of the eye does. The one on the right follows a sharper curve and the logo itself is slanted at a sharper angle. Not sure which of these is working better, or if either of them are better than the original.

The original, for reference:

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[santoleri3]

Here's a quick tweak to the logo. I added a yellow highlight at the mouth (like an emperor penguin has). I had one in my original logo, but decided it wasn't necessary. But maybe having it in there helps it not look like an anteater.

The one on the left has the back of the mouth following the same curve that the back of the eye does. The one on the right follows a sharper curve and the logo itself is slanted at a sharper angle. Not sure which of these is working better, or if either of them are better than the original.

The original, for reference:

Thoughts? Suggestions?

If it were just rotated clockwise, like, 20 degrees? It looks like an anteater right now. I think that if it were less TOTALLY abstract it might be better... all the elements (beak, eyes, chest plumage) are good, but every line seems to be headed to the same point... maybe that's it.

Still like it though.

[fishheatcats]

Here's a quick tweak to the logo. I added a yellow highlight at the mouth (like an emperor penguin has). I had one in my original logo, but decided it wasn't necessary. But maybe having it in there helps it not look like an anteater.

The one on the left has the back of the mouth following the same curve that the back of the eye does. The one on the right follows a sharper curve and the logo itself is slanted at a sharper angle. Not sure which of these is working better, or if either of them are better than the original.

The original, for reference:

Thoughts? Suggestions?

The new one on the right is best IMO. I think just that little adjustment helps it look a little more "penguiny".