Los Angeles Sunbirds

[-(dp)-]

Okay, here is my entry from the Draw Brawl. I found the difference between winning the judge's vote, and being I think sixth in public votes (with the five ahead of me WAY ahead of me) interesting, so I thought I would put it up and see what the public thinks. For anyone who didn't notice, it was a reference to the Southern California Sun. I did originally intend on using magenta and orange, to really challenge myself, but towards the end I decided to go with a dark purple instead. I have included the magenta version here as well though, to get your opinion on that.

The primary logo is very simple, nothing to explain there. I just wanted something that would look good on the helmet, as that would be the main use for it. On the alternate, I tried to to make it remind people of the logo the Sun used, but find a way to incorporate a bird also. I modernized the original sun they used, with thinner, sharper rays. I used the bird head in front of the sun, in the same color as the rays, and matched up the lines from the head with three of the rays, to form the body of the bird. Some people probably didn't catch that, and thought the head was just thrown on top of the sun. The wordmark was kept simple, and I felt the style went well with the shapes of both logos. The uniform striping was based on the rays from the alternate logo.

Let me know what you think!

[PackerBadger]

Okay, here is my entry from the Draw Brawl. I found the difference between winning the judge's vote, and being I think sixth in public votes (with the five ahead of me WAY ahead of me) interesting, so I thought I would put it up and see what the public thinks. For anyone who didn't notice, it was a reference to the Southern California Sun. I did originally intend on using magenta and orange, to really challenge myself, but towards the end I decided to go with a dark purple instead. I have included the magenta version here as well though, to get your opinion on that.

The primary logo is very simple, nothing to explain there. I just wanted something that would look good on the helmet, as that would be the main use for it. On the alternate, I tried to to make it remind people of the logo the Sun used, but find a way to incorporate a bird also. I modernized the original sun they used, with thinner, sharper rays. I used the bird head in front of the sun, in the same color as the rays, and matched up the lines from the head with three of the rays, to form the body of the bird. Some people probably didn't catch that, and thought the head was just thrown on top of the sun. The wordmark was kept simple, and I felt the style went well with the shapes of both logos. The uniform striping was based on the rays from the alternate logo.

Let me know what you think!

Dark purple > magenta.

White pants + white jersey <<<< purple pants + white jersey.

Not sure whether the facemask should be orange or purple.

[-(dp)-]

Sorry to bump this, but I am really hoping to get more than one response.

[chickenfish13]

I honestly don't have any advice, as I really love this. It's very unique, and so is the color scheme. Pretty sweet job, no c an c to give.

[Cola]

I actually liked this set, although it wasn't at the top for me. What I did like was the color scheme (glad you stuck with purple) most. The primary was also very nice and simple enough to work for the NFL and on the helmet.

I love the sun in the secondary...but I am not seeing a bird in the sun. I see something that slightly relates to the primary...but the area below it added in confused my eyes. Can you elaborate there?

Anyhow, it was a great job and deserving of the award received.

[Slammersman]

I like every thing but the white helmet. I would go with a purple helmet with the orange face mask I like that.

[Swampee]

I like the colors, but it screams the WFL's Southern California Suns.

[Ted Cunningham]

I like the colors, but it screams the WFL's Southern California Suns.

That's the point, is it not?

That's certainly the reason why I really liked this concept. (Sorry dp, I was too late in getting back to the boards after the weekend, and I couldn't vote, or this would have been my number 1.) I think it's an absolutely brilliant concept. The one gripe I have is the number set used, and that's only a minor gripe. (I'm a traditionalist, so block or NCAA Gothic or another old-style set would be better on any uniform.) I think you could have even pushed the envelope more and put your secondary on the helmet.

As for the two differences in color, I really have no opinion. The darker purple brings out the orange more, certainly. But the lighter purple is a more interesting and unique color.

There are probably fans of the SoCal Suns or the WFL in general in southern California that would easily relate to this team even though they'd be going into the NFL instead of revival WFL or what have you.

Very good.

[GFB]

If I had voted in DRAWBRAWL!!!!! I would have voted for yours. But here are some things for you to chew on....

- Work on the smoothness of your lines, especially the back of the head.

- I would have added an orange outline or at least some orange tips to the flamey-whisps. Just DO NOT use the stroke button. You can use it as a guide, but I've found your logos look more dynamic when you provide some depth in the outline...

- Wordmarks are the most underrated portion of any design. Simply using Diavlo and hitting the type box button just doesn't cut it for me. You could come up with something much more unique...

[whchoclte]

While godo you could have improved on it a touch.

As mentioned a custom wordmark would have done wonders.

Would have loved to see maybe the back of the birds head into flames. The three offshoots dont do much or tie into teh design.

The middle of the secondary looks good you shoudl emphasize that. Maybe even combine teh middle of teh secondary with teh main and get a real sweet main logo.

With more time you could have made it great.

[MDC]

I think you should switch the alternate and primary logos, the alternate has a lot more going as a primary rather than as a secondary, and i think it would look a lot better on a helmet. I do really like the whole thing though

[Quillz]

I don't think "Sunbirds" is really a good name for an LA-based team. It strikes me as something more related to Florida.

Sure, the weather is warm and the geography is that of a desert, but there's just something about it that doesn't seem to fit.

[-(dp)-]

Cola, here is what is supposed to resemble the bird's body. I didn't want to mess with the shape of the sun to accommodate for the bird. I wanted the birds body to be similar to the arrow in the fedex logo, or the face in the Avalanche logo , where people may not notice it right away. I hoped it would add an extra element that wasn't obvious, but if people still don't see it even when they are told it is there, I guess it wasn't very effective.

See the near wing, far wing and the tail? Maybe it needs some work still. As far as the rest of the package goes, thanks for the comments, I will work on updating it, but it might be a week or so. I want to get something in for round 2 first.

Thanks again everyone!

[chestnutz]

Now that I see that full body, it actually looks really cool. I think you could add a stroke around the bird body/sun rays to further emphasize that aspect, so there's a little space between the bird and everything else.

[quantum]

I was surprised that this didn't get more love from the voters. The colors weren't my favorite, but the overall package was worthy of a vote.

[Swampee]

I like the colors, but it screams the WFL's Southern California Suns.

That's the point, is it not?

That's certainly the reason why I really liked this concept. (Sorry dp, I was too late in getting back to the boards after the weekend, and I couldn't vote, or this would have been my number 1.) I think it's an absolutely brilliant concept. The one gripe I have is the number set used, and that's only a minor gripe. (I'm a traditionalist, so block or NCAA Gothic or another old-style set would be better on any uniform.) I think you could have even pushed the envelope more and put your secondary on the helmet.

As for the two differences in color, I really have no opinion. The darker purple brings out the orange more, certainly. But the lighter purple is a more interesting and unique color.

There are probably fans of the SoCal Suns or the WFL in general in southern California that would easily relate to this team even though they'd be going into the NFL instead of revival WFL or what have you.

Very good.

I don't know the intentions of the OP if he meant it to be or not.

If he wants to design a set that looks like one that was already used 35 years ago, then so be it.

I said I like the colors and they are a unique color set.

At least it was a good effort and not slapped together like some were (including mine).

[Cola]

Cola, here is what is supposed to resemble the bird's body. I didn't want to mess with the shape of the sun to accommodate for the bird. I wanted the birds body to be similar to the arrow in the fedex logo, or the face in the Avalanche logo , where people may not notice it right away. I hoped it would add an extra element that wasn't obvious, but if people still don't see it even when they are told it is there, I guess it wasn't very effective.

Wow, see I never noticed that at all. I obviously see that now and think it is a great idea...just should have been executed a bit better because the way it flows with the sun is pretty clever!

[elliott]

Cola, here is what is supposed to resemble the bird's body. I didn't want to mess with the shape of the sun to accommodate for the bird. I wanted the birds body to be similar to the arrow in the fedex logo, or the face in the Avalanche logo , where people may not notice it right away. I hoped it would add an extra element that wasn't obvious, but if people still don't see it even when they are told it is there, I guess it wasn't very effective.

See the near wing, far wing and the tail? Maybe it needs some work still. As far as the rest of the package goes, thanks for the comments, I will work on updating it, but it might be a week or so. I want to get something in for round 2 first.

Thanks again everyone!

Wow umm...that's awesome! Very very clever, if you could separate it slightly from the sun, it would be easier to see, but nicely done nonetheless.

I honestly have no idea who I would have voted for for #1 here: this concept, the aztecs, or the makos, those were my favorite 3, and they are all amazing!!

[AJM]

I really liked this concept, especially with the So Cal Sun colors...however there are already too many bird-themed tams in the NFL.

[Shumway]

Your was actually one my favorites when I paged through the entries the other day (I didn't notice the thread until after voting was closed). The darker purple definitely works better, just to create some value contrast from the orange. Your alt logo was great, although I didn't notice the body until you pointed it out here. I think some subtle separation could help. I'd just bring the sun rays to the purple, so the bird has some "outline", for the lack of a better term.