South Carolina Gamecocks

[-(dp)-]

Well, I think I got third for my South Carolina Draw Brawl entry, but I am not sure. I spent too much time on the primary, and had to rush the alternate and wordmark, so I have tried to fix those since then.

For South Carolina, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to keep the idea of the bird in the C, but with a much simpler bird and a tighter composition overall. I really wanted it to be a look that would fit with a tradition rich conference like the SEC, but keep a clean, modern look as well. I think I have achieved that with the primary, and feel that it would stand the test of time without a doubt. I wanted to emphasize garnet over black, but with the primary I really wanted the Gamecock to stand out, so I kept the block C solid black. With the wordmark, I wanted to keep an athletic block feel without it being too generic. I used upsilon, and made some small alterations to give it a bit more custom feel. The sharp crossbars on the A's and H are supposed to mimic the feel of spurs, as well as the other sharp points in the logo. For the alternate, I used a block shield, with the bird from the primary, as well as the moon and palmetto tree, a symbol of the state. I kept the same color treatments as the main logo, with everything being either red outlined in black, or solid black. The 'SC' logo was done that same way, but I am not sure it fits with the identity. I threw it on here anyway.

Next we go to the uniforms. I tried to apply the elements from the logo to the uniforms. Numbers and pants logo are all solid white or solid black (like the C), and striping is always red outlined in black (like the bird). CAROLINA proudly displayed across the chest, as they are on the current jerseys. The uniforms emphasize garnet and white, but black is not at a minimum. Black has long been a large part of their identity, so I made sure to give it a fair share of space as well. Shoulder stripes also resemble the style the bird is rendered in, with smooth, sharp shapes.

Your Comments and criticism would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Davidson for the great helmet wallpaper template. Let me know what you think!

[undead]

Great looking bird! It looks tough and you distanced it nicely from a bird that fights to the death against another bird. Excellent line weights and a very nice collection of curves in the composition of the logo. I enjoy the sharpness of the wordmark but could it use a thicker black stroke to match the bird closer?

dp, you've come a long way. I can still remember your Lansing Dragons thread. It was very interesting to watch the logo develop. It was very inspiring.

[xBJx]

Take my critique with a grain of salt because I am new and not trained in design by any stretch of the imagination.

I really like the shield and the SC logo, I think they are modern but like you said, would stand the test of time. The wordmark is cool but I am not sure it fits perfectly. The concept you laid is is great, and not to get too literal, spurs are long and curved. The sharp elements in the wordmark look spikey not spur-y?

The uniforms looks fantastic! I wasnt sold at first glance, the tops looks really simple, but I think it would translate into a real garment well and look great on the field.

My only huge criticism is the bird. It looks like a crow (the head to body size proportions are off for a gamecock). A really awesome crow that is designed well and looks great, but gamecocks are pretty flamboyant birds. the head feathers and tail feathers are long and piecey or ornate. I LIKE the idea of giving the bird a non-fighting disposition to please the PC audience and look a little more stoic, but it feels like you took the swagger out of the bird too. Just my two cents, I must say I like the design overall, it seems very polished.

[Buster]

The uniforms look GREAT, but the only possible negative could be that I thought of the Partridge Family when I first saw the bird. He looks more like a typical "bird" than a chicken to me.

[ONUV]

put the SC logo on the pants and the state logo on the chest. not crazy about the primary logo. maybe it could use an outline. the placement of the logo on the small helmet doesn't look right to me.

[9erssteve]

I think the execution is fantastic you cant fault it, the line weights, highlights are all spot on. With that said at first glance I also felt it looked more crow or raven like than gamecock like. I know people did a lot of research about gamecocks for this one and found that they often have less of the instantly recognisable characteristics of normal roosters but sometimes you need to design for "joe public" and give him what he expects rather than what is factually accurate and personally I feel this is one of those occasions. In order to avoid confusion with other bird related insignias I think this one needs to be more instantly recognisable as a rooster.

My only other critique would be the inconsistency with regards the way the bird is facing, in one part of the logo it's forwards in another it's back, which personally I feel is a really bad idea on the helmet especially. To make it work on the helmet you will need two versions but I dont see that being a problem for someone with your talents.

I really liked this design and thought it showed a lot of potential, and I certainly would have given it a high vote were I free to vote in that round. I look forward to seeing any updates.

9erssteve