NHL: Defunct Franchise Redesigns

[kiwi_canadian]

This could be a serious option for the Islanders if Charles Wang doesn't get his way with the Lighthouse Project.

[neo_prankster]

This could be a serious option for the Islanders if Charles Wang doesn't get his way with the Lighthouse Project.

If things continue to slide economically, I don't think he will.

Hate to piss off the "get over it" gang, but for Wang, there's always Hartford or Quebec City.

[ThePreacher]

#4: Brooklyn Americans

Brooklyn, NY // Folded 1942

First up, the name. I went with "Brooklyn" instead of "New York" for a few reasons: Firstly, this was the name they ended with (albeit for one season, and they didn't actually play in Brooklyn); Secondly, I didn't want a third team with the "New York" moniker; Thirdly, with the new Nets (or whatever) arena to come, it seemed like a good fit and would help balance the other three NY metro area teams (one in Manhattan, one on Long Island, on in Brooklyn, and one across the river in NJ). Next up, the colors. I used the closest RGB approximations for the official US flag colors that I could. In the conversion from Illustrator to .png, the blue got a little purply. My apologies, it shouldn't look like that. For the primary, I wanted to do a play off of the US Great Seal, with the eagle clutching hockey sticks instead of arrows and an olive branch. The six stars represent the six players on the ice and are also a nod to the old logo.

The uniforms are somewhat inspired by the old uniforms. The inspiration here was the big, heavy, blue shoulder area, and lots and lots of stripes. In addition, since they have colors similar to the Rangers, I wanted the general uniform to be nearly the opposite of the Rangers--thus the blue pants with red sweaters. The logo on the shoulders is a stylized A in the wordmark style, with a minimal US flag acting as the cross stroke.

Blue was the natural choice for the alternate, and I wanted a text-based logo of some kind since the Americans used one for their entire existence. But I went a slightly different route, starting with the Brooklyn Dodgers' old wordmark, tweaking it in several areas and adding the eagle wings and the six stars. On the shoulders, there's a circular patch with type and wings in the style of the primary.

LOVE IT!

However, I would switch the red and blue on the home sweater, and on the alt - I think it's too busy. Just use the straight "Brooklyn" script without the stars or "eagle wing serifs" on the B and N! Other than that I think these are pretty effing solid.

[CJworks]

The primary looks great. Really nice rendering of the eagle, also a real nice idea to base the logo off the U.S. seal. The one thing bohob touched on was the strokes, and I really agree with it. You've got the B on the shield without an outline, but you've got your wordmark with one tiny one. I'd consider dropping the stroke, the white against the red looks really nice anyways.

Another thing: That script is a bit overwhelming, the beveling and two-toning is a bit hard to grasp visually. I would love to see an all-white script against that nice blue, but keep the wings.

Really nice job on this one, great work once again.

[DancinFool]

The primary looks really great, and they overall "American" theme you have going is a nice touch, but the color scheme reminds me a lot of the Caps for some reason. But, then again red, white, and blue are common anyway. Well done, sir!

[Stormo]

Home and away are outstanding, but I think the blue part of "Brooklyn" would blend right into the blue of the sweater. Top notch work for sure though!

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Holy crap. Beauty. The logo is similar to the Caps' alternate logo, but as long as the Caps don't use it on a sweater, there shouldn't be any confusion.

[NorthStar74]

That Brooklyn Americans jersey and logo are wicked!! Wow nice jersey look... really great work, man!

[dgnmrwrw]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I've made a few changes already (the blue stroke is definitely coming off the wordmark), but I wanted some input before finishing this up.

First up, an updated primary logo. I tried to reposition the talons and sticks, as bohob suggested. It made the logo less vertical, but now there's no gap in the outline between the shield and the sticks. I also slightly repositioned the stars to accommodate the move, and I changed the eagle's eye. It had been a white star, but it was so small that it was almost impossible to see, so now it's just a red eye. Improved?

I also tried some different variations for the alternate script, eventually settling on a plain white script with a double blue and silver outline to match the stars. I wish it still matched the style of the other sets of wings in the logos, but this is probably the best solution. Thoughts?

[Has2916]

What about a double blue and red outline on the Brooklyn?

Also, the eagle's eye is a great improvement. I didn't even notice the star before.

[bohob]

I agree, making the silver outline on Brooklyn red would make it match the numbers on the alt jersey. Also, I think the sticks are better. Nice update.

[Vidboy]

Holy dude...

I don't think you know how awesome your concepts are...

[Legend]

First off, these concepts are stunning. Some amazing work, you are really talented.

I really like the Brooklyn Americans, but I was dissapointed seeing a wordmark for the third. I think the name gives so much opportunity to an amazing logo, and being Brooklyn you could even incorporate the Brooklyn Bridge in it. I don't like the idea of wordmarks much, but I do like the wordmark with accents. I just would rather see a cool logo or something with the Bridge to make a cool third.

[north dakota]

Brooklyn alternate is great.

[hjwii]

This board (and others) has members creating outstanding logos, unis, wordmarks etc. time after time. But when a professional team changes it's identity, they often present us with bland artwork or hideous logos...? Has there ever been a concept here that has actually made it to a professional team?

Anyways... outstanding work. If only some of these jerseys were on the market...

[dgnmrwrw]

Okay, Brooklyn has been updated and finalized. I switched the details on the primary logo, dropped the stroke from the wordmark, and simplified the alternate wordmark.

Next team up soon.

[bohob]

This board (and others) has members creating outstanding logos, unis, wordmarks etc. time after time. But when a professional team changes it's identity, they often present us with bland artwork or hideous logos...? Has there ever been a concept here that has actually made it to a professional team?

Anyways... outstanding work. If only some of these jerseys were on the market...

The only one I know of is Davidson's Raiders concept that became the West Sydney Pirates logo.

[pollux]

The Manitoba Moose is also from someone on the boards here.

There are a few pro designers that are members of these boards, so you could say that plenty of work from members have made it to professional leagues.

I really like the updated version of the Brooklyn Americans. The white word mark on the third jersey makes it pop way more than the previous one.

Nice redesigns all around!

[Puck]

I don't have a critique, but a design question for you.

Why did you choose to make the sticks go inward as opposed to outwards? Just wanted your take on it.

[BrianVlietDesign]

I'm not in love with the Americans series, but I could live with it if presently used. Overall though, these are pretty solid.