Milwaukee Admirals in the NHL

[illwauk]

The idea to do an Admirals concept came from the evolution of the Vancouver Pacers thread into the feasibility of the NHL in Milwaukee.

Obviously the cartoonish pee-wee league skull they use now wouldn't be able to be used in the NHL, so I decided to go with a naval theme. In this, I recognized that the Brewers, whose ownership had considerable overlap with the Admirals, actually have a perfect color scheme for a naval themed team. I didn't plan to go as far as to use the Brewers number font at first, but it seemed to fit more than anything else I have on my computer.

The crest is based on the 5-star pattern found on a Fleet Admiral's flag and can also represent the five skaters on a hockey team. I wanted something that was simple, classy, traditional and counter to pretty much everything about their identity now. Originally, it was a secondary logo/shoulder patch, but I liked it so much better than the tattered-flag-on-a-sword I designed that I decided to make it the primary. The anchors on the bottom stripe was inspired by a sweater they wore during the IHL's golden years in the late 80s and early 90s.

If I get enough requests, I may put together an entire uniform, but I figured the jerseys would suffice for now since everything else on a hockey uniform is pretty incidental to the jerseys. C&C please...

[GO2HELL]

The idea to do an Admirals concept came from the evolution of the Vancouver Pacers thread into the feasibility of the NHL in Milwaukee.

sorry i bumped that year old topic lol.

anyway onto the concept, it's very well done. i can't really think of anything to improve on. great job.

[ThePreacher]

The idea to do an Admirals concept came from the evolution of the Vancouver Pacers thread into the feasibility of the NHL in Milwaukee.

Link please?

And as for these sweaters: They are gorgeous. I am impressed. I love the anchor hem. It's perfect.. reminds me of the Nordiques fleur di leus look they had when they modified their unis in the early 90's. Excellent work!

[GO2HELL]

http://boards.sportslogos.net/index.php?showtopic=67330&st=0

[BBTV]

1. At first I didn't like the M-stars logo - it just seemed high school to me. After thinking about it some more, I'd rather have something like that in the league as opposed to another "cartoonish pee-wee league skull" (Nashville has the NHL market cornered on that front.) It's fine as is, but I wonder if it could be made into something that isn't quite as literal as a block M inside a circle surrounded by stars. These ideas may not work, but maybe make the M bigger so that the stars overlap parts of it, then split the star color so the overlaps are blue and the rest of them are white? Or maybe go with a slightly customized M? Just some thoughts.

2. The number font isn't horrible, but really doesn't go with the standard block M and the standard circle. I don't like the juxtaposition of symmetrical geometric shapes and a fancy font. It's certainly not bad, but I think something more standard would look better.

3. How would vertical sleeve stripes look on this? Same pattern as your current stripes, just running from the neck down to the cuff. Just a thought - I'm not a fan of white jerseys that are so... well, white.

[gueman]

I dig everything but the M/number font conflict. You use a rather modern (for sports jerseys) number font but then the M very traditional. I really like the number font much more than the M so I would suggest using another M. Also just a suggestion perhaps as a shoulder patch you could have "scrambled eggs" like what is on an Admirals cap.

[ThePreacher]

It would be cool to incorporate the eagle on this Admiral's cap into a tertiary (see: shoulder) logo...

[BrianVlietDesign]

These do look very, very classy. I'm digging the primary logo. It has a very Hampton Roads Admirals meets Montreal Maroons kind of feel. The only things I feel that could use some work are both the number and name fonts, as well as color scheme. I feel an introduction of burgundy might help balance the gold and navy blue. Also, for the fonts, choose something a little more traditional. Basically, more of a block font. After that, I think you'll have a winner.

[Discrim]

I'm a bit iffy on this one cus, as WW mentioned, this one partially smacks of those other Admirals. Throw some red in there...true, I can see you're going for a Brewers look here, but it'll look more Admiralish that way.

[ThePreacher]

I feel an introduction of burgundy might help balance the gold and navy blue.

I like a lot of your ideas, but is burgundy a traditional navy color?

[illwauk]

Again... thanks for all the C&C.

I actually did try using different fonts for the M, but pretty much all of them made the entire logo look like it was just a lazy design. I feel that using the block M (which was used previously by many different teams in Milwaukee from the early 20th century all the way through the 70s) gives it a traditional edge (appropriate since any team moving to Milwaukee would likely come from the sun belt) and shows that it's meant to be a simple/minimalist design. Since I used a relatively complex design for the hem stripes (the strongest part of the concept IMO), I felt this was the way to go. I've started experimenting with different fonts for the M again, but I still haven't found something better than what I have now... although I'm open to any suggestions.

I also experimented with burgundy since it is a traditional color for the Ads (won their only Calder Cup in burgundy), but I couldn't find a way to execute it that didn't look tacked on to the overall look (think the Lions when they first added black). I don't see the similarities to the "other" Admirals as a problem since I designed these specifically for a NHL version of the Milwaukee club. In fact, I chose navy as a primary color to contrast with Chicago's red and Minnesota's green and kept the crest relatively simple to contrast with the relatively complicated crests of those teams. Besides, the other Admirals (stupidly, IMO) swapped out their nickname (and regionally) appropriate colors for the Blackhawks colors a few years ago.

The number font was the thing I was least sure about, so I'll probably go with a standard block once I get a chance to change it. I also like the idea of vertical sleeve stripes, so I'll probably do that as well.

[Gothamite]

Nice design. I actually like that number font on a hockey sweater far more than a baseball jersey. The double-outline looks good, but I'd remove it for the names - it's too cluttered.

I agree that the crest is a good idea, but misses the mark. The execution is just a little too simple, and it wouldn't be that memorable out of context. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Viper]

I like these. Not head-over-heels-in-love with them, but your idea is certainly better-executed than the Admirals' current abomination of a logo. (The worst thing about the skull logo is that the basic concept could have been killer had it been executed right. To me they should have based the concept around a lifelike skull/skeleton, a la the Pirates of the Caribbean movie logos.)

[illwauk]

-Added a compass rose around the circle so it'd no longer be "just" a circle.

-Found a font for the M that still retains the "classic" look I was going for, yet meshes much better with the number font.

-Changed the sleeve stripes.

-Switched to one color NOBs.

I went back and forth about whether or not to add shoulder patches. I decided against it because I feel the anchors on the hemline already serve the purpose of a secondary logo on the jersey, but I could change my mind for the right suggestion.

EDIT: The uploader on photobucket is acting up. I'll bump this when it starts working again.

[illwauk]

After a week of photobucket refusing to upload them on Firefox, I tried Explorer and it worked (probably the only time I've ever said that sentence in that order ).

Anyway, C & C if you please...

[bohob]

I like the overall direction, but the Brewers' font looks out of place. Could you tried a slab serif that more closely resembles the M instead of Times New Roman (I believe that's what the Crew use).

[ThePreacher]

Ilwauk - You should add the Bald Eagle from the above Admiral's hat I posted as a tertiary logo/shoulder patch!