Mascot Competition at Small College

[peutetrenon]

Wanted to get some feedback on a concept. I’ll preface by saying I’m no professional designer, merely someone who enjoys design -- Illustrator has been a steep learning curve for me, even after a few years of comfort with Photoshop.

To the point: I’m finishing up a master’s degree (Communications) and apparently my school is having a design competition for their new mascot for athletics (which I also interpret as need for a logo). They already have a name decided upon -- the "Expat". Thing is, time is an issue – they want submissions by March 5th.

Let’s skip ahead and get to it (for background info, see after the images):

Wordmarks

Three Type Options for Shortname:

Type Options for "Long" name:

Logo

A bit rushed, yes.

Logo and Wordmark Example

[peutetrenon]

If you’re wondering about why I did certain things in the design, here’s my thought process/motivation:

Direction

It’s left-facing. Why? Because higher education is liberal propaganda.

Actually: Yes, it is deliberate. It's a defensive stance, which reflects (from my perspective) the history and MENTALITY of the school as, among other things, out of place. One could make the argument that by facing the other way implies “forward-progress”, but…ehh.

“Expatriates” vs. “Ex-Patriots”

I can’t decide what works better. I kind of like the EX-PATRIOTS idea better (it’s, like, TOTALLY eXtreme!!!!11) as, in my mind, it leads to a darker, fiercer character – a “zombie patriot” if you will, a guy who won’t take any bull , and isn’t afraid to get in a bar fight and [try to] kick your ass.

That’s also an apt reflection of the vibe of the student body.

I also, I have a hunch there are many a folk who may not know how to properly spell "Expatriates". Let's just say it'll be like calling them the Starzz.

Whether I’ve accomplished this “fierceness” or not…well that’s up to others to decide.

Some questions I have...

Font

• which do you prefer?
  
• Have any other suggestions?
  

Logo

• Colors: I’m entirely open to your suggestions
  
• Black eye...is it necessary? Eye patch instead or too pirate-y?
  
• BLOOOOOOD...not enough or too much? (that's a bit of a challenge for me to render well).
  
• How is the clothing? Is it historically accurate? Should it even be? Should it be more tattered?
  
• Does it infringe? I want to ensure certain measures of originality. If it reminds you of something too blatantly similar, please let me know (there are “borrowed” ideas in this logo from at least ten other logos or images). We are all inspired by what we have seen in the past but I obviously do not want to unconsciously copy someone else's work.
  
• Is it PC? Realistically I can't imagine it being offensive to anyone (except for maybe the British, but I think they've got cool accents, so it's all good).
  

If you would like some additional background info about the school I'm happy to share. Thanks!

[pianoknight]

It's a horribly silly name for a team, IMO. That's not your decision, but it makes it hard to create a brand identity when your whole brand is based on not actually having a brand.

The logo itself is not that great. The body is good, but the head looks wrong - like clip art.