Continental Independent Baseball League: the Expansion

[lancealot]

The shoulder striping reminds me of an nfl team (can't recall which on ATM) but it looks so much better on a baseball uniform an I agree with the other guys the cap logo looks to much like sc

[jaha32]

The horse looks magnificent. Even with all the little detail, you still managed to make it look thick and bold.

When I first looked at the interlocking BC cap logo, I wondered why it said SC. If you hadn't stated that it was a BC, I wouldn't have known.

Another thing that crossed my mind when first seeing this is the name. This is a Civil War colonel, but would it be acceptable for a Southern state to glorify its confederate history (naturally I am assuming this is not a colonel from the North)? I know in many southern states it is not uncommon to see a confederate flag flying, and it doesn't necessarily mean they believe in everything the Confederate States stood for, so maybe it's okay. The answer could be as simple as none of this truly matters since it's just for fun and I'd totally get that.

[Mr. Aware Eagle]

Birmingham looks great! I love the hat logo.

[AAO]

Oh man. Looking forward to this one. Good job so far.

[dgnmrwrw]

Thanks all for the feedback. Several people mentioned the cap logo, how it looked like SC and how they wanted to see a larger version. Again, check the linked copy in each teams description for more detailed looks at some of the logos. (I'm not showing each one in the post itself to cut down on post length.) But here's the Birmingham cap logo:

Personally, I see BC, not SC. But that may just be because I'm the one attached to the process of creating the design and have been staring at it for months. So if lots of people think it still looks like SC, I'll definitely look at tweaking the interaction of the letterforms to make it clearer.

And while we're at it, what's the feeling on my comments about the Green Bay/Madison decision? Even though GB is significantly smaller, does it's geographic location (i.e., farther away from established MLB franchises) make up for that? Or should I start reworking that concept to be located in Madison?

[dgnmrwrw]

@jaha: I forgot to address your thoughts in my previous post. Your concern about the Confederate association was my biggest concern with this team. I tried to avoid overtly provocative imagery--such as the Confederate battle flag--but there's no doubt, looking at this particular colonel, which historical era he comes from, and which side he's on. Of course, other teams get away with this (Ole Miss comes immediately to mind), but it certainly could be an issue.

Again, hopefully the overall identity--especially the uniforms--aren't blatantly offensive or provocative. But if it seems to be a problem with lots of people, I may go back and rework the logos. (I had considered using the BC/sword logo as the primary, and only having the colonel's head as an alternate/shoulder logo. I didn't because it was too similar to another team's design.)

[eriqjaffe]

Thanks all for the feedback. Several people mentioned the cap logo, how it looked like SC and how they wanted to see a larger version. Again, check the linked copy in each teams description for more detailed looks at some of the logos. (I'm not showing each one in the post itself to cut down on post length.)

Personally, I see BC, not SC. But that may just be because I'm the one attached to the process of creating the design and have been staring at it for months. So if lots of people think it still looks like SC, I'll definitely look at tweaking the interaction of the letterforms to make it clearer.

The larger the logo is, the clearer the SC is. When it's smaller, you lose the small "tails" of the B that slide behind the C. If you want to keep the interlocking, maybe reverse it so that it looks a bit more like a "2" from far away? I don't think that would be as visually confusing, since we're conditioned to see interlocking letters, not interlocking numbers.

[TalktoChuck]

Thanks all for the feedback. Several people mentioned the cap logo, how it looked like SC and how they wanted to see a larger version. Again, check the linked copy in each teams description for more detailed looks at some of the logos. (I'm not showing each one in the post itself to cut down on post length.)

Personally, I see BC, not SC. But that may just be because I'm the one attached to the process of creating the design and have been staring at it for months. So if lots of people think it still looks like SC, I'll definitely look at tweaking the interaction of the letterforms to make it clearer.

The larger the logo is, the clearer the SC is. When it's smaller, you lose the small "tails" of the B that slide behind the C. If you want to keep the interlocking, maybe reverse it so that it looks a bit more like a "2" from far away? I don't think that would be as visually confusing, since we're conditioned to see interlocking letters, not interlocking numbers.

I think this would solve the "problem" (I see the BC without a problem as it is now). Just reverse the sides where the B is cut off, so the top cuts off the back side and the bottom cuts off the front side.

[mbannon92]

And picking up where jaha left of is dgnmrwrw with what looks to be a sweet series!

Albuquerque and Birmingham both look really nice. Great typography.

For Albuquerque, the only suggestion I might make would be to add a little more navy to the home jerseys, but I kinda like the bigger focus on navy on the roads.

For Birmingham, I'm with the others on the cap logo. Also, the coloring on the white and blue jerseys is bugging me. I hate it when the front number is different than all the rest. I would make the back number red on the white jersey, and white on the blue jersey. Then you'd have more consistency between home and road and between the two alts.

Can't wait for Indy!

[GeauxColonels]

Agreed that the "BC" is much clearer with the bigger image. I too think that swapping the overlaps may help a lot.

[jaha32]

@jaha: I forgot to address your thoughts in my previous post. Your concern about the Confederate association was my biggest concern with this team. I tried to avoid overtly provocative imagery--such as the Confederate battle flag--but there's no doubt, looking at this particular colonel, which historical era he comes from, and which side he's on. Of course, other teams get away with this (Ole Miss comes immediately to mind), but it certainly could be an issue.

Again, hopefully the overall identity--especially the uniforms--aren't blatantly offensive or provocative. But if it seems to be a problem with lots of people, I may go back and rework the logos. (I had considered using the BC/sword logo as the primary, and only having the colonel's head as an alternate/shoulder logo. I didn't because it was too similar to another team's design.)

Yeah, I suppose if Ole Miss can get away with it, there's no reason it would be an issue in Alabama either.

[Varsity Blue]

This is really a great logo, but for a cap it's pretty busy. I think a well defined CB would work better.

[dgnmrwrw]

Okay, here's a look at three potential cap logo variations. On the left is the original as posted. In the center is the reversed overlapping, as suggested. On the right is a new option, with the C overlapping the B only on the left, and the B overlapping the C on the right.

To me, they all work fine, working within the assumption that it's part of a larger brand and the name "Birmingham Colonels" is firmly established in the viewer's mind. This may not be good enough. Of course, part of me says that it's okay if the monogram requires a second look; the crossed swords help to reinforce the image's meaning.

But if none of these seems to be clear enough, I could go with just the B with crossed swords. I wanted to avoid this because there are already two other teams with B cap logos, and I liked how this one was a little distinct.

So everyone weigh in.

[DomTheAthlete29]

The one on the far right is on the money.. Excellent.

[Turkleton]

The shoulder striping reminds me of an nfl team (can't recall which on ATM) but it looks so much better on a baseball uniform an I agree with the other guys the cap logo looks to much like sc

San Diego Chargers...?

Im not an expert in baseball logos so I wont comment too much other than to say that I like your work. I personally cant fault anything you've done here, other than to agree with the sentiments about the cap logo being abit busy. My favourite logo is actually the CIBL logo you've created, its superb.

Very, very nice work. I shall be keeping track of this here thread

[illwauk]

And while we're at it, what's the feeling on my comments about the Green Bay/Madison decision? Even though GB is significantly smaller, does it's geographic location (i.e., farther away from established MLB franchises) make up for that? Or should I start reworking that concept to be located in Madison?

Green Bay is further from Milwaukee by about 30 miles, so while it is further away, it's not by a significant enough amount to justify their having a franchise over Madison, IMHO.

If you still feel Madison is too close to established MLB clubs, I would suggest Appleton. It's in the same general area of the state as Green Bay, but the metro area is almost twice as large and it has a -ton of history in MiLB (9 Midwest League titles)... even more-so than Madison.

[oaklandhusker]

In the first one I see an S, in the second I see a 2, and in the third I see a 3. Funny how that works out, with the 2 and the 3. But it might be better to go with just the S or just the C.

[DomTheAthlete29]

In the first one I see an S, in the second I see a 2, and in the third I see a 3. Funny how that works out, with the 2 and the 3. But it might be better to go with just the S or just the C.

Why would he go with a S

[insert post of the day graphic]

[oaklandhusker]

In the first one I see an S, in the second I see a 2, and in the third I see a 3. Funny how that works out, with the 2 and the 3. But it might be better to go with just the S or just the C.

Why would he go with a S

[insert post of the day graphic]

Shoot, I meant B. Sorry.

[Whittier S]

Okay, here's a look at three potential cap logo variations. On the left is the original as posted. In the center is the reversed overlapping, as suggested. On the right is a new option, with the C overlapping the B only on the left, and the B overlapping the C on the right.

To me, they all work fine, working within the assumption that it's part of a larger brand and the name "Birmingham Colonels" is firmly established in the viewer's mind. This may not be good enough. Of course, part of me says that it's okay if the monogram requires a second look; the crossed swords help to reinforce the image's meaning.

But if none of these seems to be clear enough, I could go with just the B with crossed swords. I wanted to avoid this because there are already two other teams with B cap logos, and I liked how this one was a little distinct.

So everyone weigh in.

I don't think the interlocking letters work at all. From left to right, they do not read to me as B B B, but as 5 2 3. I'll give some thought as to what might work.