Bismarck Wheat Kings (updated based on users' feedbacks)

[RoughRiders99]

Hi guys,

You might've already seen my old threads before about me doing a fantasy baseball league. I created up to 20 teams, with logo sets and uniforms and everything. Now, with so many teams, there's bound to be some ugly teams here and there, so I want to improve on these teams. One of them is the Bismarck Wheat Kings, a team located in North Dakota. But if you look at the current logo set above with the bold gold on it, I kinda feel like it doesn't scream Wheat Kings to me. It's too sci-fi for me maybe? Anyway, because of this, I wanted to update/tweak/upgrade/overhaul/whatever the set so the team will fit with the name better and make it more of a baseball logo.

This is my progress so far:

The black stays, but the yellow is converted to a better shade of gold (similar to the Royals and Brewers gold) and hopefully the sci-fi element of it is gone. In this set, you'll see the home and road wordmark along with a cap logo, the W-wheat logo, in the black square.

Right now it's just a progress, so what I ask of you is how could I complete the logo set? How can I build the logo set around that W-wheat logo? What the uniforms should look like? Vests? Pinstripes? Pipings? etc

Thanks for the C+C!!

[bigshampagne]

the updates are awesome. nice job

[eagle98]

That update is an enormous upgrade. The only things I might change are the serifs and shadows on the wordmark.

[Jake3roo]

I think it's great!

[oaklandhusker]

I quite like the old look, actually.

I would try moving the gold color just a bit closer to the original gold. Right now, it's a very dark concept, sort of stuffy (like something you would see on an old billionaire who wears baseball caps at a state dinner).

I can't think of any alternatives, but the little dip in KINGS for the first word of the name just doesn't work for me.

The double shadow, if that's the right word, is a bit much.

Probably because you said sci-fi, I keep seeing a really cool alien in the new cap logo.

[JTswag187]

Do what the Braves did in the 70s on the sleeves:

[1clkgtramg]

Wow, great update! My only suggestion would be the cap logo, i'd like to see the "W" cut in half to somewhat resemble a crown as well. Also if you are feeling adventurous, it seems possible to make a very subtle "B" and "K" out of the wheat.

[RoughRiders99]

Updated based on what some of the users here have provided. I personally think the updated wheat logo looks MUCH better and you are right! It does resemble a crown! And as for the subtle B and K, I'm not quite sure exactly what you mean? I think the way the W-wheat logo worked is because the way the W is shaped. But with the B and the K, it'd look maybe too awkward and forced...? And as for the wordmarks, I did away with the drop shadows and went back with the traditional outlines.

What do you think? Better? Worse?

Also, what do you think a primary logo should look like? Right now what we see is just the cap logo and the home/away wordmarks.

And if it helps, here's the back story of this team:

We are in our second year of a keepers league. This team actually joined the league at the very last minute, just hours before the draft. Due to the scrambling, the Bismarck Wheat Kings, located in North Dakota, were forced to play in the Atlantic Division, which had four other teams all based in the NYC/Boston area. So for the 2013 season, they were the odd team out. They ended up going 8-14 and finished fourth in the division, 16th overall out of 20 teams. But for the 2014 season, they relocated to the Pacific Division (California, Iowa (yes I know, Iowa is still one of the most western teams in the league), Portland and Seattle) to improve their travel times. They are 3-5 so far on this season.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and providing C+C on this!

EDIT:

Just added some potential uniforms. I couldn't tell if the Wheat Kings would be that type of team that could have an off-colored home whites/road grays. So I decided to show them both to see which combination you'd like the best. The black jersey would be interchangeable with the home/road pants regardless of regular or off-colored. As for the sleeve stripes, I tried to emulate the wheat pattern on it and after looking at it, it could also represent the "royalty" somehow akin to the roman empire or something like that, if that make sense...? Like you see some of these leaves on a presidential seal or a country flag or whatever.

[oaklandhusker]

See, the problem I had with the wordmarks is made clearer with the uniforms you created. I can read BISMARK fine. I can read KINGS fine. But on top of the KINGS is a little smudge, like I need to wipe off my screen. I just think you need to incorporate the Wheat part of the name in a different way.

[RoughRiders99]

See, the problem I had with the wordmarks is made clearer with the uniforms you created. I can read BISMARK fine. I can read KINGS fine. But on top of the KINGS is a little smudge, like I need to wipe off my screen. I just think you need to incorporate the Wheat part of the name in a different way.

Ah, that makes sense now! Thanks for clearing that up because at first I wasn't sure what you were talking about.

But yeah, I'll see what I can do with 'Wheat.' Maybe I'll find a use for it, maybe not. I just know that most of the time, we (the league) usually just shorten up their names to the Kings, kinda like the Jays or the Sox in MLB.

Thanks again! :-)