Sunday, October 23, 2011

11 11 11

Icons for an event on Nov. 11th for work:















Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Amulets






Berepper Brewage

My friend Matt and his family have been brewing their own beer for a while now, and recently asked for my help with an identity and label design.

Here are the latest three:



and here are the earlier rounds:




Sunday, October 16, 2011

Houston Texans

Once the Oilers, now the Texans (a revival of the original Dallas Texans).
Below is the current logo:



The typeface is fine, but it echoes the oversimplification of the bull mark. I understand the nod to the Texas flag but it's still too plain and executed poorly.

If you want to use an animal why not use the whole body like the Lions, or the Bills?


I propose a stylized bull charging (full body) in gold with a blue stroke on a white helmet. Even my wife agrees, "there are too many blue and red teams"

The gold is to separate the team from the pack a little - keeping away from the strict blue and red teams we see so often (Bills, Patriots, Giants, Titans)






Saturday, October 15, 2011

San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers - amazing team with a rich history - forget about the Super Bowl blowout against the Chargers :(

In 1996 the 49ers changed their helmet decal to what you see here:


They added a tapered gold ellipse around the red oval and a solid drop shadow the the "SF." One thing that always bothered me about the logo is that the "S" is above the "F" and not interlocked. Why wouldn't it be? Is there anything gained by the gold stroke around the red oval? Seems superfluous. I can't help but reiterate that the old logos are what sells. Everyone is buying old merch, not new.



My logo proposes the interlocking of the "S" and the "F" and the removal of that gold stroke. As well as a return to the bright red instead of the maroon that the team has adopted lately.

Here is a look at the current logotype:



Below is my attempt at something new:


The old time, wild west type had to go, no question. So the logical solution would be a serif type - which they used in the updated logo, but I am proposing a cleaner look. Here I've used Baskerville Italic. The type is relevant to the period (1849) but not so dated that the type doesn't apply to contemporary design sensibilities. I also put more emphasis on the time period by making the type "gold" instead of red.

Black and white application:

I've also created a secondary icon of the 49er himself:


Here is a look at the helmet and uniform:


Tennessee Titans

I'm not saying the current Titans identity is terrible, I just think it could be better. The flames and the "T" sword are great attempts, but too juvenile for the NFL. For being a team that was acquired from the Houston Oilers, one of the best logos of the 90s and still has a presence in the NFL merchandising market, it feels appropriate that a similar iconography should follow through to the new team.




The current identity is like most expansion teams, too modern. I understand the attempt to hang onto the Oilers blue but the rest is hopelessly arbitrary. Tennessee (Nashville in particular) is a state know for it's contributions to the word of music. "Country stars" or "6-string slingers" are out of the question as far as team names, but are Titans a true representation of the state?



The Tennessee state flag (which the current logo has appropriated the three stars from) is very graphic and memorable. Why complicate it with odes to Greek mythology a la "Jason and the Argonauts?"

Here is my version of the icon for the Titans - a direct pickup of the 3 stars from the flag with some embellishments to modernize the icon.


Kept the white helmet and blue face mask - but changed the stripes on the helmet from blue to red. I wanted to keep the icon from the flag, but not go completely literal but having a red helmet with the blue circle and 3 stars.

Below are the logotype and uniform:



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