Wednesday, August 1: What Might Have Been

Today I have a re-imagining of some uniforms which could have been from Canucks history. I remember reading (on Icethetics, I think) that the logo which is now use for the WHL's Vancouver Giants was originally intended to be a Canucks logo. This makes a lot of sense, as it plays on the Johnny Canuck/Lumberjack motif, which is not the first image that pops into my mind when the word "Giant" is mentioned. Ultimately this logo was rejected by the Canucks, but has found a happy home on the front of the Giant's sweaters ever since they joined the WHL in 2001.

The fact that this logo was first rejected by the Canucks, and then introduced by the Giants in 2001, leads one to think that this logo may have been considered when planning the new alternate sweater which the Canucks introduced in 2001. This would have been a major departure from the Orca Bay logos, and a huge step back in line with the original Canucks identity. Perhaps the Third jersey would have ended up looking something like this:

As you can see, I have maintained the layout of the third jersey worn from 2001-2006, but have used an updated version of the Giants crest instead of the Orca. I have simplified the Giants crest to instead be a V shape (for Vancouver), instead of a G shape (for Giants). I have also altered the colour scheme to fit the colour scheme worn by the Canucks from 1997-2007 (the fact that this recolouring does not appear forced, also adds soem legitimacy to the thought that the Giants logo was originally intended as a Canucks logo). I maintained maple leaf detail on the Lumberjack's sleeve, however, did try to make it more subtle. I do think that it is kind of tacky for a Canadian team to feel obliged to put a maple leaf somewhere in their logo, but Canuck is a slang term for Canadian, so I don't feel that the inclusion of a maple leaf is unwarranted.

Just for fun I have also included home and road sweaters which go along with this concept. I based them off of where I felt that the third jersey design, and other similarly progressive jersey designs from 2001 in the NHL, were leading.  Hope you enjoy!

So that's that. Fun to relive one of my favourite eras from Canucks history, and do a bit of historical re-imagination, and a bit of logo alteration. All around good times. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

Come back on friday to see some more concepts from contributor Steven Grant.

I will be back on the weekend, but can't promise a post, however I will be able to publish any comments which you have submitted in the past week. 

Thanks for reading!

Saturday, July 28: A flash back to my earliest ever jersey designs.

Hey everyone, I really appreciate you stopping by to the site. Running this blog has been a lot of fun for me, and it has been really good to share ideas and receive feedback on my designs. I feel that as a concept designer I have only improved since starting up this blog. But it has not been as easy as I thought. I am constantly challenged to create fresh and creative concepts o a regular basis to post on SOAC. I guess this is to say, I have been getting a lot of practice with designing hockey sweaters. The old saying practice makes perfect does not apply to me and my designs, but practice certainly makes better.

Last month I won my first COTW on HJC, and this concept went on to beat out some fantastic designs to claim the COTM for June. Since submitting this concept I actually worked with some more suggestions and improved the road sweater (you can check out what the finished product looks like on the final concepts page).

I have been designing jerseys on my computer for about a year and a half now, and have been drawing hockey players and hockey jerseys in notebooks for many years before I realized people actually did this on their computers, and posted their work online. This has become such a fun hobby for me, but I want to look backwards today and encourage anybody who is just starting off, by looking back at some of my early jersey designs.

Many of the designs you have seen me post here on SOAC have been incubating for years. You may remember this design from one of the very first concept posts from this site. It wen through many evolutions before the final product was complete. I tried many different templates, and many different ideas for arm striping. I also made many errors along the way.

My most recent Canucks concept which I made up before working on the designs which would wind up on SOAC, was this one. I concept which I polished up in February 2012 and printed off to take to a David Booth signing (I don't like to get jerseys signed, because, then I feel like I can't ever wear them again... and I didn't have a Booth card, so I made up and printed off a custom Booth concept!). I wanted to make sure it was polished, but I still made the error of not putting the hem stripes over top of the jersey stitching.

Here is another version of the home concept which I made in June 2012. It is essentially the same sort of concept as the previous one, but lacks polish, and does not have the skills applied to it that I learned and applied to the previous concept. I don't have shoulder patches properly applied to both sides of the sweater, and I make the same mistake with the hem striping. Also, the experimentation in the sleeve striping just doesn't look good, it doesn't even compare with the finished product.

Taking an even bigger step back we arrive at some of the earliest Canucks designs I did during my first month of concept designing in February 2011. For the away sweater, note how the striping has basically stayed the same all throughout the process of designing this sweater. Also look at the TV numbers... they are drawn freehand! I didn't know how to rotate numbers by a few degrees, and hadn't found a template where I could apply them horizontally, so I drew them on. Interestingly, I didn't make the mistake with the hem striping not going over top of the jersey stitching on these concepts. I can assure you I did not get this right consciously.

I guess the point of this post is everyone has to start somewhere. I am not saying I am the best designer in the world (I am clearly not), but I am saying that I have improved with practice. There is still a long way for me to go, and may things for me to learn, but I will keep doing this as long as I enjoy it, because that is the main thing.

I started doing this just for fun, while I listened to the radio broadcast of Canucks games in the late 90's/early 2000's. I started by just colouring jerseys, and it has evolved into something much more sophisticated than that. Recently, I dug up some of my very jersey designs (which were made on index cards which I cut into the shape of a hockey sweater, and coloured with pencil crayon). I made these up and hung them from a string to decorate my bedroom.

    

    

   

    

    

As you can tell, the ideas which show up on these concepts have influenced designs I have posted on SOAC. I also want to point out that a twelve year old came up with the idea for a blue and green orca uniform 5 years before the Canucks did. That fact puts how awful our current uniforms are in perspective, eh?  :)

Anyways, thanks for  stopping by. I'm sorry that I have had to scrap one of my posts next week. I just haven't had time to write it between packing and finishing up course work for summer term. There will be a post on wednesday (which will be well worth stopping by to read), and a contributors concept post on friday. I get back on thursday night, so will probably have time to write the post which was intended for monday then, and will probably post it on the weekend.

Thanks for reading!

Let's wrap this up.

Okay everyone. I am getting tired of working on these Winter Classic uniforms. I have been working on these for a few weeks on the blog, plus a week or so before I posted them, and these concepts have been floating in my mind for a few months. Needless to say, I just want to finish these up.

I am going to treat them as straight-up throwbacks, and not include any Canucks branding on them, not even a hidden blue-on-blue shoulder patch. When the Canucks participate in an outdoor game, I predict that they will blend the Canucks and Millionaires brands, and include the Stick in the Rink logo somewhere on the uniform. However, what I am creating are not intended as predictions, they are concepts, and I think that they are indeed better without that logo on them.

Also, with the inclusion of a Winter Classic patch on the jersey, if there were shoulder patches, the jersey could be very cluttered. Most of the "Classic" jerseys have not had shoulder patches for this reason (Detroit's in 2009 being the only exception, although shoulder patches were also added to Chicago's 2009 Winter Classic jersey following the 2009 season, when this uniform began to be worn as a full time alternate).

For these reasons, in addition to many suggestions by respected contributers to leave them off the sweaters, I will leave them off. Instead I have added a generic Winter Classic shoulder patch on all concepts, which was designed by Ryan Haslett, who runs HJC.

Also with the elimination of the shoulder patches I took the opportunity to make the numbers on the sleeves larger, as well as the numbers on the back. I think this adds to the vintage feel.

So with those most recent alterations made, the jerseys, as I see them, are complete (obviously if you have any brilliant ideas, still pass them along). The uniforms are not, though.

The home/dark uniform is perhaps simpler in putting together than the away uniform, because there is an existing Millionaires uniform from which to model them. This home uniform will be as close to a direct throwback as possible. Vintage white (faux-canvas) pants, brown (faux-leather) gloves. However, we do hit a snag when we come to the decision of what the helmet should look like. The Millionaires did not wear helmets, so we have some freedom as to what colour we make them.

For the away/light version of the sweater, I experimented with a number of different options. one thing was very clear from that: having socks which are mainly vintage white does not work, if the socks are not mostly blue, there is simply too much vintage white. As well, I was having some hang ups with using vintage white pants with the mainly vintage white jersey, I thought that huge vintage white area would be a bit awkward, in reaction to this, I created a couple concepts using brown pants instead. I thought they looked pretty decent so I applied the same treatment to some home uniform concepts as well.

I think a plain blue helmet looks best, but a brown one, to create the illusion of a leather helmet could work. I have arranged all the equipment in the way it would look on a player, so we can get a good feel of how the uniform looks as a whole.


Enough talking, on to the concepts:

HOME OPTION 1:

HOME OPTION 2:

HOME OPTION 3:

HOME OPTION 4:

AWAY OPTION 1:

AWAY OPTION 2:

AWAY OPTION 3:

AWAY OPTION 4:

There are two separate polls for you to cast your vote for your favourite version of the home and away uniforms. And, as always, feel free to leave suggestions, or voice your opinions in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Continuing to Conceive a Canucks Classic

Yesterday I mentioned that there were options when it came to the away version of the Millionaires inspired Canucks Winter Classic jerseys.

Back in 1915 it was very rare for a team to have home and road sweaters. And the Vancouver Millionaires were no different. So, for me there is no light sweater off of which to base a Millionaires inspired Canucks road concept.

The best option seems to be to let the dark jersey dictate what the light jersey will look like. Basically all the choices will be made in terms of vintage white or not, and the striping pattern when we work out which route to take with the home version of the sweater. The away version will match. However, I am a big fan of the shoulder yoke when used on a lighter coloured jersey, and I think it could really work in this case. Let me know what you think!

white:

vintage white:

white with yoke:

vintage white with yoke:

Thanks for reading!

Making the Canucks Look Like a Million Bucks

Once the 2013 winter classic is complete, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Winnipeg will be the only Canadian teams which have not participated in an outdoor game. The Vancouver Millionaires defeated the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup in 1915. A 2015 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and Senators to commemorate the 1ooth anniversary of that match seems a very likely possibility. I, however, would be very disappointed to have to wait that long to see the Canucks in an outdoor game. The Canucks are one of the best teams in the NHL right now, and they are as popular and widely supported as they have ever been. In my opinion, if the NHL waited until 2015 to put the Canucks in a "classic" game, it would be a huge mistake.

One thing that this outdoor game possibility has right is the Vancouver Millionaires. Any defensive Vancouverite, when mocked by a Calgarian about the number of Stanley Cups won by their team will pull out the Millionaires, saying something like "Well, Vancouver has won a Stanley Cup..."

Recently, the Canucks bought the rights to the Millionaires brand, and it seems like a sure thing that the Canucks will wear Millionaires inspired sweaters when they get their shot at playing in a classic.

Millionaires throwback uniforms have been done in Vancouver. The WHL Vancouver Giants have worn them in the past. But the problem with a direct Millionaires throwback is that it does not embody any of the Canucks brand. The Giants wear burgundy, so to switch to a burgundy uniform with the "Vancouver V" crest on the front did not really threaten their brand. For the Canucks, at this point to introduce any new colours would hurt their brand.

These jerseys were pretty cool, and had all the elements of a classic jersey. Sweet old-school striping, a simple logo, and the most important thing for any classic uniform: a lace-up collar. All in all, these uniforms do scream retro, and represent Vancouver really well, but they do not represent the Canucks very well, mainly because of the colour scheme.

So, the solution seems pretty obvious to me. Millionaires jerseys in the Canucks' blue, white, green colour scheme. However, one question still remains: to vintage white, or not to vintage white?

Today's post will include options for a dark sweater. I will show each one with white, and vintage white. All concepts use the classic 4 bars on the arm striping, a lace-up collar, and the Millionaires "Vancouver V" logo. I have used a darker blue than the Canucks usually wear, but it is still technically part of the Canucks colour scheme, because it is used in their logos. Also, to add some more Canucks flavour to the uniforms, I have included a subtle stick in the rink logo on the shoulders in a slightly lighter blue. here they are:

Classic Concept 1

white:

vintage white:

For this first set of jerseys I have only used the dark blue, and have basically subbed it for the maroon. For the Numbers I have used a stitched on style like Buffalo did with their anniversary jerseys. Again notice the subtle stick in the rink shoulder patches.

Although I feel that these jerseys stay true to both the heritage of the millionaires and the identity of the Canucks, some might criticize these sweaters for looking like they belong to Toronto, because of the simple blue and white colour scheme. These next options consider how best to include green on the sweaters.

Classic Concept 2:

white:

vintage white:

I have added green between the white arm stripes to bring in some more of the Canucks' identity by including their three main colours. However, the green arm stripes seem like they are trying too hard, and having three of them is too bold in my opinion, and doesn't fit the understated and simple nature of the rest of the sweater. But to have some green on the jersey is important, it just needs to be a bit more subtle.

Classic Concept 3:

white:

vintage white:

By eliminating two of the green arm stripes, I think a simplicity is reached within both the millionaires, and Canucks identities.

I am going to put up a poll where you can vote on your favourite jersey, and whether you think the Canucks should go for the vintage white.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, fell free to share them with me in the comments section. With your help these concepts get better.

check back in the next few days to see me take on some road versions of the millionaires sweater. Ultimately I would like to create a matching set, but there is some flexibility within that. Also, notice I have not included equipment with these sweaters like I normally do, that is because there are decisions on that which I would like your help with as well.

Thanks for reading!

What we've got

In 2007, with the Reebok EDGE, the Canucks introduced new jerseys. This incarnation of the Canucks uniform drew on many elements from the Canucks uniforms of the past. The return to the blue, white, green colour scheme was perhaps the most positive element of these jerseys, and the best thing for the Canucks brand identity. However, by drawing on many different eras from Canucks history, these uniforms do not come across as cohesive.

These uniforms feature:
- the 1970-78 colour scheme (with the addition of silver and a deeper blue as accent colours)
- the 1972-78 striping design
- a recoloured version of the 1997-2007 orca logo

completely new elements including a redesigned stick in the rink logo shoulder patch (akin to the shoulder patch used from 2003-2007), and an arched "VANCOUVER" word mark (arguably a nod back to the WHL Canucks, although I think that this is a stretch) above the orca logo.

THE GOOD:
These jerseys do have some redeeming qualities. The return to the original colour scheme was a very good decision, as well as maintaining the presence of the stick in the rink shoulder patches.

THE BAD:
My main critique of these uniforms is that in trying to unite many incarnations of the Canucks identity into a single identity, a mash up is created, not a single cohesive unit. Beyond that, the elements used to create this mash up are not the key elements of the Canucks identity.

The Orca logo was introduced basically as product placement when the Canucks were purchased by Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, and has caused much confusion as to what a Canuck really is. It is again employed on this jersey, furthering the identity crisis.

Overall the Canucks did some really good things with this jersey set, but missed their huge opportunity hit a home run and solidify their brand identity.

The introduction of the alternate sweater took some a major step in the right direction. It features the stick in the rink as the primary logo, a blue, white, green colour scheme, the letter V and Johnny Canuck on the shoulder patches. My only critique is that this sweater uses a striping design never before seen in Canucks history. The striping pattern is a really good design though, and due to the staying power of this alternate jersey this pattern has become a part of Canucks history. Although it is not as creative as the original uniforms which utilize the negative space V on the sleeves, this striping design is great.

How did we end up here?

When the Canucks entered the National Hockey League in 1970, although they weren't the best team on the ice they were certainly one of the best dressed teams. Unlike other expansion teams (for example the Los Angeles Kings, or the Philadelphia Flyers) which wore bright colour schemes which were decidedly different from the colour palates which hockey fans had come to expect, the Canucks brought a unique colour set different from anything else in the league, yet still in line with the classic uniform stylings of the original six, and representative of their hometown. Blue to represent the ocean, green for the trees, and white for the snow-capped mountains. These original canucks uniforms from 1970 were ripe with staying power, and were poised to become timeless classics.

Beyond the blue, white, green colour scheme these sweaters had other key elements which built a strong identity for the Canucks. A simple crest, the stick in the rink, was something any child could draw, was instantly identifiable with hockey. The crest also acted as a modified "C" for Canucks. However, the most brilliant aspect of this jersey is the "V" hidden on the arm stripes. On this simple jersey, a complete identity was established. 

Unfortunately everything went downhill from there. A more complicated striping pattern was introduced in 1972, which eliminated the "V" in the arm stripes completely. By 1978 the Canucks were wearing the "Flying V" jerseys (perhaps the ugliest sweaters the NHL has ever seen) and their identity which started strong was scrapped within 8 years in favour of a gaudy look which was never accepted by hockey fans.

Throughout the Canucks' tumultuous uniform history, they have gone through numerous jersey changes. They have worn 6 separate primary logos, and 5 different colour schemes. The Canucks have never truly found an identity, nor have they ever allowed enough time for one to develop.

Attempts have been made at rekindling their original identity with the most recent modifications to the uniforms and the introduction of the latest alternate jersey, however, the Canucks seem unwilling to fully commit to this identity, and still wear the orca whale jersey at home and on the road, and in the playoffs. Canucks are not whales. The alternate jersey employs Johnny Canuck a Paul Bunyan-esque character from Canadian folklore on the shoulder patch and in doing so, has for the first time in the history of the NHL Vancouver Canucks drawn this important link between the club and its namesake.

With all this being said, I make it to the point of this blog.

The Canucks are in desperate need of a solid identity. Throughout their history, elements which could function to create this identity have been employed.

I have identified these elements as:
- the blue, white, green colour scheme
- the stick in the rink logo
- the letter V, or a "V" shape
- the character of Johnny Canuck

This is a design blog, and what I will be doing is employing these elements to create a solid uniform set for the Vancouver Canucks. As well, I will be using these key elements of the Canucks' identity to reclaim some of the most horrendous sweaters from the past.

I am not a logo designer, so I will not be designing new logos. I may edit old ones, but will not be creating new ones. Also, I want to be original in what I create, so I will not simply be creating EDGEified versions of old sweaters. I want to create a solid modern identity for the Canucks, as if the uniforms evolved organically from the original Canucks sweaters.