Here’s my follow-up to Washington Capitals Logo Design.
It has been a few weeks since the Capitals Draft Party and now that I have seen the logo, the buzz is over with, and I have time to think about it, I have come to the same conclusion. The new logo is a bit more modern, but still needs work. The uniforms are flat and do not have the mezmorizing quality that the original franchise sweaters had with their red, white, and blue stars.
Listed below from left to right is the Capitals new sleeve eagle logo, the Pontiac Firebird logo, and the D.C. United logo. I did not see the negative space Capitol in my initial analysis, but it’s probably better that I didn’t. The form is contrived and does not add to the design. It is clever, but I fail to see the meaning that it adds.
My initial reaction to the secondary logo evoked thoughts of Smokey and the Bandit, so there wasn’t enough difference I suppose for me to get excited about.
Another point, which might be valid is the fact that Washington sports already have this form represented in the D.C. United, who feature the same poised eagle.
I suppose birds of a feather flock together.
Addendum: 7/10/07
I sorted through my papers to find one of the handouts from the Capitals Draft Party. I must say, the materials the Capitals PR put together were very nice. The event was promoted very well! Here is the card, you can click on it for more detail.
Anyone who wants to delve further into the Washington Capitals uniform subject further should check out capsjerseys.com.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
i totally agree. i think the logo and the colors need one more round of development. perhaps a dark blue jersey with just “caps” in the same font. the trim is also distracting. call me crazy, but i sort of dig the logo they were proposing in 2001 more than what they have now.
Very interesting writings. thanks for sharing.
I was watching a game and thought the W hawk logo looked awful so I hit the web in search of a more detailed copy.
The W does not work for me at all. overly complex and to many colors. however the text logo I find effective. but every team needs a text and icon logo. so I would like to see the caps revisit their icon.
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. The 90′s eagle was their best logo ever. Simple but agressive. I wear a blue-over-blue authentic 90′s away jersey to the games, and I think that was their best jersey ever, with the white-over-blue coming in second.
I also was hoping they would port the old eagle to a red white & blue jersey.
I have the weekend plan, and have gone to several weekday games this year as well, and I must admit that even though the 90′s eagle is my favorite logo, the new eagle (or Weagle as some call it) is growing on me, and I broke down and ordered a new authentic jersey which is supposed to arrive today. I think it has more to do with me wanting to wear the same jersey as the team more than my desire to display the new logos. I am sure I will continue to wear my old jerseys to the games as well.
While I understand the nostalgia with a logo similar to the 80′s uniform, I think it was a poor choice to make the primary logo essentially text again. This is even what is used on tiny icons on internet sites. The puck and stars are like 1 or 2 pixels each on the nhl.com navigation bar, and you cannot read the word “Capitals” very well at all.
Well, maybe in about 10 years, we’ll get new logos. I think it is pretty definite they won’t change them anytime soon.
They created a tournament of NHL logos, at http://nhllogos.blogspot.com/search/label/open%20poll
The Weagle won first prize in the “secondary logo” tournament. Check it out!
Aree you guys all on crack? the 90′s blue jerseys were HORRIBLE. These new jerseys bring back a sense of the original (and awesome) jerseys but with a fresh new look. I can’t believe anyone actually liked the blue jerseys, awful!
The eagle jersey was horrible as well as the capitol building one. Horrrrrible.