Revisit

He shoots, he scores!

For hockey fans, this is a phrase synonymous with success, a cliché evoking the fullest degree of emotion. A reaction, which can bring fans out of their seats to fever pitched cheers, high fives, and chest thumps.

This emotional cue is to hockey, what the Slam Dunk is in Basketball, the Touchdown is to Football, and the Home Run is to Baseball. These adrenaline highs are what fuel the passion and excitement of sporting fans around the world.

Fans are captivated by their teams and find a sense of belonging by associating and bonding with fans who share this common interest. Dedicated team fans (fanatics) go to great lengths to identify themselves.

How often during televised broadcasts do you see the painted-faced fans getting screen time, or bare-chested men during frigid weather, or custom banners being waved in the crowd? People identify with their teams and go to sometimes, absurd levels to promote and protect the integrity of their team. When it comes to identification, their team is defined by the logo.

The sports merchandising industry hinges on the successful promotion of the franchises’ branded goods. Logos drive these goods and appear on Jerseys, Jackets, Ball Caps, etc. In recent years, an increasing amount of sports franchises have re-branded their team by introducing new logos and new uniforms. For hockey fans, re-branding translates to new jerseys, or if you are an old time hockey fan, new sweaters.

The professional hockey club in the D.C. metro area, where I live, is the Washington Capitals. Today, June 22, 2007, the franchise will unveil its newest logo. This will be the third logo since the team’s entrance into the league in 1974.

I must say as both a fan and a designer, I am not in favor of the new solution the Caps arrived at, but perhaps after the official unveiling, and some new details are revealed, my mind will have changed some. A sneak peak of the newest jersey reveals a return to the original typographic layout and the departure of the previous iteration’s eagle, in favor of a new eagle with an upward swoop on the wings.

Here is the chronology of the club’s logos:

Here are the club’s jerseys:

Analysis:

The original logo has been very popular with the fans and is now looked upon favorably, the way many other franchises view their “retro” historical jerseys. From a design perspective, it is very simple. The shape is a backwards slant which accommodates the natural lean and curvature of the stick. Likewise, the shape of the letter forms naturally integrate with the curve of the stick demonstrating the same fluidity. The stick serves as the icon and is called out through contrast of color (red) with the blue type. The blue puck serves as an accent. The dotting of the stick to form a “t” is a visual disconnect as the crossing of the “t” dots are muddled with the dotting of the “I”.

The re-branding from 1996 is two-fold, one eagle design and one logo featuring The Capitol. The eagle resonated well with me the first time I saw it. The strong icon of the bald eagle echoes deep within every American and coupled with the stars makes a solid patriotic connection. The shape is aggressive showing movement, always good for a hockey image, while still retaining simplicity.

Contrastly, the logo featuring The Capitol is a bit more complex and involves many more conceptual elements aside from it being more detailed. It features type, a puck, sticks, stars, and The Capitol. I like the repetition of color and re-usage of the stars between the two logos, but aside from that, this one does not stand out as much. Conceptually, I’m ok with the usage of The Capitol as it does convey our nation’s capital. At the same time, it is “The Capitol,” so if one were asked what the Capitals stand for, there could be a mix-up with the meaning, capital city versus Capitol building. I digress.

My initial reaction to the new logo was negative. Perhaps if I had seen it on a color other than red, I might have had a different reaction, but you can never go back to receive another first impression. The color is very bright and while it does draw attention, it is overpowering. Personally, as a fan, I wanted to see the original look and feel coupled with the 90′s eagle logo.

The new logo effectively re-implements the type treatment from the original logo. The type is modern and edgy yet not too daring. The “t” and “l” are rather high for my taste. The type comes across modern and edgy, yet not too daring. I particularly like how the type solves the previous issue with the dotting of the “t”. This version features a cross bar which does not separate from the form of the letter, and I like how it the counter space in the “a” repeats the direction of the cross bar in the “t”.

The repetition of the stars from the old logo will also help reinforce the retro style, however I am undecided on the placement of the puck.

The eagle much like the glaring red jersey, was also a negative reaction I had. I would assume it’s a bald eagle and it is stemming from the (W)ashington letterform, it does not do much conceptually or visually for me. There are plenty of birds out there similar to this. Conceptually compared to the 90’s version, it does not stack-up.

Conclusion:
The jury isn’t totally out on this yet, as we haven’t seen everything, and obviously, I’m just one fan. Perhaps this is an alternate third jersey. I am attending the “unveiling” tonight, so I’ll have to post an follow-up article. Please feel free to respond in the meantime.

See Capitals Logo Follow-Up for the follow-up article.

*Note: I am not associated, nor have any connection or inside knowledge of the Washington Capitals Organization or any of the designers associated with this project.