Brick by Brick

Yesterday, Tom and I brought you our list of the best logos from the four major North American sports leagues.  Today, we bring you our list of the worst.

Before diving in, we would just make the point that the people who actually designed these logos are likely not to blame for the end product.  These logos reek of design by committee, where the best options were likely discarded and various concepts were merged.  No matter how talented a designer you are, it is nearly impossible to design something good for someone with bad taste.

5. Anaheim Ducks

Todd

Mistake Number One: In the spirit of “marketing synergy” you name your newly formed hockey team “The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim” after a Disney movie franchise starring  Emilio Estevez.

Mistake Number Two:  You somehow create a logo that is even more ridiculous than the team name.

Mistake Number Three:  In 2006 you finally decide to rebrand, but you inexplicably keep the “Ducks” name and create a logo that conveys absolutely nothing.

Tom

The palette here is an improvement. Gold is a big color in Florida. Every other Chrysler you see in Florida is gold (and is moving at 32 mph in the freeway passing lane). The biggest issue with this logo is the readability. Actually, no. It’s the duck foot. That’s a duck’s foot for the D.  How dare you.

4. Minnesota Wild

Todd

This one just sort of left me confused and angry.  I don’t get it at all.

Tom went to art school or whatever, so I’ll let him try to make sense of this one.

Tom

Let me help Todd and you with what you’re seeing here. A stream inside a forest with a shooting star under a full moon all inside a coyote skull. This has client interaction written all over it. Imagine the hateful creative meetings. The resentment. Sadly, the designer hanged himself minutes after approval.

3. Miami Marlins

Todd

I’m from San Antonio and have been a Spurs fan all my life.  Back in in 1989, the Spurs abandoned their bad ass black and white logo for a “fast breaking Fiesta” version that supposedly represented San Antonio’s multicultural identity or whatever.  I immediately purchased a bunch of t-shirts and hats featuring the old branding and never bought a single piece of merchandise featuring the fiesta logo.  The Spurs finally killed the fiesta colors in 2002 for an updated take on the classic original logo.

The Marlins new logo reminds of those bleak “fast breaking fiesta” days for the Spurs.   If there were any Miami Marlin fans out there, I would feel sorry for them.

I actually think the logo itself might be ok if the palette was good.  But the palette isn’t good.  It really isn’t.

Tom

Todd’s heart-warming story of that festive Spurs logo falls by the wayside to this unfathomable acid-washed jean clothing label from 1985. Baseball logos on the whole are so much better than any other major sport. Where’s the baseball? Where’s the retro type face? Pitchers and catchers reported Monday. Grown men are wearing this Crockett and Tubbs-inspired disgrace right now as you’re reading this.

2. Vancouver Canucks

 

Todd

Nothing screams “Canuck” like an angry whale breaking out of a letter C that has apparently imprisoned him (her?) for years.  Damn you, letter C. I will have my revenge.

Wait.  What just happened?

Tom

Very angry, very tough and I’m guessing (but I don’t feel like googling) the whale is from some Canadian totem. This is pretty dismal as a logo and even as something you might recognize as a C. With that fin sticking down it’s an E. The most basic challenge of the assignment was missed.

1. Toronto Raptors

Todd

The Raptor is wearing basketball shoes that have special holes cut in them for its claws.

Tom

I remember when this nickname was conceived and at the time I figured it was in reaction to the popularity of the Jurassic Park movies. Not that this has anything to do with the logo, but naming your franchise after a monster no one had heard of before a movie came out is like naming your baby Nemo. Or Cloverfield. You will be mocked.

Everything went wrong here. Toronto running across the top of the mark looks tacked on and was highlighted with a silly, out of place triangle pattern. The Raptors font looks cheap and drawn sloppily in Adobe illustrator. The head of the raptor looks strong and should have been the only illustration within that black field, but fleshing out the dribbling figure was forced down someone’s throat and as Todd mentioned, those sneakers happened as well. This is really an unfortunate final product because although I think the name is ill-conceived, with a Raptor as your subject matter, there were some great possibilities to explore. I’m hoping for a much more impressive redesign sometime soon (I refused a movie coming soon joke here).

A few weeks ago the New Orleans Hornets underwent a rebranding, unveiling a new name (the Pelicans) and logo.   Given the catty nature of the Internet, it comes as no surprise that the logo had its share of critics.   I , for one, love the Pelicans logo as does our CCO Tom McCormick.  Tom wrote a post explaining why he thinks the design works.

The conversation about the Pelicans rebranding got Tom and I thinking about which of the major U.S. pro teams had the best and worst logos.   Following is our list of the five best logos from the NBA, MLB (AL and NL), NFL and NHL, along with witty and insightful comments from Tom and I. The list of the worst will follow later in the week (Update: our post featuring the worst logos is up.

5. Detroit Pistons

Todd

If you look through all the NBA logos, you’ll see the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons,  Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers all have similar ball-centric logo layouts.  They are all good, but the Pistons logo is the best of the genre.  I love the colors, typography and relative simplicity.  This updated version of the classic Pistons logo is a huge improvement over the weird horse thing they had going on from 1996 to 2005

Tom

I don’t really know what a piston is. If the mechanic tells me I need some type of piston replacement or maintenance or something, I will nod my head and say, “yeah, I assumed that was the issue, but I don’t have a lift so I need you boys to take it from here”. The mocking, as usual, would begin as I was just out of earshot.

awkward transition

What I like most about this logo is the clear nod back to the ABA. Big, bright and fun without having to play tough guy with some goofy, menacing mark. It’s not like this is the Paris Pistons. It’s Detroit. We know you’re tough.

4. Texans

 

Todd

When I started out reviewing the logos I never would have though the Houston Texans would make my top five.  The logo just wasn’t on my radar.  But the more I looked at this mark the more I appreciated it.  In addition to just sort of looking cool, as a Texas native I like how it evokes the horns from the University of Texas logo and the star from the Dallas Cowboys logo.  It nicely creates a new brand while tipping the hat to the long history of football in the state of Texas.

Tom

I’m sure Todd’s heart is fluttering at the horns here, and would love them in orange, but for me, it’s just a flat out perfect logo. Red, white and blue with a star is easy to screw up. I’ve done a ton of campaign logos to prove that, but here the colors are not traditional 4th of July, they’re a bit cooler. If I were some hillbilly from Texas and 25 years younger I could see this as a tattoo. Not on me of course. I was thinking Todd.

3. Nets

Todd

I love the shield concept for the logo and the use of black and white.  That is also a great font they are using.

Tom

The black and white is instantly cool and the font is right on the money. I was surprised when it came out, and even more surprised at the backlash it received. Weird, but expected these days.

2. Yankees

Todd

The Yankees are a bit confusing, as officially their logo is the ball/bat/hat thing that I don’t love.  This brilliant mark is  still used on their uniforms and caps so we’re counting it.  There is something really confident (arrogant?) about this logo, which is pretty much what the Yankee brand is about.

Tom

The weird N Y design was created in 1877 for a medal to be given by the New York City Police Department to Officer John McDowell, the first NYC policeman shot in the line of duty. That’s a pretty decent back story. The mark itself is the most iconic in sports. Simple. Immediate. Perfect.

1. Raiders

 

Todd

The branding here is so good that Oakland fans have devoted themselves to looking as depraved and frightening as the raider in their iconic logo.

As an aside, you think the Nets design team might have been a bit inspired by the Raiders?

Tom

Somehow this incredibly old school, macho, insanely cool logo hasn’t been upgraded ever, as far as I can tell. One of the few things Al Davis didn’t get his hands on.

Update: Check out our list of the worst logos.

Pelicans are the inglorious flying garbage-trucks of the water-bird kingdom and as such are despised by man, fish and God. Violent, hateful missteps of nature, they fly with the grace of downed aircraft before zeroing in on their prey and skewering it with their beak/spears before stowing it to die slowly in their giant, obscene gullets. It’s a sight you don’t want your children to see. A quick search on YouTube reveals pelicans attacking or eating the following menu items:

• dog
• a baby
• a tv weatherman
• every fisherman it sees
• a truck tire
• the side of a building

So, when I read that the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to the Pelicans, I (rubbed my eyes with my fists, mouth open, then) assumed the branding would be a challenge. Of all the mascots in sports, this could be the toughest to transfer successfully into a logo. I remember that the Mighty Ducks’ logo was a goofy hybrid of Disney and those Friday the 13th movies.

That was somewhat close to what I expected here. A composite of a friendly (please), silly bird and a saxophone over a Mardi Gras theme. I’ve seen a number of talented designers submit their Pelican logo designs to various publications and although most are very professional and pretty well thought out, none are as successful as what was introduced yesterday as the official logo.

Tada! Finally, the real face of a pelican. Red eyes. Wings in full attack posture. Surely on his way to spearing a wayward puppy or slow-moving reporter (please go to YouTube).

The NBA seems to demand  that a basketball be in the main logo of every team and while that’s clearly insane, the design here incorporates it with little trouble. The font is right on the money, the fleur-de-lis is a cool touch up top and the palette seems close enough (I might have adjusted that red to a weirder Mardi Gras color). Graphic Designer Rodney Richardson took a graceless fiend of a mascot, an animal New Orleans is unlucky enough to saddled with and made a superior logo. With typical and unnecessary first impression comments like “Color me a little disappointed… Basically, the designers didn’t need to make the pelican look angry” from sports blogger Kelly Dwyer floating around, I thought I’d weigh in just as quickly with an opposing take while also educating you on the perils of pelicans in the wild.

You’re welcome.

Many, many years ago Christmas morning was a chaotic riot of laughter, terrific screams, minor injuries and general twitchiness. As amazing a sight and experience as the pile of toys was, there was the overriding stoic presence of my father checking his watch, waiting to put the hammer down and march us all off to church. The experience was as unnerving as it was exciting but with some planning (midnight Mass?) could have been so much better for me. It wouldn’t occur to me for years that my parents worked it this way to get a breather from my high-pitched squeals of panicky joy.

Mashable’s recent redesign presents all the content they offer in a way that gives me that same uneasy feeling. For me, there’s just too much thrown at the user. There is no top story, only The New Stuff, The Next Big Thing and What’s Hot all given equal importance on the page. Putting aside that fact that all three category headings are promoting the same thing basically, my eye bounces right off the page. Users will get used to this and I will as well, but I question a design that forces you to refocus every time you hit this main page. It’s a small, quickly resolved snag but it’s one that diminishes the otherwise pleasing user experience.

The infinite scroll and myriad social networking opportunities throughout are meant to be fun. I know fun. This isn’t fun. Besides those social media options attached to every article, the new Mashable Velocity graph is a clever widget that (once I learned its purpose) I skipped over with a vengeance. It measures the speed of sharing. I can’t believe I typed that. The sub levels are where this redesign works better for me. Big photography, logical layout and plenty of white space makes for an easy quick read. I don’t think many users will take advantage of the infinite scroll that is unfortunately included on the subs, however.

Homepage screenshot

The contact and other admin pages haven’t really been designed at all, but I’m sure they will be at some stage to match the new look. I don’t feel this redesign was rushed at all, and third tier pages get pushed to the bottom of the list frequently on bigger launches.

As far as basic usability goes, the site does a yeoman’s job for me. The navigation is where I need it and the design of the elements is very clean and easy to find. So the fonts are fine, the palette is good and the code is clean, but that infinite scroll and the lack of a visual bulls-eye is going to bug me. I’m wondering for how long the bottomless pit of content will be a web trend.

Mashable’s mobile app for the Android hasn’t been redesigned/updated yet and is surprisingly clumsy considering how much care had gone into the web design.

The new Mashable site is fully responsive, creating unique experiences for tablet and smartphone users accessing via the web.  The mobile web version of the redesign is tight and pretty easy to get through. The abbreviated navigation is a bit cryptic, and reads like a Pizza Hut promo (NEW, RISING, HOT) for me, but it’s fine and I’m likely being picky here. Also, thanks to coding limitations, I suspect, the infinite scroll is absent.

Overall grade is a B for me. I’m a Mashable fan and will continue to be as I fight the urge to sound like an old bag shaking my fist at design choices that rub me the wrong way. I don’t want to turn into this guy…

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld recently launched a new website that brings together highlights of his 35-year stand-up career.  I love the site, and I’m not really even a fan of his stand-up.  Here is a breakdown of what I love about it.

1. The Approach

The site posts three videos a day, chosen by Seinfeld himself.  And that is pretty much it.  Videos aren’t archived, so if you don’t see the three videos the day they are released you are out of luck.  

In a time when we can all pretty much access anything, anywhere at anytime, Seinfeld has chosen a curated approach that actually seems novel. 

By limiting the length of time videos are available, the site also creates a compelling reason for people to visit every day.  www.jerryseinfeld.com will immediately become a daily visit for fans.  In a recent interview, Seinfeld called his approach “portion control.”

2. The Design

Like the overall approach, the design here is exceptional in its simplicity.  Black and white, with the only color on the page being links to the three videos you can view that day.  A single photo with names of routines overlaid.  A signature for a logo.  That’s it.  It is perfect.

Here is what Seinfeld had to say about his inspiration for the site, and hatred of clutter:

“I hate people begging me for my attention and trying to sell me and entertain me and delight me and surprise me, that’s what makes the internet so annoying. I did my best to uninternet it. You know my literal metaphor was one of those little galleries in Chelsea, there’s just five paintings in there, that’s the kind of place I like to go to.”

3.  The Lack of Monetization

Online publishers are becoming increasingly desperate to monetize.  Online ad units seem to become more obtrusive by the day.  Content is taking a back seat to Sear Engine Optimization. 

Into this environment Seinfeld has launched a website with no monetization strategy whatsoever.  No pay wall.  No SEO.  No ads.  No t-shirts.  Just content.  While Seinfeld clearly doesn’t need the money, I think it is awesome  to launch a site with the sole purpose of sharing his content with the world.