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This coming October will be the inaugural season of a new venture from the International Ice Hockey Federation: The Champions Hockey League, that will see the best Hockey teams from Europe battle it out. The simple, yet elegant press release offers the following explanation on the logo: “The most prominent part of the trade mark has the shape of a hockey puck, where two hockey stick blades meet. In the middle of the puck, the rink’s centre ice area is shown — with the centre circle and the centre line — depicted.” If they’ve already put so many things in the logo what stopped them from throwing in a Zamboni, goals, and referee? IIHF President added “It’s simple, it gives you an immediate association to what you want to communicate and it conveys a touch of class.” You heard it here first people… gradients, bevels and glows are the new class. Sarcasm aside, the new logo feels oddly non-European and maybe a tad too American, or a tad too Second Life, there is no sense of restraint or focus, and the typography is downright clunky. Feels like being hit in the teeth with a puck.
Thanks to Andras Sudy and Ivan Philipov for the tip.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Matt Klaman’s comment is:
As an avid hockey fan and player, I don't know how I feel about this.
I don't mind the execution, but it just doesn't say hockey to me (of course besides the fact it uses a puck, sticks, and a rink).
dg3’s comment is:
Matt, what do you want, a Zamboni in there too?
=]
On Aug.25.2008 at 10:59 PM
atomo’s comment is:
I like it. This is the glossed up, throw everything in version, but it's not so complicated that it can't be stripped back to a black and white version if needs be.
Does the 'H' line up the 'C'?
On Aug.26.2008 at 12:22 AM
Able Parris’s comment is:
I think they made the logo like this because they are going to try sell recordings of each match on Laserdisc. It's not too late for those things to get popular, is it? I see them at the thrift store all of the time!
On Aug.26.2008 at 01:13 AM
Alice Baldwin’s comment is:
"Throw everything in version"???
On Aug.26.2008 at 03:34 AM
Neil’s comment is:
"IIHF President added "It's simple...""
No. No it's not.
On Aug.26.2008 at 08:00 AM
Andrei’s comment is:
I honestly, honestly thought that this was a logo for an ON LINE hockey game league. Something from Electronic Arts.
On Aug.26.2008 at 08:09 AM
Joe Mason’s comment is:
That looks very European to me - it looks like it should be on the front of a BMW.
On Aug.26.2008 at 09:49 AM
Johnny M’s comment is:
Sorry, but being truly and fully European, I think the "logo" is everything but not European.
Seems like it would nicely decorate any Ssang-Yong Prng-Drng (or any other similar car make).
On Aug.26.2008 at 11:04 AM
Moriarty’s comment is:
Wasn't even aware that anyone played ice hockey over here.
Certainly don't think it looks European, far more American which for the sport is probably no bad thing.
That outer glow just seems waaaaay to big and the type looks incredibly clunky.
On Aug.26.2008 at 11:07 AM
Darrin Crescenzi’s comment is:
OOOOH SHINY.
The modernist simplicity of two hockey sticks forming a puck-esque circle is splendidly refreshing in the world of athletic identities.
Sadly, the lack of restraint just makes this feel inappropriate.
On Aug.26.2008 at 11:10 AM
Jeffry Pilcher’s comment is:
Blech.
On Aug.26.2008 at 11:22 AM
Daniel Campos’s comment is:
I don't know, but this look like BMW logo for me...
On Aug.26.2008 at 12:31 PM
OMEN’s comment is:
I'm sorry, but this graphic is everything that a good logo should NOT be...
On Aug.26.2008 at 12:32 PM
Mingshi’s comment is:
I was thinking of Xbox 360...
Definitely of the same "class".
On Aug.26.2008 at 12:36 PM
*cg’s comment is:
It doesn't reflect sports at all, has no emotion and we all know Hockey that is what the sport is all about. The use of filters overpowers the idea.
Blah...
Eli’s comment is:
I don't mind the type so much - it's not particularly innovative and the caps are a little much, but it's also legible and clean.
The logo on the other hand is just confusing. None of the elements have much iconic value individually, so put together, they run together and don't look like anything to do with hockey. My first thought was it was a camera thing - a viewfinder with a funny sideways S.
On Aug.26.2008 at 01:21 PM
Chris Rugen’s comment is:
I don't mind the logo and I think it'll scale down for simple production easily. The type isn't amazing, but it's not bad either (to me, anyway). I think they fit in all of the visual cues quite nicely, though the shiny-ifying of the logo is a bit over the top. However, it looks like just the kind of thing you want for your new look these days...
Paul Lloyd Johnson’s comment is:
So is being European in style a bad thing? Not that is really is but it's definitely better than the usual North American sports logos that feature some tacky animal motif stuck on them! This to me is great, because it's generic and doesn't correlate to other logos in the same field. It's neutral and as such it does what it is supposed to do.
On Aug.26.2008 at 03:15 PM
Warren’s comment is:
Without the word "hockey" appearing under the graphic, there's no way to know the image is hockey-related in any way at all.
On Aug.26.2008 at 03:27 PM
Kevin’s comment is:
It reminds me of a souped-up version of HAL from 2001.
On Aug.26.2008 at 05:22 PM
Hibryd’s comment is:
dg3’s: Matt, what do you want, a Zamboni in there too?
No, the Zamboni has already come and gone.
That's why it's so smooth and shiny.
On Aug.26.2008 at 05:51 PM
Brooke’s comment is:
So...someone got paid for this?
On Aug.26.2008 at 06:44 PM
Dylan Mullins’s comment is:
Some brief concerns...
What's the reasoning for the overhanging text from CHAMPIONS to the line below? And I can't believe that no one mentioned the kerning disproportions. I'm not exactly the best type-setter, but there's a lot of disparity between the kerning used on some letter-pairs to that of others in the same word. "Hockey" looks to be the only word that is kerned "correctly". The actual USE of the typeface doesn't bother me (still can't figure out what it is, if anyone knows -- thought it was a Futura variation but my URW++ version has totally different K's and M's. It says streamlined and cutting-edge, two very important branded emotions that come to mind when thinking of hockey for me.
The mark, I definitely don't get. A lot of comments are talking about two hockey sticks forming a puck. I don't watch much hockey these days, but last I looked, hockey stick handles were not straight. For me, the glow around the "puck" shape really kills the visual of the hockey sticks, and I had to look multiple times to discern the sticks themselves.
Overall, will this poor execution affect the design world much? No. Will it make more sports clients salivate at the "cool drop shadows and glossy filters"? Yes, unfortunately.
On Aug.26.2008 at 07:03 PM
Matt Klaman’s comment is:
dg3,
I didn't mean I wanted more hockey identifiers!
I want less in a more appropriate way!
Way over done and way too web 2.0 (stylistically)for a sports emblem.
On Aug.26.2008 at 09:47 PM
Blue’s comment is:
If it's a logo for Champion's Hockey League, then why's the logo got a great big 'S' in it?
On Aug.27.2008 at 09:34 AM
jRod’s comment is:
it looks like something i would have created about 5 years ago, during my "bevel and glow" phase. Its outdated... pure and simple.
On Aug.27.2008 at 10:11 AM
teampahl’s comment is:
am i the only one that it reminds of a power button... i think with all the beveling and the center icon, my brain just makes too many connections on that note.
On Aug.27.2008 at 06:19 PM
VonK’s comment is:
Kerning=optical
Tracking=-35
Logo=done
pk’s comment is:
i have a question for everyone protesting against the bevelling and glowiness:
is the protest happening because you don't think it should be decorated at all, or because you think this particular decoration is wrong?
i'm asking because i'm not hearing that articulated at all.
On Aug.28.2008 at 06:50 AM
Kyle Fletcher’s comment is:
CHL has been "Obamafied." How many more identity schemes can rio off Obama before the elections?
Sports branding is fucked. Has there been any good sports branding in since the 40s?
In response to pk:
It would be fine if this aesthetic felt integrated and appropriate, but it's not. It's an aesthetic mash up of styles that have been trendy. Hockey with a web 2.0 look? Not really making the connection. If it was more subtle and all the other design decisions made sense it very well may work, but right now it's just another low-budget looking eyesore that will be wiped away when then next quarters budget allows for the next quarters easy to rip-off design trend. There is more tradition in Hockey that deservers attention paid.
They have evolved nicely. The shield has some subtle gradients while still keeping its stark NHL heritage in tact. That shield pisses all over this CHL attempt right after it body checks it into the boards.
Lots of confusing decisions made in this mark. Would love to hear thoughts from its creator. Perhaps a bad brief?
On Aug.28.2008 at 09:50 AM
rickyaustin’s comment is:
I can't wait to see them embroider that on a uniform.
On Aug.28.2008 at 10:28 AM
Dylan Mullins’s comment is:
@rickyaustin: lol.
On Aug.28.2008 at 12:54 PM
Mark’s comment is:
I see a hockey rink inside a hockey puck.
On Aug.28.2008 at 01:07 PM
Mark’s comment is:
that "S" is so Safeway, you'd think they AT LEAST they could of reversed the shape so it doesn't look like a letter that has NOTHING to do with the league.
Corey Buckner’s comment is:
I really dig what they were trying to do here. Unfortunately, the potential awesomeness of this logo is lost in a blur of gradients, psuedo-bevels, and OUTER GLOW!!! What! As if that wasn't bad enough, the dang 3d elements are not in perspective with one another giving me a headache and making my eyes dance around my head like the Waterboy's daddy!
I would love to see this as a flat, three-color image. Then it might recapture some of the awesomness that the concept COULD have had.
On Aug.29.2008 at 01:45 AM
Joseph Maguire’s comment is:
My gut opinion is their is a ten pounds of shit in a paper bag with this mark. Gradients, glowing effects, thin lines illustrations. I mean come on? how much do you need to make a mark. Where's the concept?
On Sep.01.2008 at 10:21 PM
Michael Gee’s comment is:
There is no concept...
On Mar.23.2009 at 10:11 AM
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