Bird Gumbo: 2013 New Orleans Pelicans Identity

The team formally named the Hornets now, the New Orleans Pelicans, officially released their new logos yesterday, designed by RARE Design and Ben Barnes. The reactions by fans to the name change and logos have been mostly negative, but I'm going to be on the defense here . . . sort of.

I don't think anything the team has done here is wrong. Actually, what surprises me most about all the negative reaction to it is the fact that the whole logo package here is perfectly average. The color palette and logo styling places them well amongst the other NBA teams. The primary logo may be one of the more detailed ones out there, but overall I think we're looking at a completely normal and acceptable pro sports team identity. The thing that does excite me about the negative reaction to this is that maybe people are finally tired of highly illustrated, aggressive animal logos? It would be good if we could see less of that from now on.

The name "Pelicans" is the biggest issue I have and is where I have to side with the majority. It's a damn silly name referencing a damn goofy bird. The point made by those who like it is "Not every name has to be fierce and intimidating. Look at the Magic, Lakers, Celtics, Nets, Knicks, Suns, Clippers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Thunder, Jazz, etc". Well, exactly! I don't think all of those are great names either but I do like the Magic, Suns, and Thunder, and don't think the Pelicans fit in with those other names. Reason why is because they're abstract enough that you can come up with your own connotations and visuals. We dont have a universal icon that represents "thunder", the name brings to mind things like: thunderstorms, stampeding cattle, applause from an audience.  It also ties into the local area. All good things that spark the imagination, but "Pelicans" is very directly a stupid looking bird with no attributes of a team of NBA athletes. (Well, I guess the fact they can actually fly might be something.)

But good products can be successful even with a terrible name or a terrible logo. The Lakers is a perfect example. LA isn't exactly the land of 10,000 lakes, and their logo is, at best, good clip art. That brand is strong because they've always been a great product and there would be a lot of negative responses if they tried to change the name or the logo too much. If over the next 10 years New Orleans becomes the NBA's best team and pulls in a championship or two, it won't matter that they have a dumb name. It will grow on people over time. It always does, as long as the product is good.

The direction for the logo is a bit odd. The emphasis on New Orleans is over done, I think. 1.) crescent in the ball. 2.) Pelican being the state bird. 3.) Blue from the state flag. 4.) Hierarchy of New Orleans over Pelicans. 5.) fleur de lis. 6.) Iron fence design. 7.) the font. We get it! You're from New Orleans! Stop shouting! I imagine RARE Design taking down notes on this from the team and feeling like they were writing down their kid's christmas list. "I want this, and then I want this, and I want this, and I want this, and this, and this . . ."

The actual execution of the logo couldn't be much better, though. I thought Fraser Davidson and Tin Bacic both made better concepts, but they weren't given the brief Ben Barnes had to work with. Without knowing exactly what that brief was, I think he did a very good job with it. The logo overall (including the secondaries) feels like an NBA logo. He was able to take a goofy ass bird and a ton of New Orleans flare and bring it all together without any flaws. For that, we should applaud him. For the Pelicans and Tom Benson I say "Meh". It will all be okay if you win. (Worst part about the whole logo system is the "bird de lis" which looks like a big headed bird with tiny wings. Seriously, that ones comical!)

And to think, it all may have been worse. The team also was considering Mosquitos, Swamp Dogs, Bull Sharks, and Rougaro as names.

We Don't Blog Around These Parts No More

If you've been refreshing this page thinking maybe the most recent post won't be from October when it loads again -- well, I guess that just happened, so you're welcome. And our sincerest apologies for not updating our Green Apple Core in so long. With all the things to check/update/waste time doing on the internet these days, this one fell  by the wayside.

The good news is, we haven't stopped reading, writing, or writing about what we're reading, and there are plenty of ways to stay up to date with what Green Apple is up to. There's our Facebook (includes both important news AND jokes) our Tumblr (where you can find the best books we read last year, among other miscellany) and our Twitter (formerly Green Apple guy, now Green Apple, still a guy). Our website is also more curated and browse-able than it ever has been, so take a look.

So by all means, peruse the archives, but we hope you'll keep tabs on us in all of the above ways. See you around.

Round On The End And High In The Middle

I didn't plan on leaving Florida again when I moved back here (for the 3rd time since 2005) in May 2011. But, I've been lucky enough to find myself an opportunity to further advance my career and improve as a graphic designer. So, In a couple of weeks I will be moving to Columbus, Ohio to join the creative team at J America.

J.America, Inc. is pleased to have been named along with Fanatics as The Ohio State University’s licensed apparel and retail partner under an exclusive apparel, headwear and retail model. 

Since our founding 20 years ago, J.America has grown to become one of the largest custom decorated apparel companies in the United States. While we already enjoy a relationship with The Ohio State University as an apparel licensee, this new agreement gives us an opportunity to make a larger impact on The Ohio State University, the Columbus community and fair labor enforcement around the world. - J America website

At this time I can't really say anymore than that about the position and company, but we will be focused  primarily on Ohio State apparel. As for my freelancing, I will continue to do that but will spread my projects out much wider. I love the projects that have come through in the last year, and love working with clients I've been with for multiple years now and won't be abandoning any of that; my timetable will be a bit different though.

And now, I look for my next apartment/art studio/guitar storage facility. . . See you soon Columbus.

Every NFL Team's Best Uniforms

I got this idea from the Creamer boards here where members are picking their favorite uniform design from each team's history. For my own collection, ill be going by a slightly different set of rules.

Most of my scribbles here are not about what i think looks best, but what i think works best in design, and is a practice where you have to admit something is good, even if you don't like it. But for this i'll just focus on the pure aesthetic and select a single design (not a home/away set, just 1 uniform) from each team's entire history as my favorite. So, I'll ignore that the Panthers look too much like the Lions and other branding issues. But, I will consider each team's logos as part of the uniform.

Dolphins - Miami's logo wasn't quite as good then, but the lack of navy and large drop-shadowed numbers makes this a stronger design. Also, stripped socks are always a win.

Jets - I'm not the biggest fan of green, so using it as a secondary color in a design looks better to me than using it as a primary. I dont think they've ever had a really strong logo or a great execution of jersey stripes but this is the lesser of evils in their history.

Bills - The stripes look cheap on the jersey and Nike ruined their collar with their FOLO (fake polo) design, but the 2011 Bills never looked better. I really liked their previous red helmet and the standing buffalo helmet era, but this one is a clear winner for me. Glad to see them wearing blue pants on the road now too.

Patriots - The single most retarded, dumb-ass design decision in sports history was putting a American football team named the Patriots in a red jersey and white pants. I mean, come the fuck on.  This is supposed to be all about the pure visual, but i can't get passed that. So, by default I arrive at this era, but i actually really like this uniform. Their number font and logo are especially great.

Steelers -  Little change through their history but I'm one of the few that likes their current number font. The black jersey is great too, but I like the white because it makes the player look lighter and more athletic. (light colored objects appear larger, but lighter in weight). And, you get that cool ABC 3 piece look where helmet/jersey/pants are all different colors

Bengals - I actually really like this design. The stripes, the number font, It's all good by me.

Browns - I dig the white on white, but the brown pants are unique and add a nice alternate, modern look to a classic design.

Ravens - The Ravens can't win. They have a terrible dark color palette that would benefit from using more gold/yellow. Bad numbers, bad logo, bad stripes. But, the purple and black combo is ok.

Colts - The difference between the Colts unis now and from the Unitas days is the stripes that go all the way around the shoulder (though, the truncated stripes do work better on modern cuts) and the striped socks. When they changed their color to a darker blue in 2004 and added the grey mask, they also had striped socks, which was meant to look like this uniform, but the full stripes look so damn cool. PS - i hate the blue face mask era

Jaguars - Like the Ravens, they have never had a uniform I liked. This one is a great color combo though.

Titans - Another team that dosent have a uniform I really like, except the jerseys. Some silver would do so much for this identity

Texans - Solid design and i love the red number on this jersey. One of my favorite number fonts and maybe the best logo in the NFL

Chiefs - I've always felt this was a boring design, but at least its a solid one with no glaring flaws. The white on white combo is pretty awesome though.

Raiders - One of my favorite uniforms in the league. The silver trim on the numbers is a small detail with a large impact. Something the black jersey lacks.

Chargers - The pants stripe is awful, but this is my favorite color palette in league history. Why they dont wear powder blue today full time, i have no idea.

Broncos - This was a hard one to pick. I like the colors from the Elway era best, the jerseys from '66, and the current logo. Which is what is came down to really, the other logos are terrible. I also like the all blue monochrome look today, but i cant get enough of white on white. Both of those looks have the stripes fit together the best too.

Cowboys - When I was a kid this was the coolest jersey in the universe. For the most part, I still feel the same way. I'd love for the 'Boys to go to these full time. The throwback versions never really got the stars right

Eagles - Beautiful colors here. It's one of the few greens i like in sports. silver pants with this jersey would be ace.

Giants - They might be doing a throwback version of this soon. I love the current uniform, but this jersey is stunning. I'd love to have a sweatshirt with this design.

Redskins - This was a hard one to pick too, lots of great looks for the Skins. I decided this one over the current unis because of the sleeve stripes.

Bears - I've always liked the white logo and grey mask on this helmet. White on white again, it works with any secondary color especially blue (and orange as a tertiary) like the Broncos.

Vikings - They have a white on white option, but the purple jersey too unique not to like and the stripes look great on it. The white jerseys had shoulder loops which i just dont feel for them. I like the current uniforms too, but these are classic.

Packers - One of my top 3 favorite current NFL uniforms. I chose the modern version over the Bart Starr era unis because those sock stripes were a mess. Strangely I prefer the modern solid color to that design.

Lions - The current set is nice, adding black a few years ago was a great move that helped give life to a boring design. But these throwbacks are so simple it goes beyond boring and comes out the other side as awesome. The 1 piece solid colored socks are the best part.

Falcons - Another one of my top 3 current uniforms. Great numbers, logo, and colors. Very hard to chose one set here, any pants/jersey combo is a winner. The throwback uniforms are also a beautiful design but I can't stand that old logo.

Panthers - I dont like this uniform design, their logo has been hacked to shit, and the whole identity is too close to the Lions for my liking. But this jersey is likable; a very cool color.

Buccaneers - I love their colors and the blood red jersey screams "bad ass band of pirates!". The flag on a sword logo leading the player into battle is one of my favorite helmet/logo designs ever.

Saints - I hate their current uniform but this uniform with the bold stripes and yellowish gold pants is one of the single best uniforms i've ever seen. If they wore this full time i would seriously consider becoming a Saints fan. I mean look at Lance Moore there, he's dancing because he's so happy to be wearing this uniform!

Rams - This is the only jersey/pants combo I like of their current design but it's a damn good one. This is a sweet modern look with some of my favorite number font, secondary logo, and helmet design.

Seahawks - Love their colors now, but they never have had a uniform design I like, and the current ones are probably the worst in NFL history. But again, white on white.

Cardinals - I really like this design with the modern logo update. I hate that they're hanging on to the grey mask though, everything about this team is modern and the mask is out of place.

49ers - I almost went with the 80s version because the jersey stripes arn't hacked and the socks are striped too but what i love about the current look is the pants color and helmet logo.

Looking at everything together it's apparent I like white; sue me. Lots of white jerseys showed up here and white on white combos. Striped socks are also a personal favorite, I just can't stand the modern 2 tone solid color socks. I really like an ABAB combo with the helmet matching the pants, and jersey matching the socks. Or, an ABCB combo where the helmet, jersey, and pants are 3 different colors but the socks match the jersey. Small details include grey face mask and black cleats.

Pre-order SIGNED copies of Chris Ware's Building Stories

The inimitable Chris Ware is coming to sign books, and we want to make sure you get your hands on 'em.

And by book, we do mean the architectural marvel that is his latest, Building Stories. You may have seen it on our Facebook page, in our store window, or everywhere. A signed copy of this gem is worth having, and this is your opportunity to pre-order it.

Ware will be at the JCC on October 23rd, and we'll be taking orders up until that date. Unfortunately, due to the expected turnout, we cannot offer personalized inscriptions.  Order it now, pick it up (or have it shipped for free!) on the 24th! 

Building Stories, in pieces