New Logo and Uniform potentially in 2016/17

[Peter D.]

I know these were worn during the worst era of the franchise, but I always liked these.  Plain and simple, yet effective.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I dig the current laced collar too.

Every Leafs jersey should have a laced collar.

I was going to say that every jersey should have a laced collar but I don't want other jerseys looking as amazing as ours.

 

[Bullfrog]

The '67 logo being discussed, is that the one CtB posted above?

Ya, that's the one I'm discussing. It's bad. I agree with busta. Of the vintage ones, the '63-'66 logo (with the blue outline) is the best. i still prefer the current one.

 

[Bullfrog]

Not sure I can agree with you about the current logo. To me, it feels stale.

Stale perhaps, but at least it's good design. That's why I'd be curious to see a new based on that. It keeps with the tradition of logo most of us identify with, but could have a modern twist to it (please god don't let them take "twist" literally.)

I'm in the architectural design field, but my true passion is typography. I enjoy graphic design as a whole, but it's definitely letterforms that I'm passionate about.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Are we the only 'Original 6' team with words on our logo?

Rangers have it too. Although I never really realized how few teams have it.

 

[Bender]

Seems like I'm in the minority, but I absolutely hate the logo from 67 to 70.  Doesn't look like a professional team's logo at all to me.

They better not do something stupid like when they added silver to the jerseys.

By 67 logo you mean this:

I don't really like that one either. Again, the 64-67 logo is the best. Although I don't mind the ones that came before it either. I thought the Leafs did a good job with the Winter Classic jerseys that used the more original logo:

I actually really like those winter classic jerseys, the only thing I would change is remove some of the busy piping. Otherwise it's a beautiful sweater with a great crest. Maybe get rid of the curve on Toronto and you're good.

 

[bustaheims]

Stale perhaps, but at least it's good design. That's why I'd be curious to see a new based on that. It keeps with the tradition of logo most of us identify with, but could have a modern twist to it (please god don't let them take "twist" literally.)

I suppose. I know "flattening" things out is a big trend in design these days, but I kind hate it. I like when things have depth. I feel it like it gives them a little more warmth.

I'm with you on typography. I wouldn't call it a passion, but when I'm working on something that isn't pure text, it's definitely something I pay a lot more attention to - though, for me, it's often more about the font than then kerning/leding/etc.

 

[ZBBM]

I always liked that third jersey they used a number of years back that was a vintage logo.

This one?

That was always my favourite, and also happens to be the last jersey I bought (Darcy Tucker/16).

I fully intend on getting a Nylander jersey once he makes the team/picks a number, so I'll probably be getting the new jersey if it's nice.

That's the one.  Those are great.

I'm with you.  Although the offset wordmark is oddish.

 

[ZBBM]

I gotta say I disagree with you completely about the 67 logo. I like the n and m treatment and there is no kerning going on at all with the all caps. Its letterspacing is it not?  And the wider spread on Toronto works with the tighter rest of the name.

I do agree with you on the early ones. Godawful.

There's a subtle difference, but letterspacing between all letters is calling tracking. Letterspacing between specific pairs of letters is called kerning. Because of the different shapes of letters (and the optical effects they have) certain pairs of letters should have different spacing. We'll just have to disagree, but the lowercase m and n are just strange What's the meaning behind that? If those are actually supposed to be uppercase, then that's just a terrible typeface.

The typography on '67 logo is atrocious. The spacing between the "T O" and "O T" is almost twice that of the "O R". The spacing between all letters in Toronto is inconsistent.

The other thing that bothers me is the angle of the sides of the leaf blades. I can't quite place it, but the "pointiness" of the whole thing bothers me.

The '67 logo could be probably be improved without totally destroying it. But I'd be interested in a new logo that bases itself off of the current one, which I truly believe is excellent.

Well, what I was taught is that kerning is when the spacing between two letters "intrudes" on one another's "space", as when you tuck an l/c "o" under the u/c "T" in "Toronto."  But that could be too narrow of a take.

Anyway, I see your point about the treatment of "Toronto" but what I am seeing is that there is more space between the T O at the beginning and end of "Toronto" than the between the  O R O N O.  I like that, actually.  I am not seeing inconsistent spacing between O R O N O but admittedly I am looking at a pretty small image of the logo.

Maybe the point here is that typography is very personal.  Also that it's a challenge to do team logos because you are, by modern convention, pretty much stuck with sans serif faces.

EDIT: Jeez, reading through the rest of this thread I didn't know there were some typographic folks on here.  Cool.  I have done some book design but I'm definitely no pro.  I'm probably more busta-ish in terms of being drawn to specific faces rather than bullfrog-ish on letterforms -- but letterforms are the meat of the field.

If anyone wants to go deep, get Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style.  That guy is almost insanely into it.  The book itself is gorgeous.

 

[Kin]

I don't really like the lettering on the controversial 67-70 logo but I do like the Leaf. I think it's kind of reminiscent of the Maple Leaf on the 2010 Olympic jerseys which I thought were pretty sharp.

 

[bustaheims]

I know this is largely off topic, but one of my biggest typographical pet peeves is the improper use of sans-serif fonts. I've worked in way too many places that insist on using them for large blocks of text.

 

[ZBBM]

I know this is largely off topic, but one of my biggest typographical pet peeves is the improper use of sans-serif fonts. I've worked in way too many places that insist on using them for large blocks of text.

I claim kinship with you, my Brother.

 

[bustaheims]

I know this is largely off topic, but one of my biggest typographical pet peeves is the improper use of sans-serif fonts. I've worked in way too many places that insist on using them for large blocks of text.

I claim kinship with you, my Brother.

I've had some pretty intense discussions with my superiors at various places about it. Their reasons tend to be, well, dumb, but they're in charge, so they win.

 

[Bullfrog]

I know this is largely off topic, but one of my biggest typographical pet peeves is the improper use of sans-serif fonts. I've worked in way too many places that insist on using them for large blocks of text.

It's not completely cut-and-dried, but I generally agree. I actually use a sans serif for my body text. I use Stone Sans II. It has humanist characteristics that make it readable.

 

[bustaheims]

It's not completely cut-and-dried, but I generally agree. I actually use a sans serif for my body text. I use Stone Sans II. It has humanist characteristics that make it readable.

Some are okay, but I've dealt with insistence on using Arial. Or Calibri. Ugh.

 

[Bullfrog]

Well, what I was taught is that kerning is when the spacing between two letters "intrudes" on one another's "space", as when you tuck an l/c "o" under the u/c "T" in "Toronto."  But that could be too narrow of a take.

Anyway, I see your point about the treatment of "Toronto" but what I am seeing is that there is more space between the T O at the beginning and end of "Toronto" than the between the  O R O N O.  I like that, actually.  I am not seeing inconsistent spacing between O R O N O but admittedly I am looking at a pretty small image of the logo.

Maybe the point here is that typography is very personal.  Also that it's a challenge to do team logos because you are, by modern convention, pretty much stuck with sans serif faces.

EDIT: Jeez, reading through the rest of this thread I didn't know there were some typographic folks on here.  Cool.  I have done some book design but I'm definitely no pro.  I'm probably more busta-ish in terms of being drawn to specific faces rather than bullfrog-ish on letterforms -- but letterforms are the meat of the field.

If anyone wants to go deep, get Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style.  That guy is almost insanely into it.  The book itself is gorgeous.

Your definition of kerning is correct. Kerning is with respect to individual pairs of letters (your I O example is a good one) and tracking/letterspacing is amongst all the letters.

Serifs are on their way back! There's some gorgeous slab serifs coming out now too. I know it's a sin to use free fonts (because they're usually awful,) but I've been using Bitter in combination with Stone Sans II and it's working great.

I've been meaning to get that book for awhile. One of my favourites is Ellen Lupton's Thinking With Type. She's got most of the content on her website (http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/). A great, practical, resource is Matthew Butterick's Practical Typography. It's really interesting because it's an experiment into an online book.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Dear NHL,

Please never let there be a week between games again.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

The discussion of fonts is really interestizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

[Kin]

I think I'm starting to get an idea of what other people feel when they read my posts.

 

[ZBBM]

It's not completely cut-and-dried, but I generally agree. I actually use a sans serif for my body text. I use Stone Sans II. It has humanist characteristics that make it readable.

Some are okay, but I've dealt with insistence on using Arial. Or Calibri. Ugh.

Yeah, you're right, there are some s/s faces that hearken back to Humanist letters, so they aren't all the same.

The journal I work on uses Bulmer for the text face and Futura for headers and such.  It breaks all the rules but I like it.