Hurricanes Logo

[Navin R Slavin]

Put LEDs on the crest and have the logo swirl.

f*** it. You want cutting edge? Let's do some serious cutting edge. That shit is super cheap and doable now.

Now that I think about it, I'm half tempted to do a prototype for myself.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Maybe I'm conflating logo and jersey here but like I said I'd put the canes looks top half maybe top 3rd of the league. Going on their current sets, not counting alternates or throwbacks I'd tier them something like this

Bad:
Flames
Caps
Senators
Bjs
Ducks
Kings

Ok:
Sabres
Avs
Coyotes
Wild
Panthers
Knights
Blues
Jets
Oilers
Preds
Sharks

Good:
Flyers
Devils
Canucks
Lightning
Stars
Canes

Really good:
Islanders
Penguins
Original 6

I'm sure everyone has different rankings but I don't see how the canes aren't firmly in the ok to good category

We have some pretty different rankings. Based on current designs of primary logos I'd have them as follows...

Link for reference

SportsLogos.Net - NHL Logos - National Hockey League Logos - The News and History of Sports Logos and Uniforms

BAD
Ducks, Stars, Kings, Predators, Golden Knights, Coyotes

BELOW AVERAGE
Senators, Panthers, Wild, Jets, Blue Jackets

AVERAGE
Canucks, Sharks, Maple Leafs, Oilers, Avalanche, Islanders

GOOD
Canes, Flames, Sabres, Devils, Lightning, Penguins, Captials, Canadiens

GREAT
Blackhawks, Bruins, Red Wings, Rangers, Blues, Flyers

 

[Lempo]

Thanks for the insight on this. I agree with you that Hurricanes is a very difficult concept to visualize. Kind of like the Avs and Wild. It's a force of nature, or in the Wild's case, just nature itself, but it's difficult to personify it in a logo.

However, I think the eye of the hurricane is great though and have no qualms with it as the primary logo.

I do feel that the best way to move forward though is to embrace the NC state outline or incorporate the state flag somehow. There are options out there but it will take some creativity and finesse in making it a cohesive design.

Two state flags.

Because two Carolinas.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Two state flags.

Because two Carolinas.

Nope.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

We are the Carolina Hurricanes.

Not the Carolinas Hurricanes.

 

[Cowumbus]

I like the Hurricane logo, not a fan of the double flag logo but to each their own.

 

[Svechhammer]

The sightless eye logo has always had a bit of an odd reception for me. I think people hate it not because of the logo itself, but because of what it replaced, and the relocation it represented. People hate it because its not Hartford, and there's a very local base of hockey elitists who think the NHL shouldn't exist south of the Mason Dixon Line, so no matter what we made, people were going to hate it.

I always liked it. To me, it looked like something you'd see if Picasso tried to paint a Hurricane. Has a very Cubism/Surrealism slant to it that I always kind of liked, and much like those paintings in their day, some liked it, and some really, really hated it. To each their own, I guess. The one thing that always cracks me up is that stupid insult some try and use "oh but it looks like a flushing toilet." Hey, dumbshits, have you ever seen what a hurricane actually looks like? Yeah, there's a reason for the similarities, genius.

At the end of the day, if we ever did get rid of that logo, 10 years later people would be pining for its return. Case in point, the kachina logo and jersey for the Coyotes. Widely panned for being brutally ugly back in the 90s, they were absolutely celebrated for their return as an alternate last year by the same kind of people who hated the flags on our jersey for being too busy, until they weren't there and they pined to have them back.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

OK, I'm going to give it a try with two terrible 3D paint designs. I clearly don't need to announce that my photoshop skills are awful but these are just an attempt to run with the flag theme but incorporate some other NC aspects into it.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Should we do a map if NA with a ton squiggly path projections lines through all the cities with a team? It would look as ridiculous as a regular projection chart.

 

[AD Skinner]

We have some pretty different rankings. Based on current designs of primary logos I'd have them as follows...

Link for reference

SportsLogos.Net - NHL Logos - National Hockey League Logos - The News and History of Sports Logos and Uniforms

BAD
Ducks, Stars, Kings, Predators, Golden Knights, Coyotes

BELOW AVERAGE
Senators, Panthers, Wild, Jets, Blue Jackets

AVERAGE
Canucks, Sharks, Maple Leafs, Oilers, Avalanche, Islanders

GOOD
Canes, Flames, Sabres, Devils, Lightning, Penguins, Captials, Canadiens

GREAT
Blackhawks, Bruins, Red Wings, Rangers, Blues, Flyers

I think our lists are more alike than they are different. You like the blues, I don't. I like the stars, you don't. Everything else is around the same tier give or take. I think I rate the blues as not so good because their throwbacks are so much better than their currents, but there are a bunch of teams for which that's true

 

[Svechhammer]

Alright, because this is bugging me, I pulled out my 1998 red Starter jersey and my 2016 white Reebok, both either authentic or game worn, just to see how the logo has changed.

	Logo Width	Logo Height	Positioning Width	Positioning Height
1998 Red	15"	8"	14.5"	10"
2016 White	12.25"	6.25"	12.5"	6.75"

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The Logo dimensions are the actual height and width of the patch that is sewn onto the jersey. The Positioning Width and Height represent the space it takes up based on the angle that the logo is positioned on the jersey.

Based on these dimensions, the current patch is only 63% the size of the original. But, because they lowered the angle on how it is on the jersey, it visually takes up only 58% of the space of the previous. Also worth noting that the actual cut of both jerseys that I have are pretty much hemmed exactly the same, so its not like the new Adidas cut is playing a part at all.

So... if you ever wondered why the current era jerseys just don't look right when compared to the originals, this is why.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

OK, I'm going to give it a try with two terrible 3D paint designs. I clearly don't need to announce that my photoshop skills are awful but these are just an attempt to run with the flag theme but incorporate some other NC aspects into it.

You were also an O6 whore too haha. Disagreed on Flames and a few other too.
For sure there are some that are just obviously good and obviously bad.

 

[AD Skinner]

To be honest I just put them at the top because they're institutions... theyll never change drastically so theres no point nitpicking them. I don't really like the habs or rangers but do really like the hawks and bruins. The leafs and wings are good but not like superb.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

To be honest I just put them at the top because they're institutions... theyll never change drastically so theres no point nitpicking them. I don't really like the habs or rangers but do really like the hawks and bruins. The leafs and wings are good but not like superb.

Sure, agreed that they’re institutions but just cuz they’re old it doesn’t make them automatically good. The Leafs also did change their logo pretty significantly in the 70s and it lasted until about 5 years ago. It was basically a clip art version of their original logo, which they’ve now gone back to.

Mats Sundin

 

[cptjeff]

Sure, agreed that they’re institutions but just cuz they’re old it doesn’t make them automatically good. The Leafs also did change their logo pretty significantly in the 70s and it lasted until about 5 years ago. It was basically a clip art version of their original logo, which they’ve now gone back to.

Mats Sundin

The Leafs also wore this for about 20 years. O6 teams usually just tweak, but sometimes tweaks make a major difference. This looks like the Bruins uniform they've worn since the dawn of time, right? Except it isn't. The Rangers wore this, for heaven's sake.

 

[AD Skinner]

I liked the lady liberty jerseys.

I'm super happy to nitpick any jerseys/logos, original 6 or not. I just didn't know if everyone else was on board.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

I liked the lady liberty jerseys.

I'm super happy to nitpick any jerseys/logos, original 6 or not. I just didn't know if everyone else was on board.

Nothing’s sacred unless it’s good in my opinion. Yes, the O6 are institutions but if the team chooses to change something like logo, etc then it needs to evaluated on its merit not just on the fact that it’s an O6 team and can’t be critiqued.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Thanks for all that insight. That was cool to read and I agree. There is only so much we can do with a Hurricane unless we move towards something different like the state of North Carolina as a general logo.

Thanks for the insight on this. I agree with you that Hurricanes is a very difficult concept to visualize. Kind of like the Avs and Wild. It's a force of nature, or in the Wild's case, just nature itself, but it's difficult to personify it in a logo.

However, I think the eye of the hurricane is great though and have no qualms with it as the primary logo.

I do feel that the best way to move forward though is to embrace the NC state outline or incorporate the state flag somehow. There are options out there but it will take some creativity and finesse in making it a cohesive design.

I wasn't going to say anything about this because I'm trying to be more self-aware, and I realize I can be a bit of a broken record on some stuff. But when the new blacks came out with the outline of N.C. in the negative space between the flags, nobody said a word about how that conflicted with the public reasoning for calling us "Carolina" instead of "North Carolina" or "Raleigh," specifically to be considered a "regional" team.

That ship has evidently sailed, but we still keep up with the "Carolina" thing, and I'm not sure why. Change the name to "Raleigh" already.

I also feel it's important to point out that most of the time, when a pro sports franchise is going to debut new branding, there's a runway of about two years to research, test and otherwise vet new ideas. I can't find any details on the exact date of the branding unveil, but I suspect the Canes design team had about a month from the May 7, 1997 announcement that the new team would be the Hurricanes, based in Raleigh. I was at The News & Observer during this time, and I can assure you, the last thing anybody was thinking was that Raleigh actually had a chance to get an NHL team, so it's not like there were 25 name/logo ideas flying around like Seattle is dealing with right now. And of course, there was no Twitter or Instagram in those dark ages, either.

So when you put it all together ... a franchise announcing it was moving without knowing where, an owner pulling a team name out his a$$, and probably one guy having one month to create branding for a pro sports team in an area that never even imagined it would be an NHL city, it's not bad.

 

[AD Skinner]

Alright, because this is bugging me, I pulled out my 1998 red Starter jersey and my 2016 white Reebok, both either authentic or game worn, just to see how the logo has changed.

	Logo Width	Logo Height	Positioning Width	Positioning Height
1998 Red	15"	8"	14.5"	10"
2016 White	12.25"	6.25"	12.5"	6.75"

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The Logo dimensions are the actual height and width of the patch that is sewn onto the jersey. The Positioning Width and Height represent the space it takes up based on the angle that the logo is positioned on the jersey.

Based on these dimensions, the current patch is only 63% the size of the original. But, because they lowered the angle on how it is on the jersey, it visually takes up only 58% of the space of the previous. Also worth noting that the actual cut of both jerseys that I have are pretty much hemmed exactly the same, so its not like the new Adidas cut is playing a part at all.

So... if you ever wondered why the current era jerseys just don't look right when compared to the originals, this is why.

Great post. And it would seem to confirm that the old logo was slightly less oblong... I'm not a math wizard but 15:8 and 12.25:6.25 are two different ratios. 15/8 = 1.875 and 12.25/6.25 = 1.96.

I think it would be correct to say that if you take the radius each way (x and y axis) of the shape, the closer those are to being equal the more circular/less oval the shape would be. So with that in mind

1998 jersey: 7.5-4 = 3.5
2015 jersey: 6.125- 3.125 = 3

Well shit

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Nah on the Raleigh thing.

You're part of the Triangle, and I'm a closer drive to the arena here in Durham than some folks in North Raleigh are.

They're not the Minneapolis Twins, Vikings, Wild, or Timberwolves.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Nah on the Raleigh thing.

You're part of the Triangle, and I'm a closer drive to the arena here in Durham than some folks in North Raleigh are.

They're not the Minneapolis Twins, Vikings, Wild, or Timberwolves.

OK, but Minnesota is at least the name of a state. Carolina isn't a state, either. Carolina isn't even a defined region. Plus, it already refers to an NFL team and a high-profile Division I sports program, neither of which are in Raleigh.

Either North Carolina or Raleigh.

 

[Svechhammer]

Nah on the Raleigh thing.

You're part of the Triangle, and I'm a closer drive to the arena here in Durham than some folks in North Raleigh are.

They're not the Minneapolis Twins, Vikings, Wild, or Timberwolves.

And let's be honest, because of UNC, it's pretty much nationally recognized that Carolina means NC.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

OK, but Minnesota is at least the name of a state. Carolina isn't a state, either. Carolina isn't even a defined region. Plus, it already refers to an NFL team and a high-profile Division I sports program, neither of which are in Raleigh.

Either North Carolina or Raleigh.

Pro teams based in North Carolina called the Carolina somethings:

Carolina Cougars
Carolina Mudcats
Carolina Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Cobras
The Original Carolina Courage

Pro teams based in North Carolina called the North Carolina somethings:

The North Carolina Courage
North Carolina FC

Pro teams based in Raleigh called the Raleigh somethings:

Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks

Yeah, I think Carolina means "pretty much North Carolina" in pro sports. And a hard no on Raleigh anything.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

I wasn't going to say anything about this because I'm trying to be more self-aware, and I realize I can be a bit of a broken record on some stuff. But when the new blacks came out with the outline of N.C. in the negative space between the flags, nobody said a word about how that conflicted with the public reasoning for calling us "Carolina" instead of "North Carolina" or "Raleigh," specifically to be considered a "regional" team.

That ship has evidently sailed, but we still keep up with the "Carolina" thing, and I'm not sure why. Change the name to "Raleigh" already.

I also feel it's important to point out that most of the time, when a pro sports franchise is going to debut new branding, there's a runway of about two years to research, test and otherwise vet new ideas. I can't find any details on the exact date of the branding unveil, but I suspect the Canes design team had about a month from the May 7, 1997 announcement that the new team would be the Hurricanes, based in Raleigh. I was at The News & Observer during this time, and I can assure you, the last thing anybody was thinking was that Raleigh actually had a chance to get an NHL team, so it's not like there were 25 name/logo ideas flying around like Seattle is dealing with right now. And of course, there was no Twitter or Instagram in those dark ages, either.

So when you put it all together ... a franchise announcing it was moving without knowing where, an owner pulling a team name out his a$$, and probably one guy having one month to create branding for a pro sports team in an area that never even imagined it would be an NHL city, it's not bad.

Wow. That’s a crazy recount of those events of moving to Raleigh. That’s honestly just wild and obviously can’t imagine that happening in today’s day in age.

But also to your point about the N.C. state map outline in the negative space.... ok... I’m looking at it. I guess it’s there? But really that’s not noticeable or recognizable at all.

Also Carolina Hurricanes just sounds a hell of a lot better than Raleigh Hurricanes. Raleigh isn’t a city that most people in the US or Canada have probably even heard of to be honest. Don’t get me wrong I think the Raleigh area is great but Carolina has a hell of a lot more clout in terms of marketing and branding.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

If you really want to change the name, change it to the Durham Bulls. There's a brand with caché.