World Expansion: Jersey Voting, Final Rounds

We're selecting jerseys for our new IceHL World expansion teams! Your votes have narrowed the field from 68 entries down to 16. The winners of each poll will advance to the final round in a few days. Happy voting!

UPDATE · Sep 10 · The finalists have been decided! The last polls are now underway as we wrap up the IceHL World summer expansion project.




Below are the results from the first round of polls.

Auckland Rockhoppers


Helsinki Lynx


Munich Machine


Seoul Express


By the way, if you're hoping to be an IceHL GM this season, applications open soon!

World Expansion: Jersey Voting, Round 1

Over the last two weeks, we've received some fantastic jersey submissions for our new IceHL World expansion teams! Today I'm excited to present them all in the first round of voting.

To keep things interesting, I'm changing up the selection process this time around. Rather than one big bracket, we're going to narrow the pools down to four per team with a series of heats. Each team had a different number of entries, so the heat sizes will vary. The top vote-getter in each heat will move on to the next round. The winners of those rounds will advance to the final to ensure three rounds of polls for each team.

Below you'll find 68 jersey entries in 12 polls. Click to enlarge each design. You may make up to 2 selections in polls with more than 3 options. Happy voting!






Lastly, because of issues that arose during the logo design selection a few weeks ago, I'm going to experiment with the IceHL Design Council's role. Rather than casting votes for individual designs along with the community, they will be consulted at the end of the public vote where they will have the option to veto the community's decision.

Three of the four council members will need to veto a design to have it disqualified. There are four teams and council members will each have two vetoes at their disposal. If a design earns more than 75% of the community vote, it will be immune to a Council veto.

Please let me know if you have any concerns about this process.

World Expansion: Submit your jersey designs!

We've had several days to take in the winning logos for the IceHL World expansion teams, so by now you're probably eager to submit your jersey designs. So let's do it!

THE RULES

  • Design 1 dark and 1 light jersey using team colors and logos provided. (Equipment such as socks, gloves and helmets is optional.)

  • Both jerseys must be in the same image file (PNG or PDF preferred).

  • Submit your final design to icethetics@gmail.com by Friday, August 28.

  • Include your first and last name and email address in the image you submit and in the body of your email. (Your name will be displayed during voting but your email address will remain private.)

  • Most important: BE CREATIVE!


JERSEY DESIGN KIT

To enter the contest you will need to download the IceHL Jersey Design Kit. Click the red button on the right.

The Design Kit is a .zip file containing the following items:

  • 1 double jersey template (PNG)
  • 13 team logos (primary, secondary and wordmarks for the Rockhoppers, Lynx, Machine and Express)

As in previous jersey contests, the template provided is encouraged, but not required. You may use any template of your choice so long as the single image includes:

  • Two contrasting jerseys (front and back for both)
  • Full set of numbers and letters (make note of any special fonts used)
  • Optional: socks, helmets, gloves and pants

Useful links: SportsLogos.net | Hockey Jersey Concepts

When customizing your jerseys, you may use any name and number you choose. (Inappropriate names will disqualify your submission.)

Please note that the team logos in the Design Kit are to be used only on jersey submissions. You may not use them for any other purpose.


Final note. Simply submitting your jersey design doesn't guarantee it will be included in the voting process. If it doesn't meet a certain level of quality, I'll give you the opportunity to try again as long as you meet the deadline.

Deadline: Friday, August 28

You have two full weeks to design and submit your jerseys. As always, if you have any questions, please ask by email if you want a quick response. Good luck to all!

World Expansion: Winning Logos Revealed!

It's been an interesting journey for the four newest additions to the IceHL this summer. Now it's time to officially unveil the winning designs.

Auckland Rockhoppers // Daniel Otters

Daniel Otters brings a unique color palette to the IceHL with his take on the Auckland Rockhoppers. In fact, the vote was unanimous! All seven IceHL Design Council votes were cast for Daniel's design. That is impressive!

Helsinki Lynx // Daniel Otters

Once again, the beautiful work of Daniel Otters enters the IceHL World, this time for the Helsinki Lynx. The stiff competition made for a close vote of 4-3. Design Council members Will and Colin cast their votes for Daniel, as did 54% of the community, which counts as two Council votes.

Daniel has now designed three winning logos for the IceHL. His first was the Stockholm Hammers last season. Prior to that, he created the winning jerseys for the rebranded Hamilton Steelcats.

Munich Machine // Christian Ryder

The Munich Machine will have a brilliant Bavarian theme thanks to Christian Ryder. His logo dominated with a 6-1 vote of the Design Council. This is Christian's first winning design entry in the IceHL and it's a memorable one!

Seoul Express // Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor has been creating logos for the IceHL since its inception in 2008 and this year he contributes another, now for the Seoul Express! The vote was tight — a 4-3 decision of the Design Council.

Ross won three design contests during the creation of the IceHL. You can currently see his work for the New York Guardians and Edmonton Kodiaks. He also created logos for the Regina Renegades, who were rebranded as the Philadelphia Aces in 2013.

Jersey designers, stay tuned! A design kit with the new logos in on the way. Then we'll wrap up the summer by creating new jerseys for our new teams!

Then GMs are next. By early September, we'll be taking new applications!

World Expansion: Logo Brackets, Final Round

Time has come to make our final decisions! Which logos do you think should represent the four new IceHL World expansion teams? Happy voting!


Auckland Rockhoppers


Helsinki Lynx


Munich Machine


Seoul Express


Now, some housekeeping for those who have been curious. 

  • Results of these polls will not necessarily determine the winning designs. Don't forget about the IceHL Design Council and how this all works now. The winners of the polls earn two votes out of the total of seven which make up the Design Council.
  • This weekend, after the Design Council has weighed in and these polls have closed, the winners will be announced.
  • Concerned about color repetition? Fear not. If any of the winning logos use a color palette that's already common in the IceHL, the Design Council will work with the artist to fix that before we lock in the final design.
  • We'll also work with designers to remove any non-English writing contained within a logo. For as much as we're trying to build on an "international league," the fact is this is a fantasy league very much based in North America with all English-speaking participants.
  • Any other questions? Feel free to ask.

UPDATE · Aug 6 · Hey guys. Wow. I have to admit I'm surprised by the strong and vocal reactions to one of the housekeeping items above. But since you guys are so passionate about this, I thought I'd go into more detail than a bullet point permits.

Let me start by saying you are welcome to disagree with me. What follows is not an attempt to convince you that you should change your opinion. It's simply the way I'm choosing to operate the IceHL right now. I apologize to those who are opposed and appreciate your support and interest in the league.

Sometimes commissioners have to make unpopular decisions. So long as I don't become the next Gary Bettman, right! But seriously though, this isn't terribly complicated, so I'll explain.

First, I oversimplified on two points in my haste to quickly express a thought. While it's not true "all" participants in the IceHL are native English speakers, the vast majority are. So let's leave that point alone. I also incorrectly said we'd "remove any non-English writing" when that's not what I meant.

As has been pointed out, Honu and Olympiques are not English words yet they are names of IceHL teams. But English speakers understand them and they're written in the Latin/Roman alphabet. As for the Cosmonauts' Ice Classic Series jersey, most English-speakers recognize Moscow when written in Cyrillic. Try not to think of this as some new rule that will have to be followed to the letter. For one thing, I never called it a rule.

The error I made was in attempting to generalize so as not to appear to be picking on Lexi Dever's design. The truth is, sometimes I look at things like this on a case-by-case basis, and while I am singling out this design, it's not because of any bias for or against it.

Personally, I love the unique cultural touch in Lexi's secondary logo. But I don't read Korean so I can't tell you what it says. So what? Well, as the guy in charge of this league, I am ultimately responsible for all parts of it. I am impressed by the amount of research Lexi says was put into this as not every designer would go that extra mile. This was not made clear to me prior to the comment below.

But if somehow it does not say what Lexi tells me it says, I'm not comfortable saying to someone, "well the designer told me it was accurate."

Again I apologize if my reasoning seems flimsy. You don't have to agree, you don't even have to accept it. But that is the way it is right now. If you were in my shoes you might feel differently. Or maybe you wouldn't. We all have our reasons.

Lastly, while I appreciate some of you defending my decision by saying "it's Chris's league so he can do what he wants" — I do not agree with that sentiment. I may have created the league, but I feel like it really belongs to this community. And I am the simply steward of it. 

At the end of the day, if the majority of the community wants to see Korean text in a Seoul Express logo, I'm game. But I will need absolutely irrefutable proof that it says what it's supposed to say. Not simply someone's word or a website translation.

I'm sure you'll find faults in my logic here, but just try to understand that this isn't a one-size-fits-all type of thing. I know that's tough to accept. We all want to know where the boundaries are — probably so we can push them — but ultimately, I am responsible for all of this. I hope you can understand even if you still disagree.

(Though I am starting to wonder if it was a mistake to expand the league internationally.)

World Expansion: Logo Brackets, Round 2

Voting continues as we move toward deciding logos for the IceHL World expansion teams. We started with 40. We're down to 22. We'll eliminate 10 more of the next couple of days with this batch of polls. Make sure you vote in all 10!






Again, check back in a few days for the next round of voting!

World Expansion: Logo Brackets, Round 1

The 2015 expansion of the IceHL World begins to come into focus as we open the polls on the logo selection process! In all, we received 40 eligible entries across four teams. Now it's time for you to weigh in. Keep scrolling and make sure you vote in all 18 polls!






Check back in a few days for the next round of polls!

World Expansion: Submit your logo designs!

The IceHL World is adding four new teams this fall, and as of today they have all been officially named! Now it's time for you to begin creating your logo contest entries!

Like last year, I've put together some inspiration images to get you started. I am not recommending any design elements or color palettes. The idea here is just to get the creative wheels turning. Your designs are up to you!

There they are! Your four IceHL World expansion teams — the Auckland Rockhoppers, Helsinki LynxMunich Machine, and Seoul Express. Welcome to the league!

NOTE: All but one of these names came directly from the community voting brackets. Voters selected White Tigers as the name of the Seoul team, but the IceHL Design Council felt there shouldn't be two feline teams entering the league together at this time. White Tigers received three vetoes from the Council, who decided to adopt the runner-up name, Seoul Express.

Now let's get this show on the road. Artists of all experience levels are welcome to submit their creations to represent these four IceHL franchises.

THE RULES

There are a few ground rules in IceHL design contests, but they must be followed: 

  • DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK. No copying or tracing of others' artwork. No clipart. No adapting existing designs. No "borrowing." Create something original and distinctive!
  • Entries must be submitted via email to icethetics@gmail.com by the deadline.
  • Valid entries will include at least a PRIMARY LOGOSECONDARY LOGO and a WORDMARK.
  • Please submit vector artwork (PDF/AI) if at all possible as this will be helpful in creating graphics for the website as well as the IceHL yearbook. (I will also accept high-resolution JPG and PNG formats, but please do not save a raster file as a PDF.)
  • Include your FIRST AND LAST NAME as well as your EMAIL ADDRESS on your artwork. 
  • Finally, by submitting artwork, you agree to grant Icethetics rights to use it in conjunction with all IceHL-related projects and publications.

DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JULY 24

You have three weeks to design and submit your work. Have fun and good luck!

IMPORTANT: Take note that two of the four names in this contest are shared by former ECHL franchises. And of course Rockhoppers are penguins. Logos that share color palettes or design elements with any of these past or present NHL or ECHL logos will be automatically rejected. Make sure your designs are original if you want them included.

NOT A DESIGNER? YOU CAN STILL HELP!

Maybe you lack the skills and talents needed to create a logo, but you have a great idea for a design. Try putting it into words. Describe your idea in the comments and maybe it'll help one of our designers who's struggling to come up with an idea. You may not get a design credit, but you can still be part of the process!

Good luck to everyone!