Best Team Logos in the NHL (BTLNHL) #30: Anaheim Ducks

By JVDW
In BTLNHL Countdown
Oct 3rd, 2011
27 Comments

The first team alphabetically is the worst team designally. I know, not a word, but isn’t the poetry delicious?

Anyway, we start off scraping the bottom of the barrel with the Anaheim Ducks. Overall, the logo itself is not too bad. It’s somewhat distinctive, although relatively bland, and it tries really hard to make the best out of a bad situation. Creating a logo that relates to ducks for a sport that is built on fluidity, grace, speed and toughness (all things that ducks are not) can’t be an easy task, and they do it as well as one could hope. Did I mention that they actually fly hundreds of miles to avoid winter and ice. At least it has nothing to do with Disney anymore.

But (and you knew that ‘but’ was coming), the logo still fails horribly because it failed to follow the one standard that every team in the NHL, and pretty much every single team in professional sports, follows.

Take a look at this. Notice a team that kind of sticks out? My guess is that the agency/design team who designed this logo had never designed a sports logo before in their lives. The landscape (almost panoramic) orientation of their logo goes against almost every other sports logo out there. While I’m all for being an individual, the problem is that there’s a reason why team logos are generally square in orientation: it looks great on a hockey jersey.

It can be large and prominent, the centre of attention. It is the first point of contact for the brand of a team. Instead, the Ducks logos become hidden and hard to read compared to other teams. Even the “C” on Getzlaf’s jersey is bigger than the logo font. And the “Anaheim” is totally unreadable. If you were this guy, the extreme logo orientation on a jersey might work better.

The other problem is that because all the other sports teams in the world’s logos are oriented a certain way, sports television tends to build their graphics and visual scoreboards to accommodate, putting Anaheim at a disadvantage yet again. This is a minor issue, but an issue nonetheless.

Think I’m wrong about the inherit problems with the logo? Have you seen the third jersey the Ducks rolled out last year?  Looks like they learned their lesson and came to the same realization after a couple of years. I’m predicting now that these will eventually become their primary jersey within the next year or two.

One of the primary aspects of design is that there has to be a balance between aesthetics and functionality. You could design an amazing gold-laden car, but if it’s on an old Beetle, it probably still won’t drive that well.

So, the worst logo in the league, punished for it’s lack of functionality, is the Anaheim Ducks.

#29 will be coming soon!

 

The BTLNTL Countdown Posts

BTLNHL Finals: Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings
BTLNHL #3: Philadelphia Flyers
BTLNHL #4: St. Louis Blues
BTLNHL #5: Montreal Canadiens
BTLNHL #6: Pittsburgh Penguins
BTLNHL #7: Chicago Blackhawks
BTLNHL #8: Toronto Maple Leafs
BTLNHL #9: Phoenix Coyotes
BTLNHL #10: Vancouver Canucks
BTLNHL #11: Edmonton Oilers
BTLNHL #12: New York Rangers
BTLNHL #13: Calgary Flames
BTLNHL #14: Buffalo Sabres
BTLNHL #15: Winnipeg Jets
BTLNHL #16: Minnesota Wild
BTLNHL #17: New Jersey Devils
BTLNHL #18: Nashville Predators
BTLNHL #19: Carolina Hurricanes
BTLNHL #20: New York Islanders
BTLNHL #21: Ottawa Senators
BTLNHL #22: Tampa Bay Lightning
BTLNHL #23: Columbus Blue Jackets
BTLNHL #24: Washington Capitals
BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks
BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers
BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars
BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings
BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche
BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks

 

 

27 Responses to “Best Team Logos in the NHL (BTLNHL) #30: Anaheim Ducks”

  1. […] 30 teams in the NHL. Of those 30, there’s 6 that have animals as their namesake (Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins) and 2 […]

  2. […] new expansive grove of logos is the Washington Capitals. They have similar problems to that of the Anaheim Ducks, in that it’s a font-based logo (which is not necessarily a problem) that is more horizontal […]

  3. Kelly says:

    John,

    You are totally right. I’m a new fan of the game in the last couple of years, so I’ve paid relatively little time looking at jerseys and such, but last week when the Canucks played the Ducks in Anaheim, it took me a while to figure out what the weird logo was even supposed to be. Then when it hit me, all I could think was “Whoa! That is a freaking ugly jersey. When did they change from their other ugly duckling jersey?” This one is certainly not turning into a swan anytime soon. Thanks for your designer insight.

    PS Love the blog 🙂

  4. Don T. Smith says:

    I know your field is graphics, but you continually type “it’s” when you should be typing “its.” “It’s” is a contraction for “it is,” not a possessive. Otherwise, your site is great.

  5. […] Personality Perhaps the biggest feature of this logo is that is has more personality than CheezWhiz could ever add. The designer did a great job of giving a penguin a character that’s somehow fitting of hockey. If someone came to me and requested a logo for a hockey team with the name Penguins, I might tell them to reconsider the name. Yeah, ice, cold, hockey – I get it. But hockey is a sport of speed, grace, intensity and toughness. None of these describe a penguin, or at least not when they’re on a hard surface (as opposed to them underwater) and they’re somewhat useless on ice. Also, having knees can help too. It reminds me of another NHL team that has a very non-hockey animal as their team name, and look where they ended up. […]

  6. anaheim ducks says:

    I really love this ducks logo…. tees looks awesome with it.. I had my tee print using this high graphic logo http://www.bhmpics.com/anaheim_ducks-wallpapers.html with zazzle.
    Hope i can share here my tee photo.

  7. […] I try to tear everything apart as equally as I can. If you feature text prominently in your logo (or if that’s all your logo is), it’s fair […]

  8. […] BTLNHL Finals: Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings BTLNHL #3: Philadelphia Flyers BTLNHL #4: St. Louis Blues BTLNHL #5: Montreal Canadiens BTLNHL #6: Pittsburgh Penguins BTLNHL #7: Chicago Blackhawks BTLNHL #8: Toronto Maple Leafs BTLNHL #9: Phoenix Coyotes BTLNHL #10: Vancouver Canucks BTLNHL #11: Edmonton Oilers BTLNHL #12: New York Rangers BTLNHL #13: Calgary Flames BTLNHL #14: Buffalo Sabres BTLNHL #15: Winnipeg Jets BTLNHL #16: Minnesota Wild BTLNHL #17: New Jersey Devils BTLNHL #18: Nashville Predators BTLNHL #19: Carolina Hurricanes BTLNHL #20: New York Islanders BTLNHL #21: Ottawa Senators BTLNHL #22: Tampa Bay Lightning BTLNHL #23: Columbus Blue Jackets BTLNHL #24: Washington Capitals BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

  9. RGuy says:

    Another beef: the big D alone is obviously supposed to be a duck’s footprint. Which would have the duck walking to the left… but the design looks like a lame, rounded arrow pointing right. Just doesn’t work.

  10. […] already ranked Anaheim’s logo as the worst one in the NHL, but their third jersey rectifies my one big complaint, that the large D is actually more square […]

  11. […] of the worst designs (logos and jerseys) ever to grace the league. And while I rated the Ducks in last place in the BTLNHL (Best Team Logos in the NHL) Countdown, had I written the Countdown after they made the switch for their alternate logo to become their […]

  12. […] jerseys finally symbolize the full switchover for the Ducks from their awful logo (which we ranked as the worst in the league) to something moderately better (definitely no longer the worst in the league). Gone is the […]

  13. […] the icon gives it less prominence on the jersey (which is the same reason why the Anaheim Ducks were ranked last in the BTLNHL Countdown) and that’s mixed with the over complexity of having a full […]

  14. […] Related Reading: Best Team Logos in the NHL (BTLNHL) #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

  15. […] BTLNHL Finals: Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings BTLNHL #3: Philadelphia Flyers BTLNHL #4: St. Louis Blues BTLNHL #5: Montreal Canadiens BTLNHL #6: Pittsburgh Penguins BTLNHL #7: Chicago Blackhawks BTLNHL #8: Toronto Maple Leafs BTLNHL #9: Phoenix Coyotes BTLNHL #10: Vancouver Canucks BTLNHL #11: Edmonton Oilers BTLNHL #12: New York Rangers BTLNHL #13: Calgary Flames BTLNHL #14: Buffalo Sabres BTLNHL #15: Winnipeg Jets BTLNHL #16: Minnesota Wild BTLNHL #17: New Jersey Devils BTLNHL #18: Nashville Predators BTLNHL #19: Carolina Hurricanes BTLNHL #20: New York Islanders BTLNHL #21: Ottawa Senators BTLNHL #22: Tampa Bay Lightning BTLNHL #23: Columbus Blue Jackets BTLNHL #24: Washington Capitals BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

  16. […] BTLNHL Finals: Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings BTLNHL #3: Philadelphia Flyers BTLNHL #4: St. Louis Blues BTLNHL #5: Montreal Canadiens BTLNHL #6: Pittsburgh Penguins BTLNHL #7: Chicago Blackhawks BTLNHL #8: Toronto Maple Leafs BTLNHL #9: Phoenix Coyotes BTLNHL #10: Vancouver Canucks BTLNHL #11: Edmonton Oilers BTLNHL #12: New York Rangers BTLNHL #13: Calgary Flames BTLNHL #14: Buffalo Sabres BTLNHL #15: Winnipeg Jets BTLNHL #16: Minnesota Wild BTLNHL #17: New Jersey Devils BTLNHL #18: Nashville Predators BTLNHL #19: Carolina Hurricanes BTLNHL #20: New York Islanders BTLNHL #21: Ottawa Senators BTLNHL #22: Tampa Bay Lightning BTLNHL #23: Columbus Blue Jackets BTLNHL #24: Washington Capitals BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

  17. […] Related Reading: Best Team Logos in the NHL (BTLNHL) #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

  18. […] of the worst designs (logos and jerseys) ever to grace the league. And while I rated the Ducks in last place in the BTLNHL (Best Team Logos in the NHL) Countdown, had I written the Countdown after they made the switch for their alternate logo to become their […]

  19. […] More: BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks • More: Worst to First Jerseys: Anaheim Ducks (Redux) • More: Top 5: Anaheim Ducks Logo […]

  20. jfw says:

    Might be the best collection of logos

  21. […] More: BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks • More: Worst to First Jerseys: Anaheim Ducks […]

  22. […] More: BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks • More: Worst to First Jerseys: Anaheim Ducks […]

  23. […] BTLNHL Finals: Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings BTLNHL #3: Philadelphia Flyers BTLNHL #4: St. Louis Blues BTLNHL #5: Montreal Canadiens BTLNHL #6: Pittsburgh Penguins BTLNHL #7: Chicago Blackhawks BTLNHL #8: Toronto Maple Leafs BTLNHL #9: Phoenix Coyotes BTLNHL #10: Vancouver Canucks BTLNHL #11: Edmonton Oilers BTLNHL #12: New York Rangers BTLNHL #13: Calgary Flames BTLNHL #14: Buffalo Sabres BTLNHL #15: Winnipeg Jets BTLNHL #16: Minnesota Wild BTLNHL #17: New Jersey Devils BTLNHL #18: Nashville Predators BTLNHL #19: Carolina Hurricanes BTLNHL #20: New York Islanders BTLNHL #21: Ottawa Senators BTLNHL #22: Tampa Bay Lightning BTLNHL #23: Columbus Blue Jackets BTLNHL #24: Washington Capitals BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim Ducks […]

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