BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche

By JVDW
In BTLNHL Countdown
Oct 5th, 2011
27 Comments

Welcome to Yetiville. The 29th best place in the NHL to be.

From the expansion/relocation era of the 1990s and 2000s, there were a rash of teams coming into the league, as well as established teams that redesigned their brands. And there is a definite design aesthetic that emerged from that era, and almost all of the time, it wasn’t pretty. Generally, it was characterized by being overdone, overblown, over-designed and stripped of all sorts of cleanliness and simplicity. The Avalanche logo is a product of this era.

To me, there needs to be a difference in the brand between the junior- and minor-league teams, both in design and branding, and the pros. Why? Because it’s the best hockey in the world, and everything, from the skill level to the management to the branding, should be reflected as such. This is why you get teams in the minors with logos like this. And this. And this. You will should never see anything like this in the NHL. When you’re playing in the best league in the world, you should have the most refined and well-thought designs in the world.

But, back specifically to the Avalanche. I get it, I do. It’s a mountain that’s also an “A” for “avalanche”. And there’s an actual avalanche happening. Oh, and there’s a puck there just so everyone knows it’s about hockey. Gotcha. But since when did logos have to be so incredibly literal? It feels like they’re trying way too hard to be smart and clever while including as many different elements into the design as possible.

There’s a saying I like to use called “death by committee”, where any design project is turned mediocre by having too many people all wanting equal input into the process. A group of vultures is also called a committee. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. But it feels like that’s what happened with the Avalanche logo…

 

Harry: “Yeah Mr Designer, that’s great, but there’s nothing that says hockey on there.”

Mr Designer: “Does it need to? There’s lots of great logos in the NHL that don’t have any sort of hockey reference…”

Dale: “Oh, but we’ll definitely need it here. This isn’t Canada. People won’t know what it is.”

Laura: “Yes Dale, of course we should. Mr Designer, could you make it more ‘avalanche-y’ too? 

Audrey: “Wouldn’t it be cool to have the avalanche swoosh around the mountain?”

Mr Designer: “But avalanches don’t encircle mountains…”

Bobby: “Oooo…encircling. I like that word! Let’s do it!”

Donna: “Can we put lots of detail in the snow. Swooshes everywhere!”

Mr Designer: “Um…I don’t think…”

Benjamin: “Yeah, lots of detail. We don’t want the snow to just be white. And let’s put a circle behind it. You know, to keep it together.”

Bob: “Circles! I love circles!”

Mr Designer: “oh boy…”

 

There’s too much of everything happening in this logo. And it’s way too literal. The most distinctive logos always have a hint of the abstract and a simplification to it. For one, it will create a more timeless logo and last a lot longer that way.

So, #29 is the Colorado Avalanche.

 

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 “BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche”

  1. holidayblues says:

    Since no one has commented on this yet, I thought I’d drop the first one.
    I actually like the Avalanche logo, although it does have a lot of stuff on it. I agree with your Anaheim evaluation though, and they should definitely make their third jersey the primary one.
    I have a feeling that my hometown team, the Caps, are down in the bottom half as well…

    • Admin says:

      Thanks for the comment! Yeah, design will always be subjective to a certain degree, and I’m totally expecting disagreement, so it’s all good.
      As for the Caps, you’ll just have to wait and see.

  2. MAINEiac says:

    LOL at the Lewiston Maineiacs logo link.

  3. […] you can see how the movement is implied by the shape of the elements, and not by an overload of extra elements and movement lines thrown in. But the movement inexplicably gets contained by a grey outline. Not sure why they felt that was […]

  4. […] ranking for any of the teams with logos borne from the ’90s logo designs that I’m not so fond of. And obviously, I do think it’s the best of the bunch, especially considering the team name […]

  5. […] Daniel Price, designer of not one but two NHL logos currently being used, the Colorado Avalanche (which I ranked 29th) and the Phoenix Coyotes (which I ranked 9th), which I hoped would even me out in his eyes. As it […]

  6. […] Would the Islanders be ranked lower had they not been a dynasty in the ’80s? Perhaps. Am I overcompensating that thought by ranking them too low now? Maybe. Would the Avalanche been ranked higher than #29 had they won more than 2 Cups when they were a dominant team in the ’90s and ’00s? Probably not. That logo sucks. […]

  7. Hockey fan says:

    Dude, no way in hell are the Avs the second worst logo in the NHL. It is an awesome logo. One of the coolest in the NHL and definitely not deserving such a low spot. Like a flying wheel, a winged musical note and a shiny ”B” are any better? Please.
    Your taste in design is just bad. Please shut down this blog, and spare the world from any further posts from your bad taste. You clearly know nothing and are unable to appreciate any decent artwork.

    • LightningStrike says:

      If you want to disagree, do so respectfully or people will realize quite quickly that you have nothing to say. Also, lay off my Red Wings and their amazing logo!

  8. […] San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim […]

  9. […] is it with Denver-based NHL teams rushing their logo designs? I ranked the Avalanche’s logo very low in the BTNHL Countdown, and I wondered if it was the result of a rushed concept when moving the […]

  10. […] hockey stick. I’m not usually one for incorporating hockey elements into logos (see the Avalanche’s puck, or the Sharks’ hockey stick) as it’s way too obvious of a choice and, as such, usually […]

  11. […] Daniel Price, designer of not one but two NHL logos currently being used, the Colorado Avalanche (which I ranked 29th) and the Phoenix Coyotes (which I ranked 9th), which I hoped would even me out in his eyes. As it […]

  12. […] up to the high bar their play has set for the franchise? We’ve already decided that the logo isn’t really that great compared to the rest of the league, but maybe their jerseys will do the franchise […]

  13. […] a brand. Their only misstep? The previous third jerseys weren’t that great. Oh yeah, and their 29th-ranked logo. Even success hasn’t saved that […]

  14. […] San Jose Sharks BTLNHL #26: Florida Panthers BTLNHL #27: Dallas Stars BTLNHL #28: Los Angeles Kings BTLNHL #29: Colorado Avalanche BTLNHL #30: Anaheim […]

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  22. Edwin Davies says:

    The 1990s had the best designs!

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