BTLNHL #25: San Jose Sharks

After the last post, you had to know another ’90s animal-related team logo had to be coming up soon. Well, you didn’t have to wait long. With a slightly better logo than Florida, coming in at #25, is the San Jose Sharks.

A lot of my feedback about this logo can pretty much be summed up by (as mentioned) re-reading the post about the Panthers (the post so nice, you should read it twice), but there’s definitely some points of differentiation. So first off, let’s examine what’s better about this logo:

1. It’s more simplistic. The whole body isn’t being shown, the details on the body are a lot more streamlined and the colour scheme is much less complex.

2. It’s more dynamic. The angle of shark denotes aggression and movement, and it’s accentuated by the angles of the fins, the triangle that the shark is emerging from, and pretty much everything else in the logo. You’d be hard pressed to find something in this logo that’s following hard vertical or horizontal lines.

3. It looks meaner. While the orange eye is wandering into zombie shark territory, it’s still a pretty mean looking mofo. Or mo-shark. Or Mo’shark (it is Movember, after all).

But it’s not all good times. What’s worse about this logo?

1. It’s more cartoonish. Chomping through a hockey stick, with bits flying off in all directions? Really? Let’s leave that stuff in the minor leagues.

2. Skin disease. I understand the need to show the prominent teal colour in someway, but that patch of teal on the top of the shark looks like it contracted some sort of shark rash or something. Their original logo didn’t have it, and I think it’s better for it. It’s not a flattering or necessary part of the design and detracts from the logo.

3. Teal. Need I say more? Okay, maybe I should. Teal’s not a great colour for sports and it doesn’t exactly scream toughness or aggression in any way. I think it other instances of design, outside of hockey, teal can be a lovely colour to use, but not in this instance. Remember the Red Army? The Orange Crush? Nobody mentions the Teal Tornado.

4. Chomping through a hockey stick. Seriously? Worth another mention.

But, in this case, the positives outweigh the negatives, and the Sharks’ logo works better. And so, their logo is only the 25th best in the NHL. Congrats Teal Attack!

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