Whitecaps Cold New Logo is Released

The City of Vancouver has an odd relationship with sporting tradition. Perhaps it is because we are living on the West Coast that we demand constant change and newness. Look at the Vancouver Canucks for instance. They joined the NHL back in 1970 with a great uniform. The colours were great, the logo was great, but it was deemed not good enough. Subsequently there have been so many changes to the look of the Vancouver Canucks it makes your head spin and you wonder which team you are really watching. It gives the Canucks a sense of impermanence and weakness other NHL teams like the Boston Bruins or the Montreal Canadians simply don’t have.

The Vancouver Whitecaps acted accordingly today, largely dispensing with tradition. There is no wave and no soccer ball to be found in the new logo, just a cold geometric pattern (the logo consists of three diamond shapes: one large and two smaller, with the name Vancouver Whitecaps FC written in the middle). There really is no love or affection in the image. There are no organic forms. It reminds me of going to the art gallery and seeing a cold geometric piece of modern art. It is utterly humorless, and completely lacking in charm. It has the same emotional appeal as the Hamburg FC logo: austere and geometric. It must have been designed by someone with German ancestry… It makes me feel as though we are not joining Major League Soccer, but the German Bundesliga!

The logo is meant to reflect the North Shore mountains and their reflection in the ocean, but does so in such a cold geometric manner that it fails to capture the organic beauty of our city. It is too corporate, like an automobile company logo, and does not contain the love of our club. I far prefer the Seattle Sounders Logo, which more accurately reflects a familiar attraction of Seattle’s skyline. There is charm, humour and love there.

Another thing I fear is the colour choice the Whitecaps seem to be making of a deep ultramarine blue. It appears we are going to supplement our cold logo with an even chillier colour… The Whitecaps new look is apparently going to give a positively Arctic feeling. I hope they are going to sell woolly Whitecaps sweaters, because it is going to be cold!!!

On the positive side, it is a strong logo which does reflect, albeit coldly, the history and the name of the Whitecaps. It is original and does not fall into the trap of shields, animals, and coats of arms which most football club logos have. It is modern in its outlook. I do like the retention of the 1979 colour of blue. But overall, the feeling so far is… cold.

The first impression of the new logo does not inspire, and will take some time to get used to. I hope that in time I will learn to love it.

Now lets hope they do better with the overall uniform… I pray to God it is not ultramarine Blue and that it at least has the traditional bar across the chest with “Whitecaps” or “Vancouver” written in it.

I must admit, even though I am not yet enamoured with the Logo, today’s event filled me with excitement and anticipation. I suppose the ad and image people working for the Whitecaps have done their job on me. Nice one Paul Barber!

To see the new logo and to understand its meaning, visit the Vancouver MLS 2010 site:

http://www.vancouvermls2011.com/news_and_events/archive/news06081001.aspx

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I think ‘cold’ is the right term. As someone said yesterday it reminds them of the logo for a bottled water company. ‘Arctic Springs’ or some such. Hardly a soccer themed approach. Ah well, let’s hope the quality of the soccer transcends that of the logo…
Dunc

Comment by Dunc— June 9, 2010 #

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Any logo with soccer ball is really cliche, I think new logo is awesome, looks more professional.

Comment by Vancouver Vancouver, cuz we all love Vancouver, Whitecaps Whitecaps— June 10, 2010 #

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Remember that this colour scheme is used (perhaps most famously in North America) by the University of North Carolina Tar Heels (also by the Tennessee Titans), hardly a cold climate. Our colours have always been close to these new colours anyways. I personally like the colours (though I was hoping for light blue and gold myself).

I think the coldness comes from the geometric pattern, and there we are in agreement…sort of. I personally feel it is a great idea for a logo: it is original, a unique outlines for a badge, but uses diamonds (not uncommon in German and some Italian clubs), and has a timelessness to it. But I agree that it lacks organicness. I think that it just needs one more small element to make it great. Maybe a 7-pointed star above “Vancouver” to represent our 7 championships prior to MLS. Or maybe a small white bear or small white orca in place of “Vancouver”. By ONLY being geometric, it lacks the character you are talking about. But I think it is very closer to being a truly great crest. And there is no reason to think that 5 years from now, they couldn’t make one very small tweak to the crest like we are talking about without messing up this new “brand” they are so proud to trot out.

Comment by Jeremy— June 10, 2010 #

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I like the colors, but can’t stand the logo. Three diamonds, and it’s supposed to have this deeper meaning of mountains, oceans, etc., but really, is just a bunch of marketing blather. This is what happens when you leave design decisions to corporate types who have no experience or understanding of art and design.

I’d much rather they contracted some talented artists out of Emily Carr University and picked the best design amongst them, rather than hiring a single graphic designer to give form to the bad ideas of someone in marketing. This, ironically is coming from a marketing professional myself, but I can tell you that most bad ideas originate in the boardroom from people who have never learned about typography, balance, etc. It frustrates me because it’s another lost opportunity, and the umpteenth Vancouver brand to play on the mountains, albeit in a very cold, simplistic, boring way. And don’t get me started on that font…

All in all, a major disappointment. In a city with so much creative talent, it’s another example of a corporation that has no idea how to leverage it.

Comment by mooks— June 10, 2010 #

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To me, great sports teams are rooted in tradition. When you think Yankees, Canadiens, Packers, Celtics etc., you think winning, great players, classic uniforms. Sadly the ‘Caps stewards decided to flush their proud history & winning tradition in favour of a sterile, corporate looking logo. A three triangle design, that appears to be stolen from Charlie Browns shirt, representing “whitecapped” mountains & their reflection in the water forming a V & W, that say neither soccer nor Vancouver to me & would look more at home on a hotel on Whistler.

Congrats Whitecaps! you’ve been admitted into Vancouvers sad history of bad logos.

Comment by jeff— June 11, 2010 #

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[...] Whitecapsfan blog makes much the same point about the coldness of the logo and its departure from the club’s past identity: The City of [...]

Pingback by The Vancouver Whitecaps MLS Logo: Losing History | Pitch Invasion— June 20, 2010 #

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