Thursday, April 11, 2013

Review: Minnesota Wind Chill (AUDL)

Part of the series critiquing the professional Ultimate team logos and nicknames.
Team: Minnesota Wind Chill

Web: http://www.windchillultimate.com/ // twitter: @MN_Wind_Chill

Representation: State // League: AUDL

Disc within logo?: Yes. // Ultimate element in team name?: No.

Background: Minnesota embraces its love of the outdoor lifestyle - nature (loons, gophers, lakes) and wintry sports (ice fishing, snowmobiling, skijoring). Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin, which is a function of the air temperature + wind speed. The wind chill temperature (often called "wind chill factor") is always lower than the air temperature, except at higher temperatures where wind chill is considered less important. When the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead.

Regardless that the wind chill formula was revised in 2001, the North Star State has a history of being wind-chilly.

First impression(s):  A throat lozenge in a yang-y hammock. "Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free stay centered that is the ULTIMATE."

Eli's Eval: The name is fine, it's cold there. But, I do not understand why their logo is a disc being swaddled in a blue diaper (which sort of resembles waves). The execution of the incomprehensible graphic is handled with a deft hand. The lines are clean and there is a nice variation in the thickness. The logo works well both large and small, and although the type is tiny, it is difficult to do type on a curve well, and it is good.

The problem with the type being that small, and having Red Sox/Brooklyn Dodgers-style flourishes, is that at that size they are illegible and make the type look sketchy; this is why phonebooks don't use serif fonts. The six stars (three on each side of the circle) are also lost due to a lack of contrast.

:Eli's Grades:
Grade: B-
On Logo: B
On Typography: C

Thoughts on this AUDL's team name & logo?

No comments: