OK, so I've got something up my sleeve for what I felt could be a fun little design challenge...kind of a "what-if" moment. This is thanks in part to thinking about the school I currently attend (Western Connecticut St.). Currently, WestConn does have a club hockey team (albeit a pretty sad club hockey team...losing by double digits is a common occurrence), but I got to thinking....
"What if WestConn had an actual D-III program for ice hockey?"
Not too bad of a scenario...but then I got to thinking even more (which, as some of my friends may tell you, is a dangerous thing)..
"What if all the schools in the 2 conferences they call home decided to merge into one big conglomeration (as is the case with most college conferences these days)?"
Hmmm...8 in WestConn's nominal home, 8 more schools in the football home. All located in New England. Makes logical sense.
So, as I thought it over, I figured why not give it a stab...could make for some fun. Also, it would get me some practice in regards to some of the competitions I've entered over at HJC.
Keep in mind that NONE of this is even on the table as far as I know. No radical D-III realignments coming in the near future..this is just a conceptual take on how it could go.
Without further ado, here's the layout of how this is going to unfold:
SCENARIO:
The Little East Conference and the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MSCAC) are merged into one "super-conference" for the sport of ice hockey at the D-III level. The new conference consists of 16 member schools spread into 2 divisions (North and South) and are aligned geographically.
The divisions and new member schools are allotted as follows:
NORTH DIVISION
University of Southern Maine HUSKIES (Gorham, ME)
Keene State University OWLS (Keene, NH)
Plymouth State University PANTHERS (Plymouth, NH)
UMass-Boston BEACONS (Boston, MA)
Salem State University VIKINGS (Salem, MA)
Fitchburg State University FALCONS (Fitchburg, MA)
Framingham State University RAMS (Framingham, MA)
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts TRAILBLAZERS (North Adams, MA)
SOUTH DIVISION
UMass-Dartmouth CORSAIRS (North Dartmouth, MA)
Massachusetts Maritime BUCCANEERS (Buzzards Bay, MA)
Worcester State University LANCERS (Worcester, MA)
Bridgewater State University BEARS (Bridgewater, MA)
Westfield State University OWLS (Westfield, MA)
Rhode Island College ANCHORMEN (Providence, RI)
Eastern Connecticut State University WARRIORS (Willimantic, CT)
Western Connecticut State University COLONIALS (Danbury, CT)
THE CONCEPTS
For each school, I plan on designing a basic home and road uniform set. Kinda leaning away from doing alternates as it's D-III.
ROLLOUT PLAN
Some of the designs are in their early stages, some are closer to being done. As I get closer to completing all the designs, I will roll out final designs in no particular order.
THE USUAL BOILERPLATE DISCLAIMER THINGY
I'm in no way, manner, shape, or form looking to cash in on any of this. Would it be nice? Not gonna lie there, but I'm also a realist. It's purely just for fun, nothing more, nothing less. Any and all branding marks for the schools in question (and the Little East Conference for that matter) are their respective properties.
So that's what I have in store...check back soon to see what I came up with.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
A Better Intro and What's In Store....
I know, the cheesy placeholder intro thingy wasn't cutting it....time for a much better intro and a little insight as to what you can expect in checking this place out over the coming weeks and months....
I've always had a thing for designing uniforms for various sports and the like. Dunno why I like it so much, but I find it to be a little fun. I'd probably say the biggest thing that got me into it was back in high school long ago (yeah, I'm a bit older, but I won't go dating myself as to when this happened). My high school's baseball team were looking for a new look out on the field and the coach was asking around. I didn't play too much in case you were wondering. I was a lot like Pedro Cerrano from Major League...could hit the bejeezus out of a fat pitch, but had major difficulties with the breaking stuff or anything with a lot of movement on it. Add to that I was a major liability out in the field and it pretty much says why I was riding pine and keeping score 99.9% of the time.
Anyways, new unis were on tap and I just drew something up while on a bus trip back from a loss in the state tourney. What I came up with was a blend of what the Montreal Expos road jerseys were like with some elements of what the Cubs wore on the road at the time. Long story short, the school green lit the idea and my HS was rocking some nice threads for my senior year out on the diamond (the team missed out on the state tourney that year, but damn, did we look good doing it).
The design bug has been there off and on over the years. Now, as I close in on a degree (Management Info Systems), I felt the bug coming back and decided why not showcase what I can do (with some helpful prodding from my g/f, who said I should show off what I can do instead of just doodling around on the computer and not showing a soul besides her)...
As for what's on tap...
I've always had a thing for designing uniforms for various sports and the like. Dunno why I like it so much, but I find it to be a little fun. I'd probably say the biggest thing that got me into it was back in high school long ago (yeah, I'm a bit older, but I won't go dating myself as to when this happened). My high school's baseball team were looking for a new look out on the field and the coach was asking around. I didn't play too much in case you were wondering. I was a lot like Pedro Cerrano from Major League...could hit the bejeezus out of a fat pitch, but had major difficulties with the breaking stuff or anything with a lot of movement on it. Add to that I was a major liability out in the field and it pretty much says why I was riding pine and keeping score 99.9% of the time.
Anyways, new unis were on tap and I just drew something up while on a bus trip back from a loss in the state tourney. What I came up with was a blend of what the Montreal Expos road jerseys were like with some elements of what the Cubs wore on the road at the time. Long story short, the school green lit the idea and my HS was rocking some nice threads for my senior year out on the diamond (the team missed out on the state tourney that year, but damn, did we look good doing it).
The design bug has been there off and on over the years. Now, as I close in on a degree (Management Info Systems), I felt the bug coming back and decided why not showcase what I can do (with some helpful prodding from my g/f, who said I should show off what I can do instead of just doodling around on the computer and not showing a soul besides her)...
As for what's on tap...
- My main focus is on the world of hockey. Been a fan for quite a long time and I feel that hockey sweaters are some of the nicest pieces of sports apparel one can own. There's some pretty great looks some teams have and some pretty awful ones. My hope is to show off what I think the teams should be wearing on the ice. The scope is not just limited to the NHL. AHL, ECHL, CHL, SPHL, FHL, Major Junior, College, International...all will probably make an appearance here over the course of time.
- Baseball's another big love of mine. MLB and the minors will get their due over the course of time as well.
- Soccer is a passion. Played in HS, still follow the game. With the World Cup approaching, I might have to take a stab at what all 32 nations should be wearing once the festivities get underway in Brazil this coming June. Club soccer will not be ignored either as I'll take a fresh look at MLS and some of the other major leagues around the world.
- Football is another interest. Some teams in the NFL need a slight tweak to their look (or a complete overhaul in the regards of some). The college ranks and even the CFL could make an appearance too.
- Not a huge basketball fan, so don't really expect anything regarding the NBA and the like.
- Crossover projects (blending the look of one team from one sport on to what they wear in another) could happen as well.
- There's also a few fantasy league projects I have in mind too. A major one is my take on what the landscape of soccer in the US could possibly look like if it were adapted to the English professional leagues (Premier, Championship, League 1, and League 2).
- Lastly, I'll probably post some tips and tricks I've learned as I've done these sorts of things and what programs and resources work best in creating something.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Welcome!
Just a little place-holder post after finally setting up a site for my work. More will be coming in the future days ahead as I get things up and running here.
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