by Chad Pinckney

In order to keep our keyboard weary fingers on the pulse of the latest NHL design, sometimes it’s necessary to go a little deeper down the rabbit-hole. In this Top 5 edition we are showcasing some of our favorite logo concepts in the design community from all around the internet. Today’s focus: the New York Islanders. The Isles have been making serious waves this season and their popularity is on the rise. Would now be a good time for a slight re-branding? These designers seem to think so…

Adam Patton (Minneapolis, MN) :: Website :: Concept Source Page

This familiar looking ‘NY’ mark has been designed with a fun sense of 3D-ish depth, and letter over-lapping that makes it a little more interesting than the Isles current chrome alternate jersey logo. Also, the alternating blue and orange colors of the NY are pretty fresh; something that we haven’t seen before. The main concern here: could this logo hold it’s own amongst some of the more serious designs in the NHL? I would love to see this one without all that stick-tape.

Bob Schultz (Atlanta, GA) :: Website :: Concept Source Page

This one deserves an inclusion on our list purely out of bravery of re-designing a ’90s logo that has been mocked by design community over and over again. The fisherman has been simplified from his original version, to mostly just a head, which apparently stopped fake-tanning and lost that orange glow he was so famous for, previously. This new fisherman has a classic feel and nobility built-in. I would trust this guy to get us back to land if stranded in a small boat on the ocean. Just saying. The overall design has a few technical fixes, color, lighting etc. that could use some attention, but, if the Isles dared bring him back…this could make a great shoulder patch or alternate.

Elliot Strauss (Atlanta, GA) :: Website :: Concept Source Page

This lighthouse logo uses some softer blues and oranges than the Isles have traditionally used, but the geometric quality of this design is pretty sharp, and frankly I think New York should utilize the lighthouse imagery more. The designer claims there is a hidden ‘I’ in the negative space of the lighthouse, which was not easy for me to see. I appreciate hidden objects in logos, would totally encourage doing this, and the lighthouse shape is well suited for it. With a little more design consideration this one could be a top concept.

Quentin Brehler (Quincy, MA) :: Website :: Concept Source Page

This concept features the Montauk lighthouse in Long Island fused with an anchor, a rather obvious element we have not seen a lot of in Isles concepts. The anchor here works nicely and doesn’t seem too busy, well, at least not as busy as the Isles classic NY mark overlapping Long Island. The forgettable san-serif type being used in this new version’s NY could be re-visited by the designer, but overall the alternating blue, white and orange shadows throughout this logo are really interesting and was overall executed very well.

Kristopher Bazen (Columbus, OH) :: Website :: Concept Source Page

This lighthouse concept is a shining example of the fine balance between flat vector shaping and use of highlights in a logo. Combined with a sharp color treatment this logo has me convinced that the Isles could totally pull off using the lighthouse imagery as a primary mark. I’m not 100% sold on the blue gradients used on the shield, and also, I think seeing this logo integrated with typography may give it a different feel, but seriously this lighthouse is awesome! The treatment of the searchlight is reminiscent of a camera “flash” used by the hoards of visitors who flock to the proud state of New York. Whether this was intentional or not, it is very fitting as the Islanders continue to be in the spotlight.

(Ed. note: Kris Bazen is no stranger to this site, having been interviewed for his work on the infamous Buffaslug)

What do you think? Have you seen other awesome Islanders concepts out there? What team would you like to see featured next in this series of Top 5 posts? Let us know in the comments below!