Grading the Seattle Kraken name, logo, colors and uniforms – ESPN

Colors: 7. You know how sometimes youre seeing a motion picture and youre like, “I want this was as good as the trailer?” Well, Seattle had actually been using a salmon-and-light-blue concept on its branding prior to this weeks reveal, so it was a little frustrating not to see that incredible and distinct color combination make the last cut. Ive constantly been partial to Seattle teams leaning into that Emerald City vibe with the green like Sounders FC did, as opposed to heading more in the Mariners instructions like the Kraken. Hey, at least its black and not red, which is what the ownership group was thinking about at the start.
The blue is dark enough to evoke black without being, like, the 800th jersey in current NHL history to rock a strong black base. What I liked about the Vegas sweaters was their strange little patterns and textures, and at very first glance these Seattle jerseys dont have them. The capacity is massive for the alternate jerseys that are already in the planning phases, especially ones that put that incredible Space Needle secondary logo design front and.

Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL author.
Call: 7. Its an enormously cool mascot: a multi-tentacled, apparently indestructible beast that emerges from the deep to damage all in its path. Its as close as were coming to having an NHL group called after a kaiju. Its instantly unforgettable, extremely initial in contrast to other pro teams and a headline authors dream. Im docking it 3 points from excellence. One point for the mass noun/non-plural name (i.e., Wild and Heat), which is a sports pet peeve and was honestly preventable here, because Websters specifies the plural of Kraken as either “Kraken or Krakens.” A 2nd point is deducted for not being a name the residents have actually supported throughout the procedure– Sockeyes and Metropolitans won more Seattle fan polls. And a 3rd point for encouraging a variety of “krak”- adjacent nicknames like “krakheads”; while a lot of us discover them humorous, it requires to be acknowledged that numerous feel “crackheads” has racial connotations. So perhaps we tread lightly there.
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The S itself is both a little Kraken and evokes the hull of a ship, in two good maritime nods. Sure, it sorta looks like the “S” from the Seagrams drink company logo, only with a San Jose Sharks-esque glowing eye on it. Its better than a good part of present NHL main logo designs.

We have actually known because 2018 that Seattle would be the NHLs 32nd franchise. Up until Thursday, we didnt understand the group name, nor the logo, nor the colors– although speculation ran wild over what all of that would be.
Now we know: Its the Seattle Kraken, and upon the release (sorry) of the official name, logo design, colors and uniforms came a wave of response from around the sports-loving world, particularly in Seattle, a city whose locals have been clamoring for that intel for nearly 2 years. Its not surprising that the group required to be so persistent at keeping everything under a cloak of secrecy.
So how did it do? Our panelists weigh in with grades on each element of Thursdays expose, from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the greatest):.

LAUNCH THE KRAKEN … onto your phone, desktop, or Zoom background with these wallpapers. pic.twitter.com/EYIJ4Nc9I0— Seattle Kraken (@NHLSeattle_) July 23, 2020.

Seattle Kraken. Love the Space Needle anchor.

Kraken only gets part of the way there for me. It would have doubled as a homage to the old Seattle Metropolitans, who used similar colors. Kraken is bold, Ill provide them that.
2 RelatedLogo: 5. I like the understated method over a cartoonish depiction of a Kraken, and I get the vibe of mystery that the style group was opting for, however the primary logo is a little too peaceful for me. They could have included some subtle suckers to make the arm more recognizable than it is with just the profile view. Without more difference, the S looks old-Englishy (bring up The Seattle Times Twitter page and youll see what I indicate). The Space Needle in the anchor is real slick– great deals of tattoo capacity there.
If a sea creature like Kraken is the name, then dark blue is the apparent choice for the primary color. Green or gray might have looked great as complementary colors however may have made the entire plan appearance less distinguishable from those of the Seahawks or Mariners.
Put it all together and these are sharp, specifically the road jerseys. My favorite aspect is how, to my eye, the lighter blue takes on a turquoise shade when contrasted versus the white. Looking at the lettering on the back of the road jersey, I think the front would pop with more dark blue.

Emily Kaplan, nationwide NHL reporter.
Name: 9. Kraken is special. Its strange. I indicate, its a legendary sea monster– a lot of people probably have no concept what it is, and its unclear if the imaginary animal of the initial myth even lives in Pacific waters. However the Kraken identify as a fan-serving franchise, and it feels genuine to the neighborhood. Youre either in on it or youre not one of us.
Logo design: 8. Smart choice to pay homage to the Metropolitans with the S and not select something cartoonish, but its the use of negative area that sold me. I enjoy how Adidas Design Director Matty Merrill explains it: “While youre seeing theS, and thinking about the Metropolitans, thinking of the colors, that negative area tentacle is concealing there, wrapping around your ankles, prepared to pull you down.”.
Colors: 6. The colors pop– specifically that icy cool blue on the deep navy. Of the 31 existing teams in the NHL, 16 have tones of blue, but Seattles feel distinct.
Consistent set: 8. Something about them just feels sharp. I like the secondary logo design of an anchor on the sleeves, which features the Space Needle. I particularly like that theres no white at all on the house jerseys, which provides them a special appearance.
Courtesy Seattle KrakenArda Ocal, personnel writer and esports caster.
Call: 10. RELEASE THE KRAKEN … are you joke me? And on a side note: I would guess the number of people googling “Kraken” today shot up by about 7,000%.
With the NHL on time out considering that March 12, the league and gamers association have actually developed a return-to-play format featuring 24 teams.
– Details on the return-to-play strategy – Guide to all 24 postseason groups – Latest updates from around the NHL.
Logo design: 9. I like the intricacies and information included. Like how the shoulder spot anchor logo design includes the Space Needle. How the S is a homage to the (Stanley Cup champion) Seattle Metropolitans. Not to discuss the arm on the within of the body of the S, and the enormous red eye. I understand its a nautically themed typeface, but the only thing Im not truly crazy about is the actual “Seattle Kraken” writing (which you see at the end of the reveal video) … required a bit more red there for my taste. But overall, still a huge fat W here.
For any esports fans out there, the logo design does certainly have an ambiance of “If The Florida Mutineers and Seattle Surge from the Call of Duty League had a child.”.
Colors: 7. Red alert– that fits the style of fear. Without the red accent, its a bit doing not have (like I said above, the “Seattle Kraken” completely written out feels like its missing out on the red as that exclamation mark).
Uniform set: 8. They look well created. I also love the “Kraken” inside the collar, where weve seen numerous Easter eggs on sweatshirts of numerous different NHL groups (the Nashville Predators piano secrets is still my preferred). No matter their obligation, hockey fans will desire to buy at least one piece of Kraken product. Plus, you know eventually were getting an alternate jersey with a real Kraken … or Liam Neesons face from the 2010 variation of “Clash of the Titans” … either will be fine.

Seattle Kraken. If a sea creature like Kraken is the name, then dark blue is the obvious option for the primary color. I understand its a nautically themed font style, however the only thing Im not truly crazy about is the actual “Seattle Kraken” writing (which you see at the end of the reveal video) … required a bit more red there for my taste. Without the red accent, its a bit lacking (like I stated above, the “Seattle Kraken” totally written out feels like its missing the red as that exclamation mark). Ive always been partial to Seattle groups leaning into that Emerald City ambiance with the green like Sounders FC did, as opposed to heading more in the Mariners direction like the Kraken.