Chris Piascik

I was dissapointed to see the new logo design for the Connecticut Whale. A friend and fellow CT designer, Rich Hollant, perfectly expressed my thoughts:

A mark can be a galvanizing force for a franchise, but it has to encapsulate the essence of that franchise in order to be useful. The Hartford Whalers mark was a stroke of brilliance and as iconic as that red umbrella: it was specific, in that the “W” and “H” worked in perfect harmony and could not be replicated by any team—it only works with the W + H. The new mark approach can work with just about any letter with an open central counter (it’s unclear why the whale would be jumping through the hoop like an Orca—which it isn’t… it’s a blue whale, which is too large for that level of lift and is largely a North Pacific marine mammal. The Connecticut State animal is the Sperm Whale. It looks nothing like this one). The new logo has a touch of whimsy, like the Mighty Ducks, however, the Ducks logo was incredibly clear, memorable and full of personality: (google it!). The current logo comes across as homespun, local, and not committed to a robust merchandising program. The original Cummings & Good logo was created by a bonefide Legend of Connecticut design with a keen sense of how to create a mark that endures, is extendable and considered. Brand and identity design is a very specific discipline. The Whale logo would benefit from a reconsideration by branding experts to get much more mileage out of the mark.