IceHL Jersey Contest: Northeast

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The long-awaited IceHL Jersey Design Contest officially begins today!

What is the IceHL?

Let's knock this out first for the new readers. The IceHL, or Icethetics Hockey League, is a design-by-democracy project that began in 2008 with Icethetics readers creating a fantasy hockey league from the ground up. The project may well be the first of its kind on the web.

Users voted to determine every aspect of the league the number of teams to names and logos. And every logo was designed by Icethetics readers and put through a long voting process. It was all just meant to be a way for concept artists to put their skills to use in a new way.

In 2010, the IceHL online fantasy league was established through ESPN.com as 20 readers were selected to be IceHL GMs. We're already underway in our second season of fantasy hockey but now the teams need uniforms. That's where you come in.

By the way, if you want even more information about the IceHL Project, download the IceHL 2011 Yearbook, which is now available through Icethetics.info.

Entering the Jersey Design Contest

Last time we attempted this contest, it was a failure. There were too many rules and the template was too limited to highly-skilled designers — many of whom were too busy to dedicate a lot of time to the project. Not making the same mistakes this time around.

There are three rules:

  • Design 2 jerseys (light and dark) using team colors and logos only.
  • Submit your final design on the PNG template provided to icethetics@gmail.com.
  • Include your real name and email address in the graphic where designated as well as in your submission email. (Your real name will not be displayed during voting and your email will never be displayed.)

IceHL Jersey Design Kit - Northeast version (.zip/1.2 MB)

Seriously, that's it. The template is a PNG file provided in the Design Kit above. It is built to be compatible with just about any graphics software out there from Microsoft Paint to Adobe Photoshop. (For beginners: PNG is the file type required. Please do not submit a JPG or any other type of file.)

Recommended link: Paint Users Paradise at SportsLogos.net

To assist you in your designs, feel free to implement aspects of existing hockey uniform templates. There are hundreds available at at the link above. The copy and paste functions are your friends in this case and make designing a great jersey so much easier. But feel free to experiment on your own too.

The template includes the front and back of a jersey as well as gear like socks and pants. All you have to do is design the jerseys. Designing the gear is up to you. I'd also request that you include a full alphabet and number set as seen in the Design Kit sample. You may choose to leave out any of the elements, but keep in mind that if you do, I reserve the right to design those elements myself.

Here's a sample submission that I created for IceHL All-Star teams:

IceHL All-Star jersey design / sample

Don't worry if you don't like my designs. They're just samples. If you guys want a shot designing all-star jerseys, we'll explore that after we get through all the teams.

Last thing. Simply submitting your jersey design doesn't guarantee it will be included in the voting process. If it doesn't meet a certain level of quality, I'll give you the opportunity to try again as long as you meet the deadline. But rest assured, I plan to accept far more than I reject.

Part 1: Northeast Division

We're beginning with the Northeast Division only. The Design Kit contains the primary and secondary logos for each of the five teams in that division. You may only use those logo graphics for this project. Do not use them for any other reason without permission.

Here are the Northeast Division teams and the players you may use to customize your jerseys:

  • Boston Colonials (71 Malkin, 19 Backstrom, 28 Giroux, 8 Doughty)
  • Hamilton Steelcats (12 Iginla, 33 Sedin, 3 Chara, 18 Horton)
  • Montreal Olympiques (10 Perry, 17 Kovalchuk, 16 Ladd, 1 Hiller)
  • New York Guardians (30 Miller, 20 Pronger, 13 Datsyuk, 21 Stafford)
  • Quebec Armada (22 Sedin, 30 Lundqvist, 10 Setoguchi, 6 Wideman)

The players listed were selected by the GMs operating each fantasy team. These are the guys least likely to be traded or replaced this season.

And remember, when you design your jerseys, stick to the official team colors and logos. The Northeast Division RGB Color Guide is included in the Design Kit for your convenience. You may also sample the colors in the logo graphics using an eyedropper or similar tool in your chosen graphics software.

One last note about your jersey designs. Do something creative and original. Don't copy existing jersey designs. We want IceHL teams to stand out and be unique. But for what it's worth, you might want to consult the NHL Uniform Ranking to get an idea of what types of designs Icethetics readers tend to like. Just don't let it stifle your creativity.

Deadline: Friday, November 11

You have three weeks to design and submit your work for this first division. If it looks like less time is necessary, I'll make the subsequent division deadlines shorter. Also, I don't plan to overlap divisions at this point. In other words, we won't start on the next division until the deadline for the current one passes.

If you have any questions, please ask! If it's private, you can email me directly. If you think the answer will be beneficial to the community, ask in the comments and I'll reply as soon as I can.

Good luck to you all!