McQuid Pro Quo: Logos

Most of you who know me will know that I am a huge sports fan - I am also very active in fantasy and virtual sports, in particular for the MLB and the NFL. While I have done fantasy sports for several years now, I hadn't been involved in virtual sports (it is similar, except run off a sim engine instead of real-life results) until late last year. The two leagues I am involved in are VBL4 and the VFL. My teams are the Honolulu Rays and the Cleveland Fightin' Ukrainians, respectively.

One of the great things about these virtual leagues is that you can create your own team - you choose your city, your team name, your logo, etc. - while I'm not terribly artistic, I do like to draw and to do some graphic work on the computer. For both of my teams, I decided to create my own logos. I have provided a sample of the logos I designed for both my teams below. I was also asked by another VFL team if I could create a logo for him, that team being the San Francisco Nortonsmen. The source of the 'Nortonmen's' team name is an article in itself. Did you know that the USA actually had an Emperor at one time? Emperor Norton I, whose Wikipedia page is extremely interesting.

If you take a look at this picture to the left, which is of Emperor Norton, you will see the inspiration for San Francisco's logo. I was asked to make a 'stylized version' of Norton's top hat (with feather) and epaulettes. After a few different drafts, we agreed on the logo you will see below. The idea was to keep the logo very simple, yet easily distinguishable - along the lines of the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals (whose logos you can also see below).

Have a look at my logos and let me know what you think (please note that the 'mcquidproquo.com' text on each logo is just an overlay to protect my images here, but that text does not show up on the actual logos). As I mentioned, I am no professional, but it is something I like doing on the side. If you have a fantasy sports or virtual sports team and have an idea for a logo, I would be happy to hear it so I could try to help you out. Please send me an e-mail.

Honolulu Rays