Sports licensing and its documentation of graphic design history varies in quality depending on each league. While some leagues have more assets than others, one league is minimal in its amount of resources and high in the amount of misnomers—the National Hockey League.
Which is a shame since the NHL has some of the best graphic design of any sports league. How does one rectify the missing artifacts and preserve the design history if the most accessible resources for such content have been tainted?
After researching design history team by team, I have learned the usual sources for misinformation and how they get perpetuated. These misnomers become more accessible than the real information and are at risk of erasing the truth.
After finding an authentic printer's style guide from 1991, I pivoted the research from one franchise at a time to a whole season in hockey history. The NHL 75th Anniversary in 1991–1992 is one of the most popular seasons for Vintage NHL graphic design. This was a chance to reverse engineer a style guide in a contemporary format that would lay the foundation for more accurate and comprehensive guides in the future.
Which is a shame since the NHL has some of the best graphic design of any sports league. How does one rectify the missing artifacts and preserve the design history if the most accessible resources for such content have been tainted?
After researching design history team by team, I have learned the usual sources for misinformation and how they get perpetuated. These misnomers become more accessible than the real information and are at risk of erasing the truth.
After finding an authentic printer's style guide from 1991, I pivoted the research from one franchise at a time to a whole season in hockey history. The NHL 75th Anniversary in 1991–1992 is one of the most popular seasons for Vintage NHL graphic design. This was a chance to reverse engineer a style guide in a contemporary format that would lay the foundation for more accurate and comprehensive guides in the future.
1991 "National Hockey League Official Logos" printer's style guide with PMS numbers in full color and 1 color on reverse side
The recreation process is a balance between the intent of the original artist(s) and idealization using standard vector art practices.
More logos to come...
This content is for the education of NHL graphic design history.
All Rights Reserved.
DO NOT USE WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION.
