It has been a few months since I left Heaven Media and therefore Cadred and whilst I don’t want to go in to the details in this column, suffice to say we left on good terms, it was just circumstance. So when I was asked to put something together as an article, I thought it would be a nice chance to post something and let you know what’s been going on these last three months.

Obviously many questions have popped up about QuadV and whilst times are tough, we are surviving and will be in full action at WCG finals next month live from Los Angeles. It is sadly, just a part time job though these days. Long gone are the times where I had a TV program to either present or commentate on pretty much every week and whilst the recession is improving things, it could be a while before we see gaming on mainstream TV again and not just because of the recession.

Even in situations such as these the matter of E-sports logos is never far from my mind

The other popular question I’ve had on Twitter and on source servers (yes I still play occasionally!) is what am I doing now. To be fair it’s pretty boring and I won’t go in to it in any depth, but suffice to say I am working for a company who do all sorts of Web Design, SEO and Social Media work on behalf of large corporations. Obviously I have been looking for as many angles to get these companies involved in gaming and specifically esports as it is, regardless of whether I earn a living from it any more, still a huge passion of mine.

I recently had to assess a group of logos for a customer and in doing so, read up on a plethora of ideas that can go in to making a brand logo. I was intrigued at the level of attention to detail, from simple things like making sure your brand says who you are and what you do to the psychological impact of using different combination of colours (what the hell is that all about!) for different industries. For example, did you know that McDonalds recent move away from their dominant red and yellow branding to a dark green and duller yellow is as a result of marketing surveys on their customers who said they felt less stressed in the venues which adopted the new paint scheme.

Shame it doesn’t stop the food from tasting shit, but never the less, I found the whole journey to deciding a logo and interesting one and it made me think about our own little niche of esports and in particular the teams.

Let’s start with this very site; after all, it came from one of the most famous names in Counter Strike Source history and my all time favourite line up (sorry fnatic guys!) of Insignia Cadre. Obviously, these days its a news site and the logo reflects that, but the original head still remains and I always liked it, if not the current colours of black and yellow. If Corin had his way of course, it would be a pink logo...

The Cadred logo - hot or not?

Moving on to the teams, Team Dignitas have not only a good colour scheme (black and yellow is instantly related to their team) but they also have a unique logo that is recognised throughout esports. So much so, they don’t even need to put the words Team Dignitas under it for people to know what it is. That should be the goal of every team out there.

A couple of years ago, SK gaming changed their logo to the current version and adopted a much more rigorous design philosophy. They see themselves as a sports team and rightly so. The trouble for the old logo was that whilst it was a great design and most people knew what it was, it wasn’t really a badge, like a modern football team badge is. The adoption of the circle met with mixed reaction, but these days it is one of the most recognisable logos in e-sports.

Likewise, the fnatic logo is seen and understood by all who see it, they don’t have to add the fnatic word for you to know, yet it wasn’t always that way. Even if you have a great logo design, it takes time for the brand to grow and become synonymous with your team. The design of the fnatic logo has an interesting story all of its own, but that’s perhaps for another time!

Other team logos are not so good however and I think many remain remember able for all of the wrong reasons! The TLR logo for example has had many evolutions and although most of you on this site will recognise it, outside of CSS no one would know what it is. Even I struggle to work it out, although I do remember it being an eye of some kind even if these days it looks like a J and a T curled round on their sides in white and orange. It just lacks impact and authority, sorry Chef!

TLR’s logo is not the worst out there though, there are a ton of really badly put together logos, but is it any wonder when so many teams start up as fun clans and develop in to something more serious. Who wants to pay out a load of cash for a proper logo design service? Some top teams have never done that either, but instead got lucky with a talented designer. Even then you’d be shocked how many teams don’t have a proper logo set in the right format for branding, clothing and banners at live events and that’s all part of the logo process.

I am certain there are far worse culprits out there, perhaps powergaming’s predictable and boring power button or fragmasters heavily sapphire influenced sphere. Of course having a crappy logo doesn’t mean you are a bad team, but it might not help gain funds to send you to a LAN where in the corporate world, image is everything. I’ve seen some teams with stunning logos and artwork on their site secure some ludicrous amounts of money, especially considering their teams were shit.

The TLR logo, as seen on the hoodie on the far left, has gone through some development

Likewise, I’ve seen some really great players and managers just not get the money their talents undoubtedly deserver. I’m not saying it’s all down to a logo, but it’s the first thing a company looks at when dealing with another company and if it says all the wrong things about them, that’s a huge hurdle to overcome, even if the product is great.

I do find it hard to imagine how on earth a team called Giants ever got anywhere with the logo they have and perhaps that’s why they aren’t around any more...

So yes, I am enjoying life in a new industry that has some loose connections to esports and even closer ones if I have anything to do with it. There are some proposals around the company to get some of our clients involved in sponsoring tournaments and maybe even a team at some point and I will continue to push esports in to the board room of as many companies as I come in to contact with, there is little else I can do.

For now though, have some fun with this and see if you can post a worse logo than the Giants logo.

Editor's Note: Since leaving Heaven Media, Paul has taken up a position with Fresh Egg, a web design company, and his interest in logos has been sparked by working with The Logo Company.