Fifth Blog Post

Not much has changed since my last post.  As we are getting closer to the due date, I am continuing to work on the last few teams I am "re-creating" and making some final touches on the ones I've already made.  I plan to have all teams finished and accounted for in the next two weeks at the latest.  Then, I will find a way to upload them either on to this blog or make a new website to display them on.  In the wake of the whole Donald Sterling racism incident, I think my topic is more relevant than other, which makes me even more excited to finish and share it.  This incident taught me that racism still exists in sports even beyond team names and logos.  There is still a lot more to be done to sports to make it better as a whole, but I think controversial and racist logos and team names are a good place to start.

I have come to the conclusion about my topic that while it is a good start, racism in sports is a problem that can't be solved in a short period of time unfortunately.  However, in a decade or possibly more, I feel that the sports world will be much less racist.

I have learned about myself that writers block exists too, as I went through about a week or so that I couldn't think of any good ideas.  I solved this by just starting my work and eventually some ideas came to my mind.

Vlog

Fourth Blog Post

So far, I am making good progress on my project.  Besides a few problems, not much has changed since my previous post.  For instance, the first two logos I made somehow got deleted off of my computer.  However, I remembered the designs enough so it was pretty easy to quickly re-do them.  Considering the progress I have made, I believe I will definitely be finished on time with this project.  So far, these are the teams I have redesigned so far (and renamed some of them):

- Washington Redskins
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Cleveland Indians
- Utah Utes
- Atlanta Braves

So, the ones I still need to work on are the following:

- San Diego State Aztecs
- Kansas City Chiefs (If there's time)


I am still in the process of finding a few more teams that have a racist, or controversial team name/logo. So, if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Over these past couple of weeks, I have learned that many sports logos are pretty similar.  What I mean by this is that they all often incorporate the first letter or entire name of the team, and a small graphic that represents this.  When I break it down into this form, it makes it a lot easier to brainstorm logos.

I have also learned (about myself) to save early and often.  Even when you think something is saved, you should double-check it before losing your work.

Third Blog Post

I finally have made some progress in my project.  I downloaded the necessary programs onto my computer and began brainstorming.  The first controversial team name I will attack is the Washington Redskins.  Over the past few years, there has been a ton of controversy surrounding the name "Redskins" and their logo.  The new team name I chose was the "D.C. Delegates."  The reason I chose this was because of the governmental impact of Washington D.C.  Also, the other professional team names in Washington D.C. are the Capitals and Nationals, so "Delegates" fits the mold of D.C. sports team names.  Next, I decided my second team I would re-do would be the Chicago Blackhawks.  Although the name "Blackhawks" is not racist, their logo of an indian chief is.  Therefore, I changed the logo from a Native American to a bird, which is another common mascot for a "Blackhawk's" team.  Both of the designs for these new teams are in progress.

I learned about my topic that aside from politics, not much happens in Washington DC.  I also found out that alliteration is a great tactic to use to create team names.

About myself I learned that even when creating my own idea, it is very helpful for me to see other ideas to get a sense of what I should create.  In this case, I studied some classic sports logos to help get ideas for the new logo I made.

From here, I plan to keep working at a solid pace!

Second Blog

I have come across my first dilemma.  While it is not a huge one, I need to find a way to download Adobe Illustrator.  Considering it is an expensive program, I am currently looking for free versions to get online.  However, I have had trouble finding them.  Despite this, I will not give up and I am confident I will find a free version of the program in the next few days.  This is an important part of my project and without it, it would be much harder to complete this project so I will look harder and ask classmates if they know of any website to get it from.

Aside from this, I have started some research for new team names.  I have decided that the first team that I will "re-do" is the Washington Redskins.  This team currently causes the most controversy, which is why I am choosing to address it first.  The research process is going smoothly so far, and I think the new team name, logo, and jersey for the NFL team in Washington will be very cool!  Until my next post, I will continue to research.

So far, I have learned that it's not too smart to rely so much on finding a free program.  If worst comes to worst and I can't find this project, I could have myself a HUGE problem.  Thankfully, I'm confident I will find one soon.

In all honesty, I haven't learned much about myself so far, besides that I get frusterated when trying to find a free download of a program and am unsuccessful!

First Blog Post

I have one main goal for this project: propose alternatives to racist/offensive sports team names and logos.  However, this will take much more work than you would think.  First, I must research the area of the team.  For example, since California experience a lot of earthquakes, I could call a team the California Earthquakes.  This is an important aspect because it makes the team name relevant to the city it is in, and creates more of a connection between the city and the team.  Next, I will design a logo and jerseys to go with the new team name.  Finally, I will post in on my website that I create, providing a brief description to why I made the choices I did.  Adding on to my previously stated goal, I understand it is very difficult to make a difference from my position.  It is unlikely that the owner of one of these major sports teams will see my website and decide to go with my new team name, logo and jersey.  With this being said, I am simply trying to show the everyday person possible solutions to the current problem of racist/offensive sports teams (and display my graphic design work).

I will measure my progress based off of my website that I create.  Since that will be my final product, it will be easy to measure my progress.  I plan on immediately posting to the website when each piece is finished, as a better way to stay organized and measure my progress.  Hopefully by the end of this project, I will have learned a lot, and taught others a lot as well.

Introduction

I have decided for my Genius Hour project to create a website regarding controversial sports team names.  I understand that this is a relevant issue in society that many people are upset about.  What these few sports teams are doing is wrong.  Even after knowing that people are upset about their team names, a few sports teams refuse to change their names.  So, I am going to make "proposals" for these teams that would satisfy angry fans.  First, I will research the city of the sports team, to find an alternative nickname.  For example, the city of Detroit is known for their automotive market, therefore the nickname for the Detroit basketball team is "Pistons".  Next, I will re-create a logo that will accommodate the new proposed team name.  Finally, I will create a rough design of new jerseys for this team.  On this blog, I will document my progress of the website, which I am in the process of making.  Stay tuned!  I am really hoping to make a difference!