At the start of the 23-24 AHL season, I was tasked with creating a new logo for the Calder Cup Playoffs. The old logo had been in use for about 10 years and was in need of a major refresh.
My goal for this logo was to make the league's trophy, the Calder Cup, the main subject. Other necessary components to be considered were capturing the likeness and shine of the cup as much as possible. The cup itself had gone through a wide variety of looks before landing at this gradient-shine texture. I wanted to emphasize some of the other details of the cup like the leafy crown around the top and short steps of the base to make it more realistic. The unique shield shape of the logo is a play on the shape of a hockey rink.
Pictured below are team-specific versions of the logo. These are distributed to teams for use on their creative throughout the playoffs if they please.
