32 Bowls, 32 Logos - Part 3

This is the 3rd part of a 4-part series where we evaluate the bowls based on their logos. "We" is myself, an 11-year veteran of the advertising business and Alex (the expert), a professional colleague who is a creative director that came out of the graphic design and art direction end of the ad business. Alex is a contributor at the popular South Florida blog called Stuck on the Palmetto.

Part one is here
Part two is here

17. The Champs Sports Bowl
Here we have all of the prerequisite elements, the football, the shield, the city, and the sponsor logo all incorporated nicely. The color selection would have one think that this game is being played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami though.

The Expert Says: Classic and nicely done. See? It’s not that hard.

Overall Grade: A

18. The Meineke Car Care Bowl

The sponsor's colors are ugly but the road to the stadium is a nice touch. The font used for the word "Bowl" looks cheesy. Good idea, so so execution.

The Expert says: They were doing great (love the integration of the street in meineke logo to the illustration of the football stadium) until they decided to use a completely different style for the BOWL part.

Overall Grade: B+

19. The Alamo Bowl

Love this one. Uses the silhouette of the famous landmark the bowl is named for. Of course the designer didn't have to contend with a title sponsor's logo to incorporate. Again with the 2 stars though. Lone Star State people, get with it.

The Expert Says: Among the best. Nice, economic, iconic, simple. Take out the yellow star and it would be perfect.

Overal Grade: A

20. The Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Sponsor logo is a bit gargantuan for my taste. But this clean logo does something the others don't, it tells us not only where the game is being played but also which conferences will face off. I like the colors, especially the gradient used on the word "Bowl".

The Expert says: Very nice choice of colors, dynamic, well drawn, legible.

Overall Grade: A-

21. The MPC Computers Bowl

Disagreement between me and the expert on this one. I like how the sponsors logo and colors (plus this game will be played on blue Smurf Turf) are incorporated into the football. I also like the banner at the bottom, though I would have picked a different color to make the location stand out more. The word "Computers" is tiny and illegible.

The Expert says: Ugh. This was probably the 12th choice the designers were asked to come up with.

Overall Grade: C+

22. The Outback Bowl

This logo incorporates a look from an old version of the sponsor's logo. Not cool.

Overall Grade: D

23. The AT&T Cotton Bowl

The Cotton Bowl used to be one of the big boys. It's not anymore and it's logo shows it. Although it's clean, this logo just doesn't excite me. I always liked the cotton flower in the word "Bowl" though.

The Expert says: Sometimes it’s better not to put the sponsor's logo in at all. Everybody knows AT&T, it wouldn't have killed them to have their name in the same font and style as “Bowl”

Overall Grade: C+

24. The Toyota Gator Bowl

Let's take a minute to admire this piece of shit. This is the logo that inspired me to do this series, it's so Godawful. Clip art football with sponsor logo cut and pasted on top of it. The font used for "Gator Bowl" looks like something you'd find announcing the specials at a bodega. This is easily one of the worst logos I've ever seen in my entire life. The designer of this dreck can't be working in my industry anymore.

The Expert says: Was this a class project? A radio station contest? Did the mistress of one of the organizers design this? There must be an explanation.

Overall Grade: Just like D-Day in Animal House, no grade can be given. All courses incomplete.