The EC VSV, an ice hockey club from Villach in Carinthia, Austria, competes in the ICE Hockey League under the sponsorship name EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. The club is nicknamed “Die Adler” (The Eagles), a name derived from the eagle in its logo, which in turn traces back to the eagle’s claw on the city of Villach’s coat of arms. The team’s colors are blue and white.[1][2]
Design and History
The club presented its current logo on May 14, 2019, when the team was known as EC Panaceo VSV.[3] The design was created by graphic designer Alexander C. Messmer, a self-described VSV fan who worked for a fraction of the logo’s market value. Messmer, who lives near Pittsburgh and works as an independent designer for US professional teams, said the job was a “matter of honor.”[4]
The 2019 mark was designed to combine elements of all previous club logos. It features a white-headed eagle (Weißkopfseeadler), a bird that had appeared in VSV logos for many years. The eagle’s head is tilted in a nod to the era spanning the Heraklith, PASUT, Rekord Fenster, and PANACEO sponsorships. The logo also incorporates a hockey stick, referencing the stick with which the team won championships as EC BIC VSV, and eagle claws drawn from the Heraklith VSV logo.[3][4]
Six tape wraps on the hockey stick blade honor the club’s six Austrian championship titles.[3] Earlier VSV logos had shown two stripes on the stick grip, representing the two championships the club held at that time.[4]
Messmer conducted extensive research for the design, disguising the logo as a Washington Capitals study to survey thousands of NHL fans on social media about specific logo details. He stated that the resulting mark was the only Austrian hockey logo that would meet NHL requirements, which include legible reproduction at various sizes.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The eagle has been a consistent element of the VSV logo throughout the club’s history, giving the team its nickname “Die Adler” and inspiring its mascot.[1] The connection runs deeper than the club itself: the eagle’s claw has been the symbol of the city of Villach since a 1240 seal, and the city’s hockey players are called the “Villach Eagles” because of it.[2]
One design detail drew notable fan discussion: the eagle in the 2019 logo has no pupils. Messmer said the club board debated four pupil variants before approving the pupil-less version by a large majority, noting that most mascots in US top-club logos also lack pupils. The choice of a white-headed eagle was also debated, since that species does not naturally occur in Europe, but it was retained because of its long presence in VSV logos.[4]
Typography and Design
For the color nuances in the new logo, Messmer collaborated with “JetIce,” a specialist in NHL color specifications.[4] The club’s official colors remain blue and white.[1]
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