44th & Goal

Quite Possibly The Coolest Hockey Uniform Ever

2011-02-23T18:16:00.016-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

On Sunday, Canada had their version of the Winter Classic: the Heritage Classic. The Montréal Canadiens were in Calgary to play the Flames. Both teams wore throwback inspired uniforms, with the Habs wearing a design a throwback to their mid-70s-to-mid-90s look (the only difference being the outline on the numbers). Calgary, on the other hand, based their uniforms on the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League. The striping is from the Tigers, but is paired with a deeper red and the Flames' athletic gold. In fact, their were quite a few nifty design nuances on the Flames' 2011 Heritage Classic uniforms:

The Stripes
The striping pattern looked great on TV. It was unique, classic, and cool all at the same time. It's a wonder more teams haven't considered bold striping pattern during the Fauxback Era of NHL uniforms. Although some have said the stripes are Ronald McDonald-esque, I didn't find it distracting at all, not to mention Ronald's getup is mostly yellow with sections of red and white striping, not mostly deep red with red and yellow striping. The use of this bold pattern was continued on the socks, which really showed a completeness of the design when everything was worn together.

Lace-Up Collars
The uniforms, like many fauxbacks, use the lace-up style of collar. I'm all for lace-up collars, and this fauxback definitely fit in with the style of them.

A Darker Red
Yes, the red was darker than the Flames' standard red. And the slight hue change looked pretty good, especially considering that red was the darkest color in the entire scheme, instead of black, which the team uses on their standard uniforms. More importantly, the beige numbers were plenty legible against the red and yellow background on the chest-striped sweater.

Beige Breezers
I thought this was particularly interesting because there really aren't any teams that use light breezers. The closest examples I could find were the Rangers and Blue Jackets wearing red breezers with royal or navy jerseys. Not a single teams wears white, silver, metallic gold, athletic gold, or even orange breezers, and then Calgary opts for beige. Although not a modern convention, it worked very well within the context and feel of the uniform.

All in all, I think Calgary's Heritage Classic uniforms were a huge success. The design took some chances, but each decision was made well and the uniforms had a great aesthetic.

When It Lightnings, It Pours
Yup, the Lightning have already made changes to their new uniforms. The have added black trim around the numbers and lightning bolts on the pants. Good ideas, sure, but the execution isn't quite there. The jersey crest and striping has no outlines, while the lightning bolts on the pants have a single outline and the numbers are double outlined. This apparently had to do with fan response, which I'm glad the team executives were savvy enough to take into account. The double outline on the numbers seems the most unnecessary because a single outline would have accomplished what the fans wanted (an added color) while maintaining some semblance on consistency with the treatment of the bolts on the pants.

Designer's Corner
Yup. When it lightnings, it really does pour. This week's design is for the one and only Tampa Bay Lightning. When the Lightning unveiled their new duds, I was bothered by a few of the set's elements, from the two-color scheme that immediately evoked thoughts of the Leafs to the lack a certain signature elements such as the lightning bolts on the breezers and "Victory Stripes". While the lightning bolts are back and the numbers have been altered to showcase a double-outline, the set still leaves a lot to be desired.

My concept uses some of the aspects from the current (upcoming) scheme, yet incorporates some newer elements. I wanted to keep the idea of simplicity, but I also knew that I had to create a look that was uniquely Tampa Bay. This means I couldn't use just royal and white, since it is too similar to Toronto. It also meant I shouldn't add yellow due to the similarities such a combination would have with St. Louis. Ultimately, I decided on royal and silver. On the home uniforms, I used the Michigan Wolverines/Oakland Raiders treatment: no white. This allows for the team's signature look, the home uniform, to be just that: signature. The primary logo is based on the sleeve patch the team plans to wear next season. The numbers are the current (soon to be previous) version, except without the outlines. The secondary logos and wordmarks are new.

The home uniforms use just royal and silver and retain some of the design decisions from the upcoming uniforms. I broad single stripe is placed across the sleeves, hem and socks. However, the breezers have the team's trademark bolts, while the jerseys retain the classic "Victory Stripes" although I moved them down from the armpit to the side. The concept is still the same: the stripes show when a player is raising his arms to celebrate a goal or a win. This just removes the slight ridiculousness of placing a design element in the armpits. The away uniforms use the two-color logo with silver and blue being present. However, aside from that and the bolts on the breezers, the uniforms are exclusively blue and white. And for those who like the Lightning in black and blue, the third combines those two colors (with white) in a traditional way and features a new BOLTS wordmark that is consistent with the identity, unlike the current third.

Feel free to leave a comment regarding the 2011 Heritage Classic, the Lightning concept above, a=or anything sports branding related.

Looks Like We Have Our First New NFL Uniform of the Season (If We Have One).

2011-02-15T20:22:00.007-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

The Bills announced to season-ticket holders on the 9th that they would be wearing new uniforms for the coming season, whenever that will be. The uniforms will incorporate the current logo with elements from the team's past. Supposedly, they are going to be based on these uniforms, but with some navy blue trim added in. It seems intriguing, but certain questions remain unanswered. For example, how will the navy blue be added in? Will it be just around the edges like the Lions did with their black trim, or around each stripe? Will the team use the 90s era number typeface? Or a standard block typeface? What color will the facemask be? Grey? Navy? Royal? Will they use the striped socks? Of course there is more to come as details emerge…

I, for one, think a look based on those uniforms would suit Buffalo quite well. Much like Green Bay or Cleveland, football in Buffalo in winter has a certain charm with old school uniforms involved. While I prefer create some very modern concepts, I can understand when a concept incorporates classic elements as part of the design moving forward. But there are certain things the team will have to be sure of before they unveil the new duds.

• Do the sleeve stripes fit on the sleeves, across all players? This is important, because the team will undoubtedly have players of various sizes from defensive backs and kickers to lineman. The stripes can't be too wide because they will get cut off on certain players. Or too low for that matter.

• Is the striping consistent? Well, there is some leeway here. While I appreciate the consistency of the newest Detroit Lions uniform striping, I also don't mind the consistency of a well applied striping system such as that of the Green Bay Packers, in which two sets of stripes fill very distinct roles. Those Packers uniforms would be even better with striped socks though… but I digress. It gets tricky when each element is striped, but none of the patterns match.

• Grey facemask or blue? Well this one is more up for debate, but the team's choices in number font and how the navy is applied will determine whether they should go with a grey or navy mask. While I generally do not prefer the use of a grey mask with a color scheme that doesn't include grey, it can be useful in promoting a classic look. If the uniform numbers have multiple outlines, I'd say navy or royaal facemask, but if they opt for stark typography, then all bets are off.

Not Your Traditional Marketing Strategy
The Lightning have already started phasing their marketing materials over to the new brand, which was bound to happen since they unveiled the new uniforms in the middle of the season. The website has changed over. And there are some new environmental graphics around the arena. And to get the fans ready, they gave authentic home blue jerseys to their season ticket holders and t-shirts to some of the other fans. I understand getting everyone in the team's blue to create a more better fan experience.

But painting the new logo on center ice just looks weird. It crosses the television line: the boundry of experience between watching a game in person and on TV. It's one thing to watch a game and see the whole crowd wearing the new t-shirts and jerseys, since the mob of the crowd would just blend together and create a (mostly) blue field. In addition, the signage and website changes can advertise the new brand while not interfering the presentation of pro sports' most lucrative product: televised events. While ticket and merchandise sales do account for a hefty sum themselves, the television contracts get money from numerous sponsors and allow fans to view many more games than most of them are able to attend. Painting the new logo on center ice while the team is wearing the old uniforms interferes with the seamless ideal fans have in their heads when they are watching a game. On a more general note, the whole timing of the event was really awkward. Unveiling the new brand during the last homestand would have made much more sense, especially as a thank you to the fans before the offseason or playoffs.

Designer's Corner
This week's design is for the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats have had a fairly modern identity since their affiliation with Jordan Brand in the 90s. Currently, their football team is getting more attention, but the team's uniforms lack finesse. The slashes on the pants do not flow and look gaudy. For this concept, I wanted to incorporate the slash theme in a way that it would make sense throughout the logos and uniforms. The slashes were incorporated into the logo set horizontally to flow across the typography, while also not disrupting the team's trademark C-Claw logo. The uniforms incorporate the slashes down the sides of the jerseys and pants. The more graphic presentation of the slashes creates more impact as it helps the eye flow throughout the uniform. . I also decided to incorporate charcoal grey. Cincinnati is a fairly new football school, especially when it comes to playing in a "power" conference. So while their are other teams with black and red, charcoal grey is a unique shade that has yet to be paired with red on the college football landscape. (Nike has used "carbon" or charocal with yellow for Oregon and West Virginia.) The sleeve are black on all jerseys, creating a consistent presentation of black across the uniforms. There are also options for white helmets and pants, in addition to the grey.

Feel free to comment on the Bills upcoming new uniforms, the Lightning's brand strategy, the concept above, or anything to do with sports branding.

For Everyone Who Wanted to Buy A Leafs Jersey, But Hated the Leafs

2011-02-01T21:00:00.012-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

After multiple delays in the unveiling of their new brand, as well as the fact that teams don't generally unveil new branding initiatives during the season. The new 2011-12 Tampa Bay Lightning brand is here. And quite frankly, one word pretty much covers it: meh.

The team's current (soon to be former) primary logo wasn't perfect. In fact, some would say it was over-stylized. The wordmark is unnecessary, and it contained four colors, which may be a lot for traditionalists although many modern designs use that many colors. The alternate logo really wasn't any better. The saying I like to use to describe it is that "it looks like 10 lbs. of design crammed into a 5-lb. bag". The new logo set, however is a stark contrast. The new primary logo features a lightning bolt against a stylized oval. The team's brass wanted iconic. And if this design existed in a vacuum, it would be. But, unfortunately, they couldn't agree on a single icon. The alternate logo adds a wordmark, and the shoulder patch uses a different lightning bolt/holding shape combination. Once again, the primary logo is strong on its own, but some consistency throughout the set would be ideal.

But before we get into the rest of the logo set, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the color scheme. I realize there are teams with the same colors in multiple leagues. Look no further than MLB, for example. How many teams wear navy and red? Too many. And in the NBA, the Nuggets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Thunder all wear two shades of blue. The NFL isn't immune either, as the Cardinals and Falcons have their similarities, and Carolina's alternate uniforms look a lot like the Lions' homes. But this goes too far. The Leafs have been a beacon of royal and white in hockey since the NHL since 1927. They have also featured a simple hem striping scheme for a number of years. Then Tampa Bay comes in having only been a team for less than 20 years, and plays a game of copycat? Really?!? I thought the point of branding was to create your own identity, not piggyback off of someone else's.

And the Lightning had a unique color scheme. No one else had black and blue. Once again, I'm not saying it was the best, but it was unique. Even if the new brass (which includes Stevie Y, hence the minimalist influence) didn't want to use black and blue, how about royal and silver? Replace all the white on the home jersey and some of the white on the away jerseys, and you have a unique set of uniforms in the context of the NHL.

Back to the primary logo: while it isn't terrible, I think the circle and bolt from the tertiary would create a stronger mark with a better tie-in to the Lightning's past. In fact, putting the text and circle around that symbol was the worst thing they probably could have done for it, as it looks like they were taking design tips from the Omaha Storm Chasers. Furthermore, the generic typeface goes past understated (which can be achieved with the correct typeface) into the world of boring, generic, and default. Not to mention the generic typeface doesn't match the typeface of…

The secondary is a joke. I think everyone who watches hockey is going to know who the Maple Leaf wannabes are. And those who don't follow hockey will probably just assume it's Toronto they're seeing. They could have created a TB logo, but they decided not to.

As for the uniforms, they use the same single broad stripe pattern as the Red Wings' home uniforms, although the pattern is pretty common overall. And you'd think they would look for a more original design considering the Leafs use a double stripe that is positioned in the same classic hockey pattern. Here are the graphic layouts of home and road for the new Bolts set. As you can see on the layouts, in addition to using two different typefaces on the logo set, the numbers are a third typeface, and it's standard block (the Arial of jersey numbers). In addition, they traded in the one of two original things from their previous uniforms for the generic version on their breezers. They also ditched the victory stripes (look at the armpit of the guy on the right of the previous linked photo).

As I've hinted at, one of the biggest concerns with this set is context. The aesthetic of the new brand is so strikingly Leafs, it can't go without saying. And of course it follows the recent onslaught of blue jerseys with lace-up collars, despite an oval-shaped crest being used instead of a roundel. The new set clearly states, "We're individuals, just like everybody else."

The other huge issue is based on direction. Obviously the team tried very hard to incorporate classic elements into the scheme. Things like a one-color (plus white) scheme, lace-up collar, and round alternate logo all evoke ideas of classic hockey. Then why is the primary logo so starkly modern? And why is the typeface on the "secondary" italicized and stylized? But those two questions are unimportant compareed to the next one: What is so classic about playing a winter sport that needs ice in the middle of Florida? It's not like an expansion team ended up in Milwaukee, where a traditional style could evoke a Winter Classic-like atmosphere. It's Tampa, where sunshine is in abundance. But even that issue could be worked around if the presentation of the brand were more consistently traditional. Instead, they only went halfway and that just isn't enough to make me forget that it's a hockey team in Florida.

In Other News… The Oklahoma Sooners will have new baseball uniforms in 2011… New logo for the Ryder Cup… If you design a logo for it, they will come… It's Hardwood Classics month in the NBA, complete with throwback uniforms for the Bucks, Kings, Knicks, Celtics and Warriors. The Warriors jersey even has a memorial patch for Franklin Mieuli… Thanks Tiki Barber, for teaching me what the Green Bay Packers G stands for… The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will have "Flashback Fridays" this season for their 50th Anniversary… The Lakers wore throwbacks Sunday against the Celtics… The Oakland finally unveiled their poorly kept secret: athletic gold jerseys… The Mariners will have a memorial patch for broadcaster Dave Niehaus this season… The Padres finally released the look of their road uniforms for 2011. Needless to say, they removed all traces of originality…

Designer's Corner
This week's design is for the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies' current logo features a stylized VT. I took that idea and added a distinction between the two letters. I also included a segmented gradiation to emphasize the speed that VT displays on the field. Using the proportions of the primary mark, I developed a wordmark for the school, as well as custom numbers. For the uniforms, I drew a lot of inspiration from the Hokies' 2010 Pro Combat uniforms. I really like the way the shoulders were cropped on those jerseys. However, I did not care for the use of black because VT has one of the most unique color combinations in all of sports. The jersey accents fade as they approach the collar, while the accents on the pants fade as they reach the waist. I have also included options for orange jerseys, white and maroon helmets, and all three colors of pants.

Feel free to leave a comment regarding the new Tampa Bay Lightning brand, the Virginia Tech design above, or anything sports branding related.

Major League Miscues

2011-01-25T17:54:00.018-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Washington Natinals? Yes, on April 17, 2009, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn (pictured) were Natinals, thanks to a typo on their jerseys. It ended up being a pretty big story, with the Nationals being the butt of quite a few jokes. But they weren't the only ones to have committed such an offense.

Within the last week, the Wizards have had two noticeable uniform oddities. On Saturday night Washington called up Mustafa Shakur from the D-League, and didn't have much time to get a jersey ready for him. So his front number was very curiously spaced and his name and back number were far too low. Not to mention his name wasn't arched very smoothly. This uniform miscue is particularly odd because of everything that went wrong on one jersey. But Shakur wasn't the only Wizard with uniform issues. Just two days later big man Kevin Seraphin was seen on the court with his shorts on backwards, which looked especially weird because the Wizards only have a swoosh on one side of their uniforms. There's no way he could have pulled it off. With a more symmetrical uniform design, he may have had a shot.

In hockey, Rob Niedermayer skated around for three games with his name spelled wrong. Jeff Francoeur of the Royals had his E and U reversed for a game when he was with the Braves. The Rockies haven't been perfect either. And Kevin Williams had his A and I swapped. Danny Jennings of West Virginia had his double-N in the wrong spot this season as well. Also in the college ranks, Shane Southwell had some mixed up lettering on his nameplate. And last season Zaza Pachulia, whose name is relatively easy to spell, had this mutation of his last name. But how does someone screw up the name of a sports legend? Just ask Wayne Gretkzy.

There's also another common type of miscue: the team/city name typo. While screwing up an athlete's last name is a mistake, it is generally not as bad since it's usually just one player, and in some cases, the names are difficult in the first place. But team/city miscues are worse because whoever is doing quality control should know how to spell the single word they see on an entire group of jerseys. Also, team name typos usually occur at the manufacturer, while individual player names are sewn on by an independently contracted seamster or seamstress. Large manufacturers should have more levels of quality control. The Natinals debacle falls squarely in the team/city typo category. Joe Carter had to wear a classic example of a team/city typo once. Last year, Nike misspelled Kentucky on John Wall's jersey. Luckily the jersey was only used for a photo shoot. And Eugenio Velez spent a brief one game stint in San Francicso, which isn't far from Minnestoa. And once upon a time in Anaheim (as opposed to Los Angeles of Anaheim), there was a team called the Angees. And women's sports aren't immune to miscues either, as seen in this picture from the fine city of Milaukee.

Yet some miscues fail to fall into either category. For example, the stitcher for the Washington Redskins was channeling the bus when lettering Ladell Betts's jersey. I'm not sure how a backwards letter doesn't jump out at someone. This one's nitpicky, but here goes. Do you see it? Look at this jersey for comparison. Still not seeing it? The number font for #30 is MLB Block, while A-Rod's jersey has the correct block number font. Shakur's isn't necessarily a typo, it's just extermely poor craftsmanship. However, in my research, I cam across this gem of a miscue. That's Ted Kluszewski, although you'd never know it from the backward Z and X for a K. Two typos in one name? Epic typo.

But the most celebrated typo in jersey history is the one that happened twice. Mike Alstott had a typo on his jersey his rookie year. It was a standard last name miscue. But the Buccaneers, decided to honor Alstott by putting the miscue on a jersey plaque for a retirement gift. Congratulations Mike Alsott. Your hard work and dedication will be remembered.

Jersey typos are a part of life. With the proliferation of alternate jerseys and expansions teams, there are more jerseys to manufacture and then personalize. Plus, the typos add an extra little nuance to games and remind us that it is, after all, just a game.

In Other News… The Cavs wore their 2010-11 CavFanatic uniforms over the weekend… UW Green Bay unveiled throwbacks based on this design. The black swoosh looks a little ridiculous; it should have been red… The San Diego Padres just unveiled their new military alternate uniforms… Speaking of the Padres, their former Triple-A affiliate (Portland Beavers) were forced from their home by the MLS's Portland Timbers, an expansion franchise. They have moved to Tuscon, at least temporarily, and they have a new logo. Ladies and gentlemen, the Tuscon Padres… Chad Ochocinco is no more. He's going back to Chad Johnson…

Designer's Corner
Sticking in the SEC, this week's design is for the Auburn Tigers, National Champions. Auburn has a lot of tradition, so I didn't want to deviate too much from their current scheme. However, Their striping is painfully inconsistent, and the jersey stripes are named after another school (they are called Northwestern Stripes). More on that later. I tweaked the proportions of Auburn's primary logo and added a serif to the top of the A. I used the proportions of the A to develop the two wordmarks. I also have a tiger-striped version of the primary logo as an alternate option.

Back to the uniforms: I made the striping consistent across all backgrounds (white–navy–tiger–navy–white). On white the outer stripes bleed directly into the background, which was a better option than swapping the navy and white, like the team currently does. This is because of the tiger-striped patter nin the stripes, which I find helpful in enhancing the tiger motif. The player names on the backs of the jerseys are rendered in the different color from the numbers to provide less contrast. This places more emphasis on the numbers and less on the names, which aren't truly necessary information. I added options for navy pants and orange jerseys as well. The fauxbacks combine two eras of Auburn football with the four-striped sleeves and the smaller front numbers. I also wanted to replicate the feeling of leather helmets and the tan pants seen on many old-school uniforms, but I didn't want to replicate the Packers and mismatch the helmet and pants. So I split the difference and used a hue that is roughly half way between the khaki and brown the Packers used. I think it works very well with the navy and orange.

44th & Goalie: The Mask In Front of the Man

2011-01-18T18:10:00.023-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

To start 2011, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders via a trade. During his first game, Roloson had that "just traded" look on his face. But it wasn't in his eyes, it was literally sitting on his face. While the team had issued him a new jersey and new breezers, Roloson's mask and pads were hold overs from the 2010 he spent in New York.

This is a fairly common phenomenon among the brethren of recently traded goaltenders. A recently acquired netminder has to wait a while for his custom equipment to not only be made, but broken in as well. And don't be fooled. Goalies are particular about their equipment. A poorly fitting mask can be incredibly frustrating, especially during a bad game. And while I don't usually talk about equipment in these postings, the goalie mask is more than that. It's unique and artistic. A goalie mask design can be team-based or personal. It provides an artistic expression that isn't generally seen in-game in the other major sports. It can incorporate vibrant illustration or crisp eye-catching graphics.

That said, there are some truly memorable masks that I remember. Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek went old school. Patrick Roy featured an illustrative version of an avalanche. Bu the most memorable mask always belonged to John Vanbiesbrouck. The panther's head from the team logo dominated the shell, with the teeth cropping the the full cage from which The Beezer saw. That mask had it all: crisp graphics and a revolutionary concept.

Back to Roloson: he eventually got a plain white mask, which he used until his new mask came in. I have to say, it's pretty cool. The steely wings are rendered beautifully and the one-color redux of the Lightning's alternate logo is spectacular. But Roloson isn't the only goalie with a great mask. In fact, there are a number of masks with enticing graphics and great references this year. One of Devan Dubnyk masks features a cartoon giraffe on the back, while Martin Brodeur still rocks his signature red and white flames. Thomas Vokoun's headgear shows off a leaping panther that would look at home within the team's logo set. Curtis McElhinney's goes for intimidation with his scary skeleton zombie duck, while Anaheim's other goalie, Jonas Hiller, opts for the minimalist approach. But the best mask of the year has to be Kari Lehtonen's. I'm obligated to say this, of course, as the consequences for not doing so include a vicious roundhouse to the head. But in all seriousness, what goalie wouldn't want to wear a mask with Chuck Norris on it.

Cristobal Huet featured a wraparound design that mimics a Native American headdress last season. And Niklas Backstrom accented the natural shape of of his mask by added a paw clawing through it in the 2009-10 season. Robert Luongo has a strong history of good mask designs. He has played with multiple elements of the Canucks identity, including the team's classic V pattern, the rink logo, and even Johnny Canuck. Luongo's Olympic mask played on the lumberjack idea with an illustrated lumberjack. I am a big fan of the subtle aged texture Luongo incorporates as some of the backgrounds on his headgear.

In Other News… The Jets broke out their seldom-seen green pants again, but with their white jerseys against the Pats… Looks like Eastern Washington's red field is catching one with one Texas high school… Possible new uniform for Purdue football next year. Is it permanent, or a one-and-done? We'll find out… Memphis and Atlanta wore colored uniforms at home on Monday… Oregon's court doesn't look as good in game action… Indiana is thinking of changing its school colors away from crimson and cream, but they wear crimson and white as it is, and were wearing red and white during the Bobby Knight era… The Cubs unveiled the memorial patch for Ron Santo… Air Force Academy has some pretty cool new hockey uniforms, although the wordmark on the front hem could be better… The Kings throwback uniforms look pretty cool, although the striping doesn't all match and that is a lot of purple…Pacers/Hawks ABA style uniforms? Well played Mesa ladies…

Designer's Corner
This week's design stays in the college football world. I have always enjoyed the Tennessee Volunteers' color palette of bright orange and white. But the uniforms themselves are pretty basic. Furthermore, the helmet striping doesn't match the pant striping, while the jerseys have no stripes. (They tried matching the striping for one year in the early 2000s, but went back to their current/previous uniforms…) On the away uniforms the numbers have a black outline, while nothing else does. Needless to say, the Vols could use a lesson in consistency.

My concept draws inspiration one of my favorite parts of Tennessee football: their checkerboard endzones. More on that later. The logo set starts with the Vols' iconic T. In addition, black has been completely removed from the identity package (except for one set of number, but I'll get to that). The TENNESSEE and VOLS wordmark were developed from the proportions of the T logo, giving the type a uniquely Vols feel. The O in VOLS pays homage to the Tennessee flag. Back to the uniforms, I made use of the checkerboard pattern on the sleeves, as well as the pant and helmet stripes. In addition, a sublimated checkerboard pattern appears on the front and back numbers. (It's easier to see enlarged; just click on the image to do so.) I added orange pants, which are the primary option for the away uniforms in order to draw more distinction between the Vols and Texas. Since Tennessee has no third color, I decided to create two fauxback uniforms. The first is a nod to the 1947 team, complete with orange helmets and contrasting black belt. The second honors the 1971 team, which the Vols did in 2004. The throwbacks contain black because their aesthetic is based more accuracy, meaning certain details do not match because they didn't in the past. Items like facemasks and shoes were seen as equipment, and weren't designed in the multitude of colors they are now.

Feel free to leave a comment on goalie masks, the Tennessee Volunteers design above, or anything sports branding related. Thanks to all who have commented as well.

A Tale of Two Styles

2011-01-11T21:42:00.009-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Monday night, Auburn played Oregon for the BCS National Championship. In addition being a clash of very successful football teams, it was a clash of two aesthetics: The über-modern and the classic. Oregon being the talk of the season uniform-wise, throwing away pretty much every convention of uniform design and still coming away with a great set. Auburn, however, is for the purists. Good ol' fashioned stripes on the helmet, sleeves, and pants and standard block numbers. And while a lot of people associate classic design with "better", but take a closer look at Oregon's threads. You might be surprised how well-designed they actually are.

Auburn

The Tigers stay true to their navy, white, and orange color palette throughout their unis, but their striping isn't as consistent. Their helmets start with a spaced triple stripe called a Northwestern stripe (a little hard to see with the black outer stripes, but this should work). And the jerseys continue with that trend. But then the pants have a pro stripe.

I personally think striping should be consistent throughout the uniform. Ohio State and Florida are good examples in college, and the Detroit Lions do a great job on striping consistency in the NFL. Ohio State and Florida both keep the striping consistently colored regardless of background. And yes, Florida's helmet fits, with the outer orange stripes blending into the orange helmet shell. Detroit opted to swap the blue center stripe for silver on a blue background. Even the Packers, despite their two separate striping patterns, consistently apply the styles, designating the pro stripe for the helmets and pants, which are always yellow, and their signature stripe for use on green and white backgrounds.

Back to Auburn: if they switch their pant stripe as has been rumored, then they will have good, consistent uniforms. Nothing flashy or spectacular, but solid.

Oregon

So much to talk about with the Ducks. Let's start with color palette: The Ducks colors are technically emerald green and yellow. But the palette has expanded recently, adding black, silver, and grey. Further to that end, the Ducks unveiled a "bowl game" uniform that used no green, tons of silver and highlighter yellow. Well, like TCU, the Ducks weren't wearing quite what people were expecting. They switched to flat black/charcoal pants with the pattern from the carbon helmets set into the Pro Combat stripe area.

Honestly, I know the highlighter yellow gets a lot of flack, but it doesn't bother me. It's a shade of yellow, and with the number of combinations they have worn this year, they should have a little wiggle room. And the carbon helmets looked pretty cool too. But would it have killed them to use some green? Did the compression undershirts and pants have to be black? They could have been green. The carbon inlay could have looked very nice next to green on the pants. But that's the only flaw I saw in them.The numbers looked good with the subtle texture. And the shoulder wings are a signature element that I hope never goes away. Even the numbers are growing on me. I would also like to see the carbon helmet texture integrated with green for a hybrid look. But overall, I am still a big fan of the generation of Ducks uniforms.

In Other News… Miami University (in Ohio) has interesting throwback helmets for the GoDaddy Bowl… The Colts' endzones finally got four stars for the AFC logo endzones, but the A is still the wrong font. Just in time for the season to end… The Tampa Bay Lightning recently acquired Dwayne Roloson. Can you guess who his old team is? Luckily, the equipment manager found him a temporary mask until he gets his custom one… TCU's men's basketball team wore some interesting throwbacks last week…

Designer's Corner
This week's design comes from the bayou. The Tulane Green Wave have one of the most unique color palettes in all of sports: forest green and sky blue. I mixed silver into the scheme. But their logo doesn't do the color scheme justice. I developed a new simplified mark and custom typography. For the uniforms, I scrapped their boring template for something more unique. I created a sublimated wave pattern for the numbers and cap sleeve. In addition, the uniforms have options for two different helmets (silver and green) and two sets of pants (silver and white) in addition to a sky blue alternate jersey. To round out the set, I developed a fauxback that mixes elements of uniform design. The numbers on the helmet and grey facemasks complement the stark jersey design and the simply striped pants.

Feel free to comment on the uniform styles of the BCS Championship, the concept above, or anything sports branding related.

Take That, Nike!

2011-01-04T18:32:00.011-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

On New Year's Day Wisconsin and Texas Christian squared off in the Granddaddy of Them All, the Rose Bowl. Except something was different. Leading up to the event, Nike had unveiled this uniform, which was similar to the Horned Frogs' 2010 Pro Combat uniforms. But during the Rose Bowl's media day, TCU players were wearing this jersey, which is their current home jersey (although it is almost identical to last year's Pro Combat jersey). Word on the street is Nike had a little chat with TCU, who was disappointed by the complete lack of purple in the new threads. So the two sides compromised, leading to the Horned Frogs wearing the new black jerseys and flashy shoes, but neither the frog-skinned helmet nor pants. Instead, Texas Christian donned solid purple pants and special purple helmets (I really like the added rose). Glad to see an agreement was reached between the two sides and TCU still got to incorporate a little red in their shoes to match the rose in the frog's mouth.

I have to wonder exactly how much say TCU had during the creative process. Their school colors are technically purple and white, but they have worn black and some silver as far back as the LaDainian Tomlinson era. As a graphic designer, I know you have to listen to your clients, even if you are convinced that another direction is a better option. Did TCU have a chance to preview the design before the unveiling? If so, why didn't they speak up? If not, were they given the opportunity? And if they weren't given the opportunity, why on Earth would Nike unveil a design nationally without the client approval? Clearly, a link in the client-designer communication chain was broken.

But the TCU fiasco illustrates a larger point regarding Nike's design sensibilities: the extreme overuse of black, grey, carbon, and silver. This all started with Oregon. Remember them, that quaint little team draped in green and yellow? Well Nike got a hold of them, and black was pumped into the uniforms. The Ducks then went back to their colors briefly, but after that last stand the flood gates opened. With the last set, green and yellow went from school colors to possible colors. The team had four helmets the first year of the winged shoulder set, with one being green and another white. That meant there was also a carbon helmet and a black helmet. This year, Nike even went to the logical endgame of reducing the role school colors played and completely subverted the Ducks to Team Nike. And then there's the uniforms the Ducks plan to wear for the National Championship. Lots of white, silver, carbon, and… highlighter? Really? I guess when Nike runs out of grey tones, they start with neon hues. Seriously though, would Oregon yellow not have worked for this design? Would it have clashed with all of those greys? (I'm being sarcastic again.) Many of the Ducks more recent combinations look like they came out of a Nike cross country catalog.

And it's not limited to TCU and Oregon. Florida State has used black in their Pro Combat uniforms, Ohio State has swapped out their silver for Nike grey in 2009. And Missouri added dark grey to black that year. But the 2010 set is even more neutrally enhanced, with Boise State getting a silver jersey and Virginia Tech using a black helmet and everything else. Ohio State, naturally, went back to Nike grey for their 2010 Pro Combats, while the U of Miami, perhaps the school with the most interesting colors used black on their numbers. The Backyard Brawl showed degrees of Nike-ness, with Pittsburgh adding black for the occasion and West Virginia almost completely forgetting that they wear navy.

At what point will this black/grey/silver overload end? When will original color schemes, like Miami's green and orange or Virginia Tech's maroon and orange, be celebrated again? While I love some of the things Nike has brought to the uniform design table, like sublimated patterns on numbers (the frog skin numbers are growing on me), segmented gradiation, and Oregon's winged shoulders, their overuse of black, carbon, silver and grey makes those unique elements stand out less than they would if each team used its own, unique color palette. Furthermore, why would teams abandon their color schemes, a major part of their brand, and subvert themselves to Team Nike? It must have been an offer they couldn't refu$e.

In Other News… Rounding out the bowl game action, the Badgers wore red pants for the first time in a long time. Pro: Upping the red was a nice tie-in to their Rose Bowl appearance. Con: They looked even more like Nebraska… The Washington Huskies went all-black in the Holiday Bowl… Virginia Tech wore their special orange helmets, as promised… The Mountaineers went to the Champ Sports Bowl, but left their school colors back in West Virginia (those pants stripes are awful though)… Also in the Champ Sports Bowl, North Carolina State brought enough red for two teams… As for Florida, their gator skin helmet pattern was so subtle, it was barely noticeable… I hadn't noticed, but Boise State's numerals on their bowl uniforms used a gradient. I thought it was just a lighting effect when I first saw the design… Also on those Boise State uniforms, the left side looked pretty normal, but the right side, with the blank helmet and close-cropped logo on the sleeve, looked pretty weird… In the NFL, the Jets waited for the final week of the season to go all-green… The Dolphins wore their teal pants against the Pats… The Saints went all-black against the Buccaneers… The Broncos were feeling blue about the season… And of course the Redskins and Giants fought in the Battle of the Stripe-o-Maniacs…

Designer's Corner
This week, we go back to the Pac-10 (or 12 once this season is over). The Arizona State Sun Devils have an iconic logo, but the rest of their graphic identity is pretty bland. And the uniforms aren't much better. The black trim around the numbers is unnecessary, and the uniforms themselves could be used for any team with a quick change of the colors. I took some inspiration from their previous uniforms, utilizing a less-is-more approach and sticking with a general feel that Sun Devils fans have grown comfortable with. I did add some necessary detail, opting for a custom number font that is worked in throughout the package. For the logo package, I developed several marks that incorporate a large sun with the custom letterforms. The Es in the primary logo and wordmark are stylized into pitchforks. I have also kept Sparky the Devil, as he is simply too iconic to lose. Back to the uniforms, The stylized numbers are complemented by a simple, single-stripe theme that runs throughout the concept. Sparky stays on the helmets, but the ASU Sun logo appears on each hip of the pants, while the A-State logo is placed above the front player number. There are options for maroon pants and a yellow jersey. The fauxback uniform takes the idea of this classic helmet and mixes it with the Packers' throwback uniforms. The result is the ASU-Sun logo residing on the helmets and a large sun on the front of the jerseys for the player number to appear in.

Feel free to leave a comment on Nike's limited color palette, the design above, or anything sports branding related.

Florida State League: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-12-28T17:28:00.023-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

44th & Goal is back with the eighth part of its 14-part series, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly. This week, we will look at the Florida State League. Like every other league within the world of Minor League Baseball, certain teams understand the power of branding, while others need a push in the right direction. Let's take a look:

The Good

Charlotte Stone Crabs: The Stone Crabs are a relatively new team, replacing the Vero Beach Devil Rays before the 2009 season. The Stone Crabs, like their predecessor, worked closely with the branding of the parent club Tampa Bay Rays. Their primary logo consists of a blue crab standing on a Stone Crabs wordmark. They also use two cap logos with Rays-inspired typography and a standalone crab logo. Anytime you can take one of the worst graphic identities in Major League Baseball and carve a great Minor League identity out of it, you know you've done your job.

Clearwater Threshers: The Threshers' identity is the work of Plan B Branding and they couldn't have done a better job. Within the primary logo, you have a shark closing in on a ball below a custom wordmark with a shield holding shape. The primary and alternate cap logos feature a shark in a C shape, while the batting practice cap logo adds a bat. The jerseys use an arched version of the wordmark from the primary logo. Overall, one of the better identity sets in Minor League Baseball.

Fort Myers Miracle: The Miracle had used this logo since 1992, but will be entering the 2011 season with significant changes including a much more scenic logo and new typography. In addition, they have revamped their cap logo and uniforms. The island feel of the new typeface adds some character to the set. It's a good update to a solid identity package.

Lakeland Flying Tigers: I realize there are reasons for using the parent club's moniker. There can be a lot of equity in relationships with the Yankees, Braves, or Cubs. The Paw Sox advertise the Sawx of tomorrow. But how does one go about presenting the team's relationship with the parent club while maintaining an identity of its own? The Flying Tigers are one example. While using the Detroit squad's color scheme and general theme as a starting point, the A-ball club added its own twist to make the team name even more relevant to its fan base. The alternate logo pays homage to the city's World War II history, as does the team's alternate cap (the standard one is the same but without the brim decoration) and jersey number typography. While I don't like brand borrowing, this is well thought out brand incorporation.

The Bad

Brevard County Manatees: Admittedly, a manatee is a tough animal to work with. Their general ability to fill in for the Blob on short notice is a challenge to anyone tasked with trying to develop an identity based around them. But unfortunately, this is not the complete answer. While I like the intention of covering up most of the manatee's body, wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate it and focus on the creature's head, where most of its definition is? Maybe add an accent reminiscent of the tail within the typography… The team's cap logo is also problematic as the typeface of the BC is too thin to handle the mass that people associate with manatees when they see the animal. And really, navy and red? With the Threshers, Cubs, Miracle, Cardinals and Yankees also in the Florida State League, why not try something different?

Dunedin Blue Jays: Brand borrowing. Plain and simple. Just take the bird from Toronto's logo and shove it next to a D. I do like the Dunedin adaptation of the script though. Also, the choice to follow the parent club and use black as the team's primary color despite being named the Blue Jays is a mistake.

Palm Beach Cardinals: The High A affiliate of St. Louis uses the parent club's colors and logos. They have their own PB mark though. It's not the worst brand borrowing design in the Florida State League.

The Ugly

Daytona Cubs: At this point, are they just keeping their logo to be ironic? Is this a baseball logo or an an for Budweiser from 1987? There are better ways to work this the 1980s and the Cubs. Or they could try something really classic. Maybe they should craft an identity from their BP cap logo…

Jupiter Hammerheads: This is what happens when you cram 15 pounds of design into a 5-pound bag. While the Jupiter and Hammerhead wordmarks are duking it out for attention, the the lighthouse and the hammerhead are competing in the middle of the "composition". They couldn't even get the cap logo down to two elements. It wouldn't be as bad if any of the elements matched each other. And what's the point of the red lighthouse? Neither the red nor the lighthouse help the design in any way. Then we have the type. While the Jupiter wordmark could be decent if it wasn't overstylized, the Hammerheads wordmark looks sloppy and doesn't work with the script of the Jupiter wordmark. It's as if someone took something they liked from four different identities and smooshed them into one mess of color and form.

St. Lucie Mets: As if rehashing the New York Mets graphic design wasn't bad enough, St. Lucie went a step further and slapped together a clip art palm tree and a streaking sun-ball with a Mets wordmark. It's a six color logo. It really only needs to have three colors: blue, orange, and green. The hat logo is even worse. I didn't know Nickelodeon had a minor league team. Seriously though, the tL combination doesn't fit against the S. And the streaking ball behind it doesn't help. There has to be a better way.

Tampa Yankees: Sometimes you come across an identity that really says something. That's what I thought when I came across the Tampa Yankees identity. But what did it say? Afterthought. From the tacked-on block letters of the Tampa script to the fact that the T and Y in the cap logo aren't integrated into one mark says that there wasn't very much effort out into this. With all the money the Yanks have to throw at players, maybe a fraction of that could go to creating a timeless identity for years to come. Just sayin'.

In Other News… The Air Force Academy looked very patriotic in the Independence Bowl… Tulsa had the island mentality during the Hawaii Bowl… The Pacers have been wearing a mistake all year… The Knicks and Bulls got into the holiday spirit… The Cardinals were a sea of red against Dallas… The Rams went all-navy, as did the Broncos… With the free fall the Dolphins are in, maybe they should try something other than wearing all-white at home… Why can't the Bengals wear this full time?

Designer's Corner
As I mentioned (or ranted) earlier, the Jupiter Hammerheads have an amalgamation of mismatched parts the they've visually duct taped into an identity. The first thing I did was streamline the identity. No mroe splashes of red, no more lighthouse. The primary logo is actually fairly stark, using a Hammerheads wordmark in combination with a revised fish hook J. The Jupiter wordmark was re-rendered into a subordinate typeface so it no longer competes with the Hammerheads wordmark. The alternate marks include a standalone J and a circular logo featuring a hammerhead shark with a basbeall cap. The typography combines a traditional script with the added touch of barbs in the letterforms that resemble the end of a fishing hook. Many of the cap options utilize the hook J, but the bases come in a variety of colors and patterns. Some of the caps use the hammerhead logo as well. But my personal favorite cap is the wraparound shark head cap, complete with toothed brim. The home and away uniforms use simple black type with teal piping that is wavy on the sleeves. The home alternate features a teal jerseys with the hook J in black, while the road alternate uniform is all-black. Alternate 3 relies on subtle silver pinstripes and Alternate 4 features a two-tones shark-inspired jersey with gills on the shoulders.

Feel free to leave a comment about the graphic identities of the Florida State League, the Hammerheads concept above, or anything sports branding related.

Isn't the Point of a Uniform to Be Umm…… Uniform?

2010-12-21T23:10:00.016-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

With the unveilings of the Indians' and Nationals' new uniforms in November, I started to think about the concept of matching. I've always been of the opinion that a team's brand should be as consistent as possible. And yet, three of the four major sports have examples of inconsistency. I do also enjoy alternates that differ from the norm, but I believe a team only needs one of those, if any, depending on the sport.

When I say matching, I'm referring to a team's primary home and away uniforms matching in their general templates. For example, the Cleveland Indians use a placket piping scheme on their "primary" home uniforms, but use sleeve trim and a line of neck trim on the road jerseys. Furthermore, the homes use a script with multiple outlines, while the roads use simple, single-outlined block letters. The Tribe's home alternate cream uniforms would work far better as the primary home option, despite the lack of matching v-neck and sleeve trim.

The Nationals went through great lengths to make their home uniform and two alternate jerseys consistent with two-color placket piping and sleeve trim, but the road uniforms use a three-stripe v-neck trim. I understand using the full Washington script, but if you are going to re-do the trim style of the other three jerseys, why not finish the job? Although other teams use two-color trim, only the Nationals use two-color placket piping.

But home and away uniforms not matching is nothing new in MLB. Just ask any pinstriped team not named the Rockies. (White Sox, Twins, Yankees, Cubs, Marlins, Astros, and Phillies) The Twins used to have pinstriped road greys, but traded them in for relative anonymity. And the Yankees are even nicknamed the "Pinstripes"! Wouldn't a pinstriped road uniform make sense? Maybe some of these teams should think about demoting their pinstriped uniforms to home alternate status.

The NHL has a few teams with inconsistency between the home and road sweaters. The Thrashers (home/away), Blackhawks (home/away), Oilers (home/away), Wild (home/away), Canadiens (home/away), and Rangers (home/away) all show significant differences between white and dark jerseys. The Thrashers are a menagerie of mismatched design elements, while the Wild and Oilers can't decide whether they want a modern or an old school look. The Blackhawks, Canadiens, and Rangers all ahve striping inconsistencies.

The NFL only has three teams with different templates. The Bears and Giants have different striping patterns while the Cowboys are a total mess. Some teams add a splash of color (Cardinals, Bengals, Bills), but the overall template of the uniform is the same. The NBA is amazingly consistent in this regard, as every team's home and away uniforms use the same template. However, the Cavs routinely wore various jerseys that were alternates, throwbacks, and fauxbacks when LeBron James played there.

The main reason that the home and away uniforms should be consistent is that it builds a brand. However, many of the teams I mentioned have a long tradition wearing the two different looks (Canadiens, Giants, Rangers), but why not adapt the team's more established looks to unify their sets.
In Other News… The Bucks wore the red fauxbacks in LA last night… The Ravens wore all black on Sunday, while the Cardinals opted for red pants on the road… The Vikings added to the throwback atmosphere of playing outdoors by wearing throwbacks… The Chargers wore their powder blue alternates last Thursday… The Dolphins wore white at home again, this time against the Bills… The Bengals went 1.5-o-chrome against the Browns… Virginia Tech is going with an orange helmet for the Orange Bowl… Turns out ugly sweaters aren't just for grandmas anymore. They're starting to become a holiday tradition in minor league hockey…

Designer's Corner
This week, I decided to work on a uniform concept for the University of Arizona Wildcats. Arizona has a very strong mark in its A. The existing wildcat logo needs a touch-up, and that is exactly what I did to it. I made the lines crisper and outlined the mark in red to unify it with the rest of the set. The Wildcats also have a wordmark based logo which was upgraded from this to this. While it is a good logo on its own, I felt it needed to be re-styled to match the rest of the identity package. With that in mind, I developed a new desert logo with typography consistent to the rest of the package, including the A logo. The numbers play on the Old West theme, a nod to Old Tuscon. For the uniforms, I wanted to keep a version of the Wildcats' signature helmet striping. The jerseys and pants feature striping that reinforces the helmet striping, as too many teams in college football have helmets that stylistically do not match the rest of the uniform. While the jerseys come in navy, white and red, the helmets and pants only have navy and white options. I could have added red, but I did not feel it added much value to the brand.

Feel free to comment on the uniformity (or lack thereof) of sports uniforms, the Wildcats design above, or anything sports branding related.

The Big Mess II: When Conference Logos Don't Add Up

2010-12-14T18:32:00.012-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

In June, I wrote about the looming conundrum the NCAA will face. With the Big Ten soon having 12 teams and the Big XII soon having 10 teams, the names "Big Ten" and "Big XII" will be misnomers by the start of the 2011–12 academic year. Speaking of academics, you would think the NCAA would want to teach their youngest viewers how to count correctly. But no, tradition trumps common sense.

On to the logo package. (For the sake of critique, I will ignore the fact that "Big Ten" doesn't accurately describe the conference, unless the conference brass is making fun of Northwestern and Indiana behind everyone's backs.) The shade of blue used is quite bright, modern, and quite frankly, not befitting of a conference hanging on to tradition like it's the last barrel of oil in a post-apocalyptic world. (It's about as fitting as Brittney Spears performing the Super Bowl halftime show… in 2011.) The typeface is very nice, however. It appears to be a custom slab serif, and the IG in "BIG" doubles as a 10. In addition, the conference unveiled numerous alternate marks to round out the identity package.

There isn't too much to the logos (like, say, the Pac-10 logo), but there doesn't need to be. Whereas the Pac-10 instantly conjures up ideas of the Pacific Coast, and by extension, the mountainous areas that surround it, the Big Ten doesn't have a defining geologic symbol (aside from the Great Lakes, but the time for naming the conference after 2% of the world's fresh water has past). Penn State is in Central Pennsylvania, Appalachian Country, while Northwestern is in urban Chicagoland and Nebraska is in the plains. With a topographic symbol out of the picture, the conference only had two options: 1) a text-based logo, which they went with, or 2) artificially creating a symbol for a league best known for the teams within it and now the mismatching numbers game they have played over the past 20 years or so. Since the designers who developed the logo package had no say over the name, they did what they could. And to be honest, they did a great job with what they had to work with, which wasn't much. Don't believe me? Just look at the SEC logo.

An aside: If you didn't think calling a 12-team conference was bad enough, get a load of the division names: Legends and Leaders? Really? Just another reason why an East (Michigan, Michigan St, Ohio St, Penn St, Indiana, Purdue) – West (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern) format would have been superior.

Dear Nike, What's So Special About These?
Nike unveiled "special" bowl game uniforms for Oregon, Florida, Boise State, and TCU. Overall, these uniforms look like either re-hashings of the teams' Pro Combat sets or a mix of traditional and Pro Combat elements. The annoying stitching from the 2009 Pro Combats has moved to the collar. Oregon is pairing their carbon helmet with white jerseys and pants. To top it off, the Ducks will wear highlighter-colored socks and shoes. There has been speculation of the Ducks wearing black pants instead of white, stemming from this photo. I guess we'll have to wait to see. Florida's set pairs the Gators' Pro Combat helmet with a Pro Combat-templated version of the teams standard all-white set. Boise State is also re-using their Pro Combat helmet, but with surprisingly plain uniforms. TCU abandoned all traces of their signature color, purple (except for the socks), for a black, silver frog skin, and red ensemble that is also rather plain by comparison. For Nike, this is playing it safe, although the gratuitous use of black, silver, and carbon remain.

In Other News… The Redskins managed to have only two styles of striping on Sunday against the Buccaneers… It's been a while since I've seen the Rams with gold pants on the road… The Cardinals looked awfully cardinal against the Broncos… The Texans were seeing red as well… Remember Eastern Washington's red field? Here's how it looks with players on it… The Oregon Ducks basketball team wore throwbacks Friday night… The Meineke Car Care Bowl will be the Belk Bowl starting next season… Navy wore the football equivalent of their dress uniforms Saturday… That's one way to celebrate the holidays…

Designer's Corner
This week, we look at the Maryland Terrapins. The Terps current uniforms, while not necessarily terrible, have flaws. The jerseys and pants feature black accents and black and yellow piping on a template that isn't that bad. The real problem is the helmets. The modern style of the jerseys and pants in no way whatsoever match the very classic styling of the rectilinear helmet stripes and "Terps" script. If the team wants to keep the über-modern uniforms, then they should change their helmet. If they want to keep the classic-style helmet, they should alter the rest of their uniforms to match.

My concept reconciles the discord by integrating modern and classic elements throughout the set. I kept the M logo and Testudo in tact. In addition, I developed a Maryland script to match the typography of the M logo. I also replaced the standard block numerals with the school's proprietary typeface. The uniforms feature mix-and-match combinations galore (I've only shown six combinations, but more can be used), with three of everything: helmets, jerseys, and pants in red, white, and black. The helmet and pant striping feature a thin alternating black and yellow stripe that mimics the Maryland flag with two thick red stripes flanking it. The thin alternating stripe is worked onto the jerseys as well, outlining the shoulder yoke, which is always red. The jerseys also pay homage to the other half of the state flag with the red and white cross pattern appearing on the collar. The red helmets feature a slightly different finish than the white and black helmets, as they use a metallic shine to avoid looking too much like the Kansas City Chiefs. The black jerseys deviate from the standard, as they have yellow numbers on the chest and back. It's not that black and white doesn't work as a color combination, it just doesn't work as well as the black and yellow in this situation, as the black and yellow represent the other half of the Maryland flag and complement the primarily red and white home and away jerseys. The overall look gives Maryland football a distinct, consistent look.

Feel free to leave a comment on the new Big Ten identity, the "special" Nike bowl game uniforms, the Maryland concept above or anything sports branding related.

Texas Two-Step

2010-12-08T09:23:00.015-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Last week, the Round Rock Express switched affiliations from the Houston Astros to the Texas Rangers, and with the switch, they re-worked their identity. Here is a breakdown:

Colors
The Express were navy, red, and silver when affiliated with the Astros. With the affiliation change, the Express edited their color palette to show the new relationship. The new scheme, although fairly predictable, is much more unique within the context of the Pacific Coast League. Currently, five PCL teams use some form of navy and red: the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Memphis Redbirds, Oklahoma City RedHawks, Reno Aces, and Tacoma Rainiers. Royal and red, by contrast, was used by only two teams last season: The Iowa Cubs and Omaha Royals. The O-Royals are now the royal/gold or black/gold Omaha Storm Chasers, leaving the Express as one of two royal/red teams in the PCL. A definite upgrade.

Primary Logo
The previous primary logo, although well thought out, suffered from an illustration quality that was not befitting of a sports logo. The line quality was too thin, not conveying the impact that a team identity should. It also didn't help with reproduction: the thin lines mean that the printing (or embroidery, etc.) has to be even more precise than usual, as the design does not provide for any leeway. In addition, the secondary typeface used for the old logo(on ROUND ROCK) was too generic. The new logo shows a much bolder illustration style, complemented vastly improved typography. The design firm, Studio Simon, also worked to include symbols representative of the parent club, such as the Texas-flag motif in the background. The "ROUND ROCK" in the primary gets a little close to the edges of the half-circle it is contained in, but that is a minor quibble for the gigantic graphic upgrade that this logo represents.

Supporting Logos
The team retained its RR logo from the previous identity, simplified and re-rendered in the new colors. The removal of the drop shadow helps give the star its own space, as it was cluttered before. The team also has a standalone wordmark that matches the primary logo, as well as a new E logo. The old E logo suffered from many of the same issues as the old primary logo. Once again, the new marks represent a major upgrade.

Uniforms
The team's new uniforms further show the Express's relationship with their parent club, the Rangers. There are four caps: a solid blue cap with a red button and the E logo, a blue RR logo cap with a red button, a red E logo cap with a blue button, and another blue RR logo cap, complete with a red brim and button. The uniforms use two-tone trim throughout the set, a la the Rangers, with all the jerseys except the road greys using said trim on just the sleeves and pants legs. The grey jersey adds the piping to the placket as well (although that may not have made the final cut, as evidenced by this photo). The white and red jerseys use a different "EXPRESS" wordmark from the standalone version above. The grey and blue jerseys use the RR logo as a crest and include the player numbers on the fronts of the jerseys. Unfortunately, the number sits considerably lower on the jersey than the RR crest does, giving the shirts a slightly unbalanced look. The Texas flag patch is placed on the left sleeve of every jersey, paying homage to the parent-club Rangers. Overall, the uniforms are a mixed bag. It's good that they match the parent club, and the individual wordmarks and logos are well done, but the possible inconsistency of the road jersey's extra piping and the low number placement on the grey and blue jerseys are not ideal. In addition, it would have been nice to see the team use the current Texas Rangers numbers instead of defaulting to MLB Block.

Sugar Land Skeeters
While the Skeeters are still in the formative stages of fielding a team, they have their identity taken care of. The team's primary logo features a mosquito with a baseball in its hand in front of Texas. The color palette consists of black, light royal, red and a muted, buttery yellow. The secondary logos include a standalone mosquito with the baseball on its nose, a mosquito in front of Texas sans wordmark, and a sugar cane SL mark with a lone star. The team still does not know which league it will be in, let alone what level of the Minor Leagues it will compete in. It will be interesting to see how the uniforms look when the Skeeters open play in 2012.

A Few Other MiLB Happenings

• The Altoona Curve unveiled their new uniforms. (Here's an enlarged home jersey.) The look uses no black outside of the logos and the wordmarks look somewhat generic.

• The Indianapolis Indians are celebrating 125 seasons with this patch.

In Other News… The Packers wore their 1929 throwbacks. (Full write-up here.) They looked pretty good on TV. I've heard a lot of people gripe about the helmet, but I thought the team did a pretty good job, since they couldn't cover their domes in leather like the old days… The Buccaneers were also bit by the throwback bug, opting for the Creamsicle uniforms on Sunday against the Falcons… The Chargers wore their powder blue alternates against the Raiders… The Redskins continued Stripe-O-Rama in New York… The Dolphins went with their Storm Trooper look at home against the Browns… The Titans looked as bad as usual against the Jaguars… The Ravens did something they haven't done since their inaugural season on Sunday night against the Steelers: they wore their purple jerseys with black pants. It looked pretty good too… USC and UCLA continued their rivalry in color-vs-color… The (Oregon) Civil War was also very notable, as Oregon State wore their Pro Combat uniforms and the Ducks wore a white/carbon/silver combination…

Designer's Corner
Today's designs come from the world of college football. The University of Miami (Florida) is no stranger to bold, modern uniforms. Their current uniforms play on the stylistic split of their famous U logo, but the execution does not fully realize that end goal. The Canes have also had two different Pro Combat uniforms: the all-whites from last year and this year's orange uni with the green helmet. I drew inspiration from the current uniforms and both Pro Combat sets. The current uniform helped me think about how to go about emphasizing the split color concept in my version, with the all-white Pro Combat uniform giving me the idea of split player numbers. The most recent Pro Combat set inspired me to add a secondary green helmet, since this year's green helmet looked great.

For the logo set, I kept the U logo, as it is iconic and, quite frankly, irreplaceable. I also kept the "MIAMI" wordmark. The numbers are slightly edited, featured a stroke width more consistent with the rest of the typography, as well as a split in the numerals. I edited Sebastian the Ibis, removing the black and yellow from the current version, and adding a second green in place of the black. My Sebastian also comes with two shirts: orange and green. The uniforms, like I mentioned before, use the U logo for inspiration. I removed the striping from the white helmet (the green helmet didn't have stripes) because the traditional rectilinear striping didn't match the forms in the U logo or the uniforms. The jerseys feature side panels that taper and curve around the player's back in the shape of the U logo. The pants also have the tapered, curved accents, but rotated 180º. The accents, along with the jersey collar and shoes, play on the split color theme, with orange (or white on orange garments) appearing on the player's right and green (or white on green garments) appearing on the player's left side. While the numbers on the orange and green jerseys are all white, the numbers on the white jersey use the split color to add more balance between the two hues to the set. There are a myriad of combinations possible with the three jerseys, three pairs of pants, and two helmets. The pieces are designed to be mixed and matched, a la Oregon, but I have taken the liberty of showing some of the better combos below.

Feel free to leave a comment on the new Round Rock Express identity, the Sugar Land Skeeters, the concept above, or anything sports branding related.

44th & Goalie: Blue Is the New Black

2010-12-01T09:12:00.022-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

The Columbus Blue Jackets managed to do something that has proven to be more difficult every year: Keep a secret. While the Ducks had their new third jerseys leaked (as did the NBA's Timberwolves and Hornets), the Jackets managed to stay tight-lipped until the unveiling. Kudos to the Columbus brass for managing to keep the secret. Anyways, to the new uniforms:

The jerseys are navy blue, like the home jerseys, but do not use any red or the sleeve piping design that the home and away sweaters use. Instead, the new sweaters feature a circular crest that primarily consists of a cannon and a ribbon. The cannon plays into the Blue Jackets' Civil War theme and is a tribute to the actual cannon at Nationwide Arena. The ribbon that wraps around the cannon says "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS", while a beveled star appears at the bottom of the crest. The color palette is also different from the Jackets' standard navy/red/silver, as the new thirds use a navy/light royal/silver/cream combination. The desired effect is to create a faux-back look that gives fans of classic hockey sweaters a jersey to identify with in addition to using a color palette that is based on the Union Army's uniforms. The breezers (shorts) that the sweater is paired with are navy blue with a simple off-white stripe running down the side of each leg.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's get more specific. The sweaters use a new number font, as the home and away sweaters use the dreaded Copperplate. Although the new numerals are a bit square, they are far better than the awkward serifs and rounded forms of Copperplate. The new sweaters also have a couple of details on the collar. The back of the collar features the initials "JHM" in honor of John H. McConnell, the team's founder. On the other side, the Jackets have jumped on the bandwagon of placing inspirational messages inside the collar, similar to what the Cleveland Cavaliers and some college football teams have done. The player numbers also appear on the sleeves, while the jerseys are accented with a tie-up collar.

Now that we've covered what the new jersey looks like, let's look at the context in which the sweater has appeared: the jersey, while not bad on its own, marks another step in a growing recent NHL trend. It would seem as there have been a slew of two-toned blue jerseys with roundel crests flooding the NHL scene. Not only do the Blue Jackets have a navy/royal jersey with a circular crest, but the Florida Panthers also use a navy jersey with a circular crest, albeit the Panthers' third jersey inexplicably uses powder blue as a secondary color. It looks even more ridiculous when you see the goalie in all-red gear that matches the other two sweaters. (It's no match for this Panthers look, my all-time favorite.) Further compounding the subject, the Blues unveiled a third jersey this season that is… navy and features a… circular crest. Guess what type of collar it has? Yup, lace-up, just like the Blue Jackets and Panthers. Yet another team has also jumped in on the trend, although it could be said they were at the forefront: the Penguins. The Pens primary colors are black and vegas gold, but that didn't stop them from going dual-blue last year for their alternate jerseys. So, what did the team do for this year's Winter Classic? They got a navy jersey for the Winter Classic, complete with powder blue accents, circular crest, and lace-up collar.

And yet these alternates aren't the only blue jerseys with lace-up collars new to NHL this year. The Islanders switched to royal blue jerseys, with a circular crest and lace-up collar, and across town, the Rangers unveiled their thirds, which are also navy and feature a lace-up collar, but differentiate from the pack with diagonal lettering across the chest. The Predators also adopted the navy and lace-up trend, but not the circular logo trend with their thirds that combine navy and black in an almost indistinguishable way. And who could forget the Buffalo Sabres, who ditched the Buffaslug and modern jerseys and promoted their navy jersey with a circular logo to home jersey status from alternate.

Although the two-tone blue jersey with circular crest has become almost a standard for third jerseys around the NHL, where did the trend start? Well, circular logos and lace-up collars have been around for ages, but powder blue was recently brought back to popularity by the aforementioned Penguins and the Atlanta Thrashers. It was unique when it was just those two teams, but with the Panthers using powder blue for what appears to be no logical reason at all, and the Blues and Blue Jackets using navy jerseys with circular crests and lace-up collars, it's time for a new trend to sweep through NHL. My hope: original color schemes and logos.

In Other News… The Minnesota Twins quietly unveiled a new road alternate jersey… The Kansas Jayhawks football team wore white helmets Saturday… Ohio State wore their Pro Combat uniforms Saturday and got penalized for showing off the artwork on their gloves… The Ducks officially won the Pac-10 Saturday, wearing green helmets and jerseys with grey pants in the process… Pittsburgh and West Virginia celebrated the Thanksgiving weekend by wearing their Pro Combat uniforms in the Backyard Brawl… The Gator Bowl has a new logo, although it's as bad as the old one… The Preakness also has a new logo for 2011… The Patriots and Lions squared off with a red-vs-blue matchup on Turkey Day… The Cowboys wore navy at home! It was their throwbacks, though… The Bills also threw back to an earlier time on Sunday… The Ravens wore their black alternate jerseys with white pants, as did the Cardinals… The Broncos went all-navy over the weekend… More stripe-o-rama from the 'Skins… The Chiefs broke out their seldom-seen red pants… Matt Bryant, kicker for the Falcons, had a major Badge of Cowardice problem Sunday, as both of his sleeve patches were facing backward. Apparently, he been wearing them backward all season…

Designer's Corner
This week's design goes back to the Eastern League of Minor League Baseball. A while back when I covered the branding of the Eastern League, I received a comment from someone who wanted to see my idea for the Akron Aeros. Well, here it is. While the current logo features an amalgamation of colors and a cartoon cat in a space suit, my concept narrows the color palette to navy, lime green ,and two shade of a steely light blue. The primary logo uses a 1960s-style spaceman catching a fly ball behind an "AEROS" wordmark with a moon in the background. (At the time, I honestly had no idea that the Asheville Tourists were months away from unveiling a moon-centric identity.) The moon in the background doubles as a baseball with subtle stitching that could also be seen as tracks. The typography is custom (except for the lime green "AKRON" in the primary logo; that's an existing font), featuring an æ ligature in "AEROS" and an "AK" ligature in "AKRON". The supporting logos play the the moon shape interacting with the spaceman, the A mark, and a rocket. The A and the spaceman can also stand on their own. The caps show options in multiple color with multiple marks. The majority of the caps use the standalone A, which works for both the home and away caps, but the rocket logo and standalone spaceman also appear in the cap concepts. For the uniforms, I decided to go in a very modern direction, as the a standard baseball uniform template wouldn't do the futuristic nature of the concept justice. The primary home and away jerseys feature vests with sharp, bold accents around the neck and shoulders, while the alternate home, alternate away, and alternate 3 uniforms use the same accents, but with sleeved jerseys. The pants on the primary home and away, alternate home, alternate away, and alternate 3 uniforms feature sharp tapering accents down the sides of the pants. The primary home uniform uses a navy cap with a white A outlined in lime green. The jerseys uses lime accents and navy sleeves with the "AEROS" wordmark . The away uniforms start with a steely light blue base, with the primary away uniforms featuring a light blue vest with navy accents and sleeves. The home alternate jersey is lime green and is paired with a navy cap the features a lime green A, while the away alternate jerseys are navy blue with steely light blue accents. Alternate 3 is an all-navy uniform with lime green accents. If this uniform were ever produced, I would intend for the lime green on it to glow in the dark, similar to what some of the new Asheville caps use. Alternate 4 is the most traditional uniforms in the set, but steps away from baseball uniforms convention with a lime green cap. The jerseys use faux v-neck trim, while the same style of trim runs down the sides of the pants.

Feel free to leave a comment regarding the new Blue Jackets third jersey, the designs above, or anything sports branding related.

If the Arizona Diamondbacks and Frankenstein Had a Baby…

2010-11-24T09:21:00.011-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

A couple weeks ago I found the new Timber Rattlers "re-brand" (and I use that term loosely), and I was going to include it with last week's post about the Nationals. But the more I looked at the new "identity" (once again I'm using the term loosely), the more I thought it deserved its own post. So here we go:

Name: Now, I know the team had no intentions of changing the name from Timber Rattlers, but they probably should. As I have detailed before, the name Timber Rattlers has absolutely no association with northeastern Wisconsin outside of the baseball team. There are no timber rattlers in Northeastern Wisconsin. A look at this map shows that timber rattlers only inhabit the great state of Wisconsin along the Mississippi River. Furthermore, "Timber Rattlers" is a mouthful. Since moving to Oshkosh, I have noticed more and more people calling them the "T-Rats", which sounds more like genetically engineered super rats that will take over the world in some bad science fiction movie. As for the distinction of being "Wisconsin", it's at least mildly insulting to the Snappers, but that isn't terrible because they are rivals (trash talking is allowed). The team used to be the Appleton Foxes, and one day I hope they return to it, as "Foxes" gave the team a regional moniker that was more targeted (and meaningful) to the fan base than "Timber Rattlers".

Colors: I have never been much of a fan of the T-Rats color scheme. It's a muddled amalgamation of dark colors. Black, burgundy, red, metallic gold, and silver (plus white)… Really, when you think about it, there is no useful application of having black, burgundy and red in the same logo. The burgundy is too similar to the black, and the red just seems unnecessary. The logo would be improved by removing the red, but removing the black and darkening the red is the best way to go.

Primary Logo: I actually like the primary logo (shown above) for the most part. The snake received a much needed update, and the overall look of the logo is much bolder and intimidating. The only things I would like to see changed are the typefaces. The "RATTLERS" typeface is far too similar to the Arizona Diamondbacks, which wouldn't be a problem if the T-Rats were a D'backs affiliate, but over the past two years the team has spent much of its marketing time on emphasizing its relationship with the parent club. Then they adopt a logo that looks all too similar to the identity of an NL rival? Why? The "TIMBER" typeface is also troublesome, as it sticks out in an awkward way. Why not use the typeface from "WISCONSIN"?

Secondary Logos: This is where the "identity" (there I go again) falls apart. The team kept its longstanding W logo, which not only uses a typeface that doesn't match the rest of the set, but the snake on it has a thinner outline than the snake in the primary. In fact, the team is using three different versions of the snake's head: one in the primary, one for the W logo and BP cap snake-head logo, and another for the R logo. Why have three snake heads? What's the point? I do like the TR logo, though. It is well-balanced (not always easy to do with a T on one side) and matches the primary logo. On the other hand, the R logo clearly looks like it was inspired more by the old typography (it is from the old identity) although it doesn't really match that either.

Uniforms: The uniforms also received an update in the latest redesign, with the home threads now featuring a burgundy cap as the primary option. (It was an alternate cap last year.) The jerseys are pretty straightforward, with the "TIMBER RATTLERS" wordmark placed across the chest and black piping accenting the sleeves and pants. The away uniforms try to stay consistent with the homes, but something's a little off. Between the top-heavy type and the curved I's, the "WISCONSIN" wordmark looks like it belongs in a campy vintage Frankenstein movie or on The Munsters. Too bad they didn't unveil the set on Halloween.

Overall, the inconsistency keeps me from truly appreciating some of the good updates within the set, like the re-rendering of the snake (if only they used it more) in the primary logo or the TR logo. Looks like I still won't be buying a T-Rats cap (unless it's the one with the TR logo… maybe…).

Altoona Curve

Primary Logo: The Curve's old primary logo featured a baseball whizzing by on a train-like "CURVE" wordmark set inside a diamond. The new primary logo uses a conductor flanked by a keystone and a new "CURVE" wordmark. It is an upgrade, but the logo is far from perfect. The conductor doesn't look right. The conductor's chin should line up with the nose, but it is pushed over to the viewer's left, giving the guy a Stan Smith look. In addition, The angle at which the conductor's head meets his neck gives the logo a football feel, as it appears the conductor is hunched over, running full-speed like a linebacker. The other parts of the logo are well done. The keystone holding shape is unique and specific to Pennsylvania. In addition, the type is very interesting, as the "CURVE" wordmark is excellently rendered.

Secondary Logos: The team has three supporting marks: a standalone conductor head, a speeding baseball on train tracks, and a Keystone A. The standalone conductor head looks even more like a football logo than the primary. The baseball on tracks logo is well rendered, but the color isn't quite right. Aren't most train tracks built with wood planks and steel rails, not the other way around. Here's a mock-up I found on the Chris Creamer message board with the bronze and grey swapped. Looks better, right? As for the Keystone A, it's good, but part of me wants to see it with less outlines, since the outlines on the current Keystone A don't match the effect on the wordmark in the primary logo anyway.

Uniforms: They have yet to be unveiled. I'll keep you posted.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Colors: That's all that has really changed for the Fisher Cats this year. While the Cats used black, kelly green, yellow, and silver last year, next season they will compete wearing navy, red and silver. Here are the logos: Primary Logo (old/new), NH Logo (old/new), FC Logo (old/new), and the Paw Logo (old/new). Personally, I think the new color shceme is a step in the wrong direction. While black and kelly green was a unique color combination in the Eastern League, navy and red is used by the Harrisburg Senators, the Portland Sea Dogs, and now the Fisher Cats. So much for originality…

Kannapolis Intimidators

Alternate Logo: While Kannapolis's primary logo could use some work, this new alternate logo is certainly a step in the right direction. The script I and rendering of Number 3 are spot on with the NASCAR feel of this identity. Now if only they did something about the primary logo…

In Other News… The Kansas City Wizards have re-branded, becoming Sporting Kansas City. Good thing there's a non-gradient version, because they're gonna need it… Oregon State's men's basketball team wore turquoise uniforms for the launch of Nike's new N7 shoes. Kind of looks like the Vancouver Grizzlies… The New Orleans Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves new alternate uniforms have been leaked. That Hornets jersey looks pretty spiffy. And yes, they will still wear the Mardi Gras uniforms this year… The Jets wore green pants at home Sunday… The 'Skins took their stripe-o-rama act on the road to Tennessee… The Rams went all-navy again… The Saints wore their black pants against the Seahawks… Kevin Williams had a typo on Sunday. Just another mishap for the Vikings this year… The Bengals wore their orange jerseys against the Bills… The U (of Miami) broke out their Pro Combat uniforms against Virginia Tech… Iowa State wore gold jerseys against Missouri last Saturday. They looked less like USC than usual… Northwestern wore black jerseys for their Wrigley Field game, while Notre Dame wore green jerseys at Yankee Stadium…

Designer's Corner
This week's designs lead into Turkey Day with the Thanksgiving perennial Detroit Lions. I did this design right after the Lions first unveiled their updated logo. While I am still a big fan of the updated logo, my concept eliminates black from the team's color scheme. I have updated the primary logo by switching the outline to silver. I also created a new mark by combining the logo with a revamped wordmark that features an Olde English L. The uniforms do not rely on the large sleeve stripes that Lions fans have become accustomed to. Instead, the primary home and away uniforms use piping around the shoulder pads with white accents in the shape of the accents in the lion. There are also two alternate uniforms, which are based on the Lions' throwback uniforms.

Next up are the St. Louis Rams. My main issue with the Rams current uniforms has to do with where they play. The Edward Jones Dome is very dimly lit compared to newer domes and outdoor stadiums. That dim lighting makes the Rams' current navy and metallic gold scheme look very lackluster at home. In the interest of injecting a little excitement into the atmosphere in St. Louis, I have restored the team to royal and athletic gold (yellow). Although I did not changed the logos, I have changed one very iconic piece of the Rams' identity: the horned helmet. Nothing too drastic, I just added the highlights from the logo to the horns on the helmet for a more consistent look. The uniforms use accents with a similar style to the updated horns on the shoulders and pants. I have also added a gold jerseys to pay homage to the team's history.

Feel free to leave a comment on the new Timber Rattlers identity, other changes in the identities of MiLB teams, the designs above, or anything sports branding related.

'Tis the Season

2010-11-17T09:21:00.014-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Lots to get to today, as not only did the Nationals unveil their new uniforms and logos last Wednesday night, the Kinston Indians and Omaha Royals made significant changes to their on-field brands. Starting with the…

Washington Nationals

Logos: The Nats' previous logo displayed "NATIONALS" in a monument-style font with "WASHINGTON" in a ribbon above it, and baseball-style bunting below it. In fact, the whole set was petty consistent when the Nats entered the league, except for the Curly W. The story goes that the Nationals were originally supposed to wear a W on their caps that matched the beveled type from the logo. But at the last minute, Bud Selig stepped in and made the switch to the Curly W, thus entering the Nats into a period of schizophrenic identity. The new identity system focuses on the Curly W, a decision that should have been made in the in the early stages of the last identity design. (Can't blame the designer, Todd Radom, though. It was out of his hands at that point.) The new primary logo features the Curly W in a circle, flanked by "WASHINGTON" and "NATIONALS". It is a solid design, albeit a little boring. The standalone Curly W stays, as you had probably guessed. The Nats also have a new Nationals script, which does not appear on any of the jerseys (more on that later), and a revised DC logo, which also makes no appearances on the uniforms. The Washington script from last year's away uniforms stays. Overall the logo set is much more consistent and, therefore, represents an improvement.

Home Uniforms: The team kept its red cap with the Curly W, as expected. But the jerseys are much different. Last year's jerseys used the monument script and three-stripe trim in the faux v-neck pattern, while this year's home jerseys use a two-stripe placket piping scheme and feature the Curly W as a crest on the left chest. I like the use of the W, as well as the two-color trim, but I have one complaint. Last year's jerseys applied the trim inconsistently, placing the neck trim on the edge of the jersey while the sleeve trim was placed off the edge of the cuff. With all the effort the team put into making the logo set more consistent, you'd think that mindset would have been useful when applied to the uniforms. This year's home uniforms place the sleeve trim on the edge of the sleeve, but it doesn't match the placket piping's placement off the edge. Making the jerseys worse is the placement of the player numbers on the front. Generally speaking, baseball jerseys with crests look better when the number is aligned to the crest, not dropped low. While I like the W as a crest, the inconsistency of the trim and the low number placement keep the homes from reaching their full potential.

Away Uniforms: Why do the aways keep the three-stripe faux v-neck trim when the other jerseys have a two-stripe pattern. It just looks lazy. Even if the team didn't want to use the placket piping in the interest of readability, the sleeve trim should be in the two-stripe pattern, and the faux v-neck could probably be removed. Also, and the Nats aren't the only team doing this, why do they need the extra white outline around the script? Red outlined in navy is perfectly legible on light grey, making the white outline superfluous. In addition, the old-school look that the team appeared to be going for would have been helped by ditching the white on the roads. The away jerseys will feature a new cap that is similar to their previous away caps, but with a red brim. Not bad. It adds a little red to the away uniforms, which is needed with the red type on the jerseys.

Alternate Uniforms: The Nats will have two this year. The first alternate jersey is a red version of the home uniform, while second alternate is navy blue, and features a "stars & stripes" pattern in the logo, like last year's DC jerseys. Neither is bad on its own, but when combined with the home jersey, the Nats will have three jerseys with the Curly W as a crest. Since the home jersey looks great as a contrast to the division rival Phillies, and second alternate couldn't work with the full script, the red jersey should probably have said "Nationals", similar to a prototype jersey that has been floating around.

While the Nationals have made some good changes, some of their decisions aren't consistent with the other changes they've made. While the new identity is an overall improvement, the team is still another red/navy team with red type outlined in navy on the jerseys. Whether they wear red or navy caps, they will resemble another team in MLB. If they had used red caps all around with navy type on their jerseys, they could have coined the only truly unique red/navy scheme in MLB. Here's a sample: Logos / Home / Away / Alt. (If you're curious, the double piping and three stars on each sleeve are meant to evoke the DC flag.)

Kinston Indians

Logos: The Indians have made a major improvement, ridding themselves of this ridiculous caricature of a logo. The new logo is simpler, as it is primarily made up of a stylized wordmark flanked by a bat and feathers. The team also has two alternate logos, a K that is comprised of a bat and feather, and a different stylized K.

Uniforms: The team's uniforms are fairly basic. The homes use red piping and an "Indians" script that differs from the primary logo. The aways opt for a matching "Kinston" script, and the alternates pair the home caps with the stylized K from the away caps. The old cap logos are as follows: Home / Away / Alternate / BP. The alternates would be better if the K's matched, but overall it's an upgrade. I also believe the I-feather logo is still in play, and it would have helped the uniform set if it had made it onto one of the caps (preferably home or alternate).

The team had nowhere to go but up, but the new set is significantly better than just eliminating the caricature.

Omaha Storm Chasers

Name: Yes, you read that right. The Omaha Royals have become the Omaha Storm Chasers. As an advocate against "brand borrowing", I think it's a step in the right direction. It ties to the region, as anyone in Tornado Alley knows, and gives the team a unique moniker and theme.

Logos: The O-Royals' primary logo was laughable. (If you aren't a graphic designer that is, then it was just sad. For a more detailed rant, go here.) The new Storm Chasers logo, isn't great either. I will admit that the lightning in the lettering is a nice touch, but the two-tone effect on the wordmark has way too much contrast. From there, the logo set gets weirder. The alternate marks inculde an O-Bolt logo, an SC lettermark, a combination of the O-Bolt and SC, two mascot marks, and an affiliation patch. The main issue is an utter lack of consistency. The primary logo is royal and gold, Stormy the mascot is green and wears blue and white, the affiliation patch is blue and white, and the rest of the package is rendered in black, white, gold and red. The package uses blue, black, gold, red, green, and silver (plus white). Counting white, that's seven colors! Are you telling me that Stormy couldn't have been gold or blue, as to not look like the Philly Phanatic? Or that the OSC logo couldn't have been black, royal and gold? Or the SC couldn't have been blue and gold? A little consistency goes a long way, and this logo set looks like a collections of marks and illustrations, not a unified brand.

Uniforms: If you were expecting the team to get it right on the uniforms after seeing the logo, you are going to be disappointed. The home uniforms are what you'd expect after seeing the primary logo, but the away uniforms only match the O-Bolt. Also, what's the point of arching "Omaha" on the jerseys? It doesn't match the homes or the primary logo. Are the Storm Chasers a blue/gold team or a black/gold team? With this set, we may never know…

Overall, the logos, individually, each represent an improvement. But since this conversation is about branding, it falls flat. Too many colors. If the Omaha Royals were a hot mess, then the Storm Chasers are a well-rendered hot mess.

Next Week… I will review and analyze the new branding efforts of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, as well as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

In Other News… The Alabama Crimson Tide broke out their Pro Combat uniforms, complete with sublimated houndstooth… The White Sox are swapping out the sock-in-a-diamond logo with their primary logo for the sleeve patch of their road jerseys… The Atlanta Falcons wore their throwbacks against the Ravens Thursday… The Miami Dolphins went storm trooper at home against the tri-color Titans… The Jets went storm trooper on the road in Cleveland… Here's something you don't see every day: The Vikings wore their purple pants on the road against a throwback-clad Bears team… The Buccaneers went tri-color against the Panthers… The Broncos wore their orange alternate jerseys again, and some people, including coach Josh McDaniels, want to make the orange jerseys the team's primary home uniform… The Rams wore their navy pants in San Francisco… The Steelers threw back to a time when they weren't getting beaten by the Pats Sunday night… The uniform gods weren't pleased with the stripe-o-maina the 'Skins wore on Monday… Here's your newest Ducks combo, worn Saturday in Berkeley…

Designer's Corner
This week's designs focus on nostalgia, a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. Starting the section, we have the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons wore one of their throwback uniforms Thursday night. The combination featured a red helmet, black jersey, and white pants. Seeing as only two teams in the NFL currently rock red domes (Chiefs, Bills), the Falcons going crimson-helmeted would be fairly unique in the pro football landscape. My concept seeks to blend old and new. I opted for the red dome and paired it with a red home jersey. My red helmet uses the updated F-logo, outlined in black instead of silver, and is paired with a black facemask and a single tapered white stripe. The jerseys use a modern style with inserts and black piping around the sleeves to create a winged effect, while a similar style is carried over to the design of the pants. The red home jersey can be paired white or red pants, while the white road jersey can also be paired with white or red pants. The alternate jersey is black, with options for black and white pants.

Next up, we have the Denver Broncos. The Broncos have had multiple trendsetting styles throughout their history, from their brown and yellow inaugural season gear and the uniforms they reused during the NFL 75th Anniversary season, to their classic "Orange Crush" look and their Super Bowl-winning current threads. Of those looks the Orange Crush and current uniforms are the most notable in Broncos history. My goal was to combine those two looks into a signature style for the team. I changed the color palette from navy, orange and white, to orange, dark royal and white. The dark royal is a compomise between the current navy and the light royal the team used during the majority of the Elway years. The helmets use the new royal, complemented by a white facemask and a thin white streak added to the tapered orange helmet stripe. The jerseys are modern, using the famed Broncos side panels that have been replicated time and time again, but with a twist: the side panel striping truncates and wraps arouund the back before it reaches the pants, allowing for mix-and-match combinations that are not confined to matching the side panels. The jerseys also have piping around the shoulder yoke, with accents on the shoulders themselves, re-working what many feel is too blank a sleeve area for the Broncos. The home jersey is orange and can be paired with white or orange pants (or blue if necessary). The away jersey is white, naturally, with blue type and accents and best pairs with white or blue pants. The alternate jersey is blue, and is paired with blue or white pants.

Feel free to leave a comment about the new looks of the Nationals, K-Tribe, or Storm Chasers, the designs above, or anything sports branding related. And check back next Wednesday for the full scoop on the new Timber Rattlers uniforms.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-11-10T09:53:00.013-06:00

By Bowen Hobbs

It's re-brand season for Major and Minor League Baseball and a few teams have already started in on the fun. Above you'll see the new uniforms for the Cleveland Indians (full video of the new Away and Home Alternate jerseys here). After looking the new changes over, and digesting them, here is a critique of the new uniforms:

Primary Home Uniform: This one is actually the furthest on the right in the photo above. It has not changed since last season.

Primary Away Uniform: The jersey is new, while the cap was moved over from last season's alternate home uniform. The caps are all navy with a red block C. The jerseys feature CLEVELAND in navy block letters outlined in red. The player name and number on the back will also be navy blue, with the number also featuring the red outline. Although it's tough to see in the photo above, the jerseys have trim around the sleeves and neck.

Alternate Home Uniform: The Tribe have been wearing the cream-colored alternates since 2008, but the 2011 version showcases a new red cap with a navy block C. The look remains unchanged below the neck though, with INDIANS in red block letters outlined in navy. The numbers on the back are also red block type with navy outlines, and there are no player names above the numbers.

Alternate Away Uniform: The away alternates, like the home alternates, remain unchanged from the neck down. The jerseys feature a red wordmark, double-outlined in navy and white, and silver piping down the placket and around the sleeves. The player numbers are rendered in MLB Block (as are all the other jersey numbers in the Indians' set) and maintain the double-outline from the wordmark on the front. The cap is newly paired with the navy jersey, as it was last season's primary away cap. (Last season the navy jerseys were complemented by the I cap, which is no longer in use.)

Now that we have a base of what the new look will be, we can analyze if it is effective branding or not. My answer: No. The problem with the set is that it fails to deal with either of the issues of the previous Indians uniform sets:

Chief Wahoo: The Chief has been a hot button issue for a while now, as the logo is essentially a stereotype of a Native American. Some people see the logo as incredibly offensive because it is a very distasteful caricature of a race. Others say, "Tradition is tradition, and I don't care who it offends." The Indians had a choice to make going into this re-design: Do we ditch Wahoo because it could turn off emerging Ohio baseball fans to our team, or do we keep it because we would anger the traditionalists if we got rid of it? The team decided to ride the line, shifting Wahoo away from the primary away uniform, but keeping him on two of their four caps and on the left sleeve of every jersey. It's a slight reduction in Wahoo usage, but it doesn't go nearly far enough.

The Twins: The Indians have had to deal with the fact that they are not the only navy/red team in their own division, let alone the AL or all of MLB. This redesign does not address that at all. The home uniforms still use navy caps and red lettering, which Boston, Minnesota, and Atlanta also use. Hardly original. The home alternates use red caps and lettering with navy accents, which matches the home uniforms of the Angels, Cardinals, and Nationals. The away uniforms now have navy lettering outlined in red, which is more unique than navy caps paired with red lettering on the road (Braves, Cardinals, Nationals), but still matches the overall look of the Twins and Red Sox. The Indians lack a signature look, as they have throughout their history while vacillating between being a "navy team" or a "red team". There are only so many ways to create a navy and red uniform, so maybe it's time for the Tribe to switch color schemes.

The other issue is that the new set is very schizophrenic. It's not unheard of for a team to have a throwback inspired alternate, but the having a throwback inspired alternate and away uniform, while the other uniforms look quite modern? That very Twins of them (home / away / alternate 1 / 2 / 3) . Also, the Indians have four caps. Four! Is that really necessary? The Twins, with their five jerseys, have only three caps. Couldn't the Tribe wear the one Wahoo cap with the primary home and alternate away uniforms? Do they need the red cap, when the navy block C cap worked just fine with the cream uniforms last year?

While I'm all for the team minimizing Chief Wahoo, they didn't go far enough to that end. And in the process of slightly downgrading Wahoo's status, they developed a scheme that lacks a true identity. They copied the Twins, a division rival, at every turn (except the red cap), and came out with two separate identities: one throwback, one modern. It'll be difficlt for the team be achieve the instant recognition that the Yankees and Cubs enjoy with their current scheme.

The Nationals will be unveiling their new uniforms at 7:15 PM (6:15 Central) tonight. The team has mentioned there will be "major changes". Let's hope they do not continue their current schizophrenic identity of waffling between beveled block letters and script.

Other changes in MLB this year include the Mariners' return to a teal jersey and the A's getting a gold alternate jersey to replace their inexplicable black jersey. Also in the AL West, the Angels will celebrate their 50th anniversary by changing the halos on the caps and wordmarks from silver to gold.

In the Minors, the Lake County Captains and Asheville Tourists unveiled new identities in the past week. While the Captains' old logo used a cartoon steamboat captain, the new identity uses a ship's steering wheel with a splash of water as the primary logo. The team has three caps: a primary, an alternate, and one for batting practice. The home jerseys use a wordmark almost the same as the logo, but with a lighthouse substituted for the I. In addition, the numbers are consistent with the feel of the wordmark by utilizing notches that are cut into the numbers themselves. The home jerseys also have a patch on the right sleeve of a ship in a circle. With a streamlined color pallete, consistent typography, and well-rendered logos, this re-brand was a major upgrade.

The Asheville Tourists were also in need of a redesign, as their previous logo lacked flow and a cohesive style. The new logo plays on the idea of a nighttime ballpark scene. The supporting type is a little over-stylized, but the rest of the logo is well-rendered and the color scheme uses a very unique seafoam color to illustrate the glow of moonlight. The Tourists also have two alternate logos of a moon-based mascot that resembles Mr. Met, in addition to a matching stadium logo. The team uses four caps: a navy home cap with the moon man's head (It glows in the dark!), a light blue road cap with an A, a light blue alternate cap with a navy brim and the A inside a nighttime scene, and a navy batting practice cap with the full body moon man. Although the set isn't perfect, it's very good and constitutes a major upgrade over the previous package.

In Other News… The Oregon Ducks basketball program unveiled a new court design. Can't tell what it is? Here's another look. Interesting, but I will have to reserve judgment until I see it on TV… The Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines got new hoops uniforms, complete with senseless looking collars… Monochrome Madness struck in the NFL, as the Texans went all-navy and the Vikings broke out the seldom seen all-purple, complete with that weird side block on the pants… The Colts wore their throwbacks on Sunday, which have the horseshoes on the back of the helmet…

Designer's Corner
Today's designs come from the NFL, starting with the Cleveland Indians' neighbor, the Browns. For the Browns, I wanted to develop a modern classic. The first thing I sought to do with the Browns was the unthinkable: give them a logo. Now, I respect tradition and would never try to disregard the passion of Browns fans, but the team need a logo. The helmets can continue to be blank, but for various purposes, the helmet illustration they currently use as a logo falls short. In its place I created a new version of their B football logo (also called the =B= logo) that uses the natural seam of a football to create an accent of orange. The color scheme is also modified, replacing the white with an off-white that fits with the overall warm tones of the team's brown and orange. The secondary logo is the memorial patch the team currently wears for Al Lerner, while the wordmark is a subtle update to their current typography. My main goal with the uniform was to create a consistent striping pattern. In my version of the striping, orange is always placed in the middle (on a cream or brown background), while the cream is always placed on the outsides of the striping ( orange or brown background). The uniforms also feature piping that crops the striping, mixing modern and traditional elements. I also substituted the non-matching grey facemasks for brown ones and rendered the shoes in brown, since both black and white looked out of place with the brown and cream colors.

Next up are the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins concept is also an attempt at a modern classic, blending new and traditional elements. My first task with the 'Phins was to edit the color palette. The navy that was introduced in 1997 appears dated and, quite frankly, a little kitschy. I replaced the navy with a deep grey that has a slight teal hue, giving the concept an overall tonality in addition to better matching the overall color of a dolphin. I updated the M on the dolphin's helmet as the current M does not flow with the modern direction that this concept was headed in. I also created a new sleeker wordmark that features a wave set into the two-tone type. The uniforms feature consistent striping (the current uniforms don't) that is cropped by piping, as well as a new sleeker number font. The piping on the jerseys highlights the shoulder area, while the piping on the pants wraps around the back of the pants.

Feel free to leave a comment on the new designs for the Indians, Captains, and Tourists; the concepts above; or anything sports branding related.

California League: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-11-03T11:03:00.011-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

44th & Goal jumps back into the aesthetic world of Minor League Baseball with Part 7 of its 14-Part series: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly. This week, we will cover the visual identities of the California League. Like the other leagues of Minor League Baseball, the California League loasts some great examples of sports branding as well as some teams that could use help with their look.

The Good
Lancaster Jethawks: The Jethawks adopted their current look between the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Their previous logo was rooted the the aesthetics of the 1950s, and used a color pallete of blue, red, black, gold, and silver. The current brand streamlined the color scheme, while the current logo uses a much more fitting fighter jet theme. The new mark features much bolder lines and typography. Where the previous caps used rather cartoony illustrations for logos, the new caps use partial marks based on the primary logo. The Jethawks instantly upgraded their identity package with their most recent re-brand.

Modesto Nuts: The Nuts used to be the Modesto A's before the 2005 season. If they hadn't re-branded, they would have found themselves directly in the Bad category for brand borrowing. Instead, their current logo balances their quirky name with the boldness of a sports logo. The typography is bold and balanced, without the typesetting inconsistency of the previous logo. The caps are particularly interesting because the each cap has one of the two nuts on it, whereas both nuts appear in the primary logo. The home jersey is a white vest with black undersleeves, while the away jersey is a solid black jersey with placket piping and sleeve trim. The Nuts' graphic scheme highlights every to love about Minor League Baseball: professional logos that are unique due to the the team's one-of-a-kind name.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes: Although the Quakes' primary logo is a little over-designed, (I don't think the wordmark needs that much distress.) the team's overall graphic appearance is solid. The caps are very unique by featuring an embroidered fault line across the brim. The color and typography are consistently applied, giving the Quakes a fresh, professional look.

Visalia Rawhide: Minor League Baseball returned to Visalia in 2009, this time as the Visalia Rawhide. The Rawhide's logo mainly consists of a westernized script, complemented by a bull whip R. The team's color scheme features red, black, and metallic gold. The home and away caps use a pair of marks that are inspired by cattle branding. The jerseys are fairly basic, with only the wordmark on the front and the number on the back. Kudos to the Rawhide for going all out with their theme.

The Bad

High Desert Mavericks: The Mavs have been a staple of the California League since 1991. In that time, the team has not changed its logo at all. The issues are apparent: The outline on "MAVERICKS" is far too thin, leading it to disappear at small sizes. The supporting text ("HIGH DESERT" and "BASEBALL CLUB") uses two different typefaces when one would do, in addition to the fact that the supporting type is integrated poorly, leading it to look slapped on. Lastly, the way the underline of "MAVERICKS" connects to the S is very poorly done. Although the baseballs on the hat in the logo are clever, the do not lend themselves to reproduction at small sizes. The cap logo is just the M with the hat, while the jerseys say "Mavs" on the front. Overall, the Mavericks are due for an update, whether it's an update or a re-brand.

Inland Empire 66ers: Great name, but that's where the praise ends. Formerly the San Bernadino Stampede, the 66ers employ a royal, red, black ,and silver scheme. The problem with using the Interstate color scheme is that Route 66 was never an official Interstate highway. Actual Route 66 signs look more like this. And while there are times people have taken liberty with the design of the sign, US Highways are officially designated by black and white signage. The home cap is royal with a grey brim, while the away cap uses a red crown. Further confusing the identity, the jerseys use very little red and blue, with the wordmarks rendered in silver and black (although there are picture of Manny Ramirez floating around wearing a red-wordmarked away jersey). Using the signage for inspiration on the logos and caps and then going with a classic car theme on the jerseys creates a visual disconnect that does not reinforce a consistent brand. Once again, great name, but that's where the praise ends.

San Jose Giants: Is there a lazier way to make a primary logo than this? All they did was make the gold grey and swap out "SAN FRANCISCO" for "SAN JOSE". At least the caps have a cool logo, although it doesn't match the "GIANTS" wordmark in the logo. Although the home jersey now says "GIANTS", it used to use the SJ logo as recently as last season. These Giants are using two different style that don't quite work together.

Stockton Ports: It's not the worst logo in MiLB, but it's certainly not the best either. A closer inspection reveals just how poorly the type was rendered. The home and away caps use lettermarks with anchors and baseballs, which unfortunately, are a bit busy. (The baseball is overkill.) The jerseys are nothing special. The home version uses red sleeves and blue piping, while its away counterpart is a plain grey jersey with "STOCKTON" in blue, outlined in white. The Ports would have a solid baseball-centric identity, but execution counts.

The Ugly

Bakersfield Blaze: Well, where do I begin? The logo? OK, the logo. The Blaze call this their primary logo. As you can see, the letterforms are crammed into a geometric shape, except for a few parts of the letters popping out awkwardly. Making things worse, the inside of the B and A only have a red outline, instead of the triple outline the rest of the wordmark uses. The secondary logo isn't any better. It looks like an abstract butterfly with a flaming maple leaf behind it. Seriously though, the repeated clip art flames are an insult to professional graphic designers everywhere. It appears the team is starting to see the light, as the jerseys use a basic cursive script that, although plain, is far less awful that the previous version. I would say it's time for a re-brand, but the last time they re-branded, they came up with what I've been complaining about for the last paragraph.

Lake Elsinore Storm: The Storm re-branded before the 2002 season. Unfortunately, their old logo was better. The current logo primarily consists of a Storm wordmark (that's what that is…) with eyes below it. Generally, in the branding world, a logo should be legible, and this isn't nearly as legible as it should be. The team uses three caps, one for home and two for the road, all of which have eyes on them. The jerseys use the primary logo across the chest. Although I admit the numbers are pretty cool. (Well, the two's anyway.) If the fans can't read the logo, what the point?

In Other News… The Bengals wore their standard home uniforms, instead of the coolest Halloween uniforms ever… The Rams wore their throwbacks, which compensated for the poor lighting of the Edward Jones Dome nicely… The Patriots also threw back… The Cardinals wore their black alternates against Tampa Bay… The Saints went all-black (except for the helmets) against Pittsburgh, who finally wore white this season… The Oregon Ducks went storm trooper while beating USC. Turns out, the player names on those jerseys are white too. Nice subtle touch… Army went full-camo on Saturday. I definitely prefer the black jerseys in this set… Florida wore their Pro Combat uniforms… Ole Miss went all-grey…

Designer's Corner
As I mentioned before, the Bakersfield Blaze's identity is a nightmare. My re-brand for the Blaze uses a charcoal grey/red/orange color scheme that implies fire and ashes. Whereas the current Blaze logo forces the letters into a geometric shape, my primary logo concept features a Blaze script in front of a fireball/baseball. The supporting marks include two stylized Bs and a standalone fireball/baseball. The home uniforms use a white base with red raglan-cut sleeves and the Blaze wordmark across the chest. The player number appears on the left below the wordmark. The away uniforms go in a unique direction, using a charcoal base, similar to what the Toronto Blue Jays almost went with back in 2004. Most of the type on the charcoal uniforms is orange, giving the uniform a burning embers look. The alternate home and away jerseys are red with the alternate home jerseys featuring white type, while the alternate away jersey uses orange type. Alternate Uniform 3 has a throwback feel, with a cap the has a bit on old-school piping over the seams. The jerseys for Alternate 3 use the B logo as a crest and a serifed block font for the numbers. Alternate 4 shows off an orange cap (with the fireball logo) and jersey.

Feel free to leave a comment on the aesthetics of the California League, the Bakersfield Blaze re-brand above, or anything sports design related.

NFL Stripe-O-Mania

2010-10-27T09:12:00.016-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

I've been watching the NFL for over 20 years, but until this year, I don't think I had ever seen anything like what the Redskins trotted out for the regular-season debut. What is that? Four different sets of stripes? Really?!? As you can see by my excess punctuation, I was surprised. How could this happen? How could a team have four different striping patterns on one uniform? With a little digging, I realized that mismatching stripes were more common than I had thought.

A little background on the 'Skins: The idea for the pants and socks from the opening week uniform are from the 70th Anniversary uniforms. (The pants are slightly different, as the 70th anniversary edition had an arrowhead patch on the hip, and the mustard gold is more yellow on the current installment.) A little digging found that the 70th Anniversary uniforms had three different striping patterns. The jerseys for that scheme had a three stripe pattern in which the middle stripe was a little thicker and the stripes all had space between them. The pants had three stripes with no spacing (once again, the middle stripe was thicker), and the socks had a five-stripe pattern similar to the old Green Bay Packers jerseys. This didn't really bother me at the time, and still doesn't because throwbacks are more about historical accuracy than overall design consistency. Changing the throwbacks would make them not throwbacks any more. But a team bringing back an element or two from an old scheme and incorporating it with its new scheme is different because modern football uniforms are designed to look consistent with the team's brand. And if pieces of the uniform don't match each other, what does that say about the brand?

Back to the current Redskins threads: the team has always had an inconsistency between its helmets and jerseys. The helmet has three separated stripes, while the jerseys have a two stripes that touch. But the pants had always matched the jerseys with a two-stripe pattern, while the socks always had the same two-stripe pattern or no stripes at all. (A team having two different striping patterns is actually quite common, but more on that later.) Then this season happened. When the 'Skins wear their gold pants at home (they haven't done it for every game this year), they insist on wearing the burgundy striped socks with them, creating the über-mismatched striping effect. The helmets have three separated stripes, the jerseys have two touching stripes, the pants have three touching stripes, and the socks have five separated stripes. What's the point of this? Is it to say "The Washington Redskins: We're Consistently Inconsistent!"? If the team has this little attention to detail when it comes to its uniforms, what else are they overlooking?

But the Redskins aren't the only team in the league, let alone their own division, with inconsistent striping. The Giants and Cowboys have it too. The Giants sport a single red stripe on a blue helmet, while their home jerseys have no stripes at all, and their home pants have a three-stripe pattern in which a single red stripe is flanked by two blue stripes. This look isn't too bad. It could be argued that the helmet and pant striping do match, as red is flanked by blue in both situations. But then again, the Giants play half their games on the road. Their away jerseys have three separated red stripes and their grey away pants use three separated stripes that go red-blue-red. The Giants have three different striping patterns when they play on the road. Is this necessary?

The Cowboys have been the model for uniform inconsistency for a while now. Their primary uniform (the one with white jerseys) has two striping patterns, the pattern for the helmet and pants (although the helmet has navy-white-navy and the pants have royal-white-royal, they are close) and the striping for the jerseys, which has two broad royal stripes outlined in black. But the alternate uniform (navy jersey) uses a totally different striping pattern on the jerseys (although the helmets actually match the pants on this uniform). In the NFL, the helmet and jersey are the two biggest on-field branding elements. Why shouldn't there be some sort of matching scheme between a team's two jerseys?

Like I had mentioned before, many teams have two striping patterns that are different. Teams like the Packers and 49ers use one pattern on the jerseys and the other on the pants and helmet. This usually works well because the helmet and pants match in color, so the striping is the exact same on the two items, and not similar with different color placement. The Browns use a similar style, but the helmet and pants aren't the same color, so the striping looks less consistent. Same with the Steelers. And wouldn't New Orleans look much better with a single helmet stripe, instead of the mismatched stripes they currently have?

The Rams' primary home scheme is remarkably consistent, and the all-navy look is a good match, but the white pants don't make any sense. Across the state, the Chiefs can't seem to find a consistent application of their striping for use on a red background. And don't get me started on Tennessee. They have two tapered stripes on the helmet, a broad single stripe across the shoulders, and a triple-stripe pattern on their pants. The Ravens also have the tapered stripes on their helmet, and likewise, have triple stripes on their white pants.

The Bears have inconsistent striping as well. One for the home jerseys, one for the away jerseys, and one for the pants (with different versions for white and navy pants). Why not make the stripes consistent? But the inconsistent striping that really irks me (aside from the 'Skins) is the Indianapolis Colts. For the most part, they have beautiful uniforms. The jerseys have two stripes on each shoulder and the pants have two stripes running down each leg. But wait, what's that? The helmet has a single stripe. Why? This is a case of a team thinking that because it's old, it's good. A double stripe would look much, much better, as it would unify the entire scheme.

Not all is lost though. A few teams actually get it. The Lions tweaked their uniforms for the Matthew Stafford era, and consistent striping was a priority. Just look at the last uniforms in comparison to their current duds. The Jets get it too. The double-stripe scheme is consistent throughout their uniforms, although it does blend into the sleeves on the jerseys. The Seahawks are the other team that understands, as their striping is always navy-lime-navy. It's too bad that these teams are the exception, and not the rule.

In Other News… Jose Theodore didn't get his new Wild mask in time, so he improvised… The Washington Nationals will unveil new uniforms on November 10th… I was watching the University of Missouri play Oklahoma on Saturday, and I noticed two things: 1. The Tigers use two different shades of gold, and 2. The Tigers have a major Badge of Cowardice problem… The Dolphins sported their "Storm Trooper" look at home Sunday against the Steelers… As if Wisconsin and Nebraska didn't already look enough alike, now it seems both teams jersey stripes are distorting in an arched fashion…The New York Giants wore their blue jerseys in Dallas on Monday, but with their road pants… The Saints wore white at home again Sunday versus the Browns… The Panthers wore their light blue alternate jerseys against the 49ers… The Rams went with their white pants while the Buccaneers wore white at home… Oregon stomped UCLA in this combination…

Designer's Corner
Today's designs dovetail into the article above. First up, we have the New York Giants. While the issues with the Giants' striping are documented above, there is one other thing I would like to point out about the team's current away uniforms: The is no blue on the jerseys. The team is nicknamed "Big Blue", but you wouldn't know that if you only watched them on the road (not counting in Dallas). My design makes the striping consistent between the helmet, jerseys, and pants. All the striping is a single stripe, except for the grey pants, where the red stripe is flanked by blue. The away jerseys feature blue numbers, allowing the team's road uniforms to match its nickname. I added a red alternate jersey, similar to the one they wore a few years ago, as well as blue pants, which feature a single red stripe. I placed the GIANTS wordmark just below the front collar, while a patch of the NY in a circle is placed on the hip of the pants.

Next up are the Chicago Bears. The Bears current inconsistency is not their only problem. Their sleeve stripes don't even fit on the jerseys of most of their players. My concept not only makes the striping consistent, it also reduces the size of the jersey stripes so they actually fit on the sleeves. The consistent application of the three-stripe pattern gives the team a cohesive look that is timeless yet fresh. I have also added the wordmark below the front of the collar.

Last, we have the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have consistent striping, but the sleeve stripes are positioned as awkwardly as possible. Furthermore, the team kept the update of its logo that was made in the 90s, and placed the more modern interpretation of the logo on an old-school helmet with a grey facemask. My concept is a more modern take on the Niners. I got rid of the black and grey in favor of chocolate brown. The brown adds a modern yet old-school touch to the scheme, and complements the red and gold better than either black or grey. I also developed two alternate marks for the team, including a version of the SF logo sans oval, and a matching 49 mark. The striping on the helmets and gold pants is a separated three stripe pattern that goes brown-red-brown, while the striping on red, white, and brown backgrounds is a one-color three-stripe pattern. The numbers are new as well, utilizing a typeface that matches the look and feel of the logo set, instead of defaulting to a standard block typeface. The alternate SF logo appears on the left chest, while the 49 mark appears on the hips of the pants.

Feel free to comment on the use of inconsistent striping on football uniforms, the designs above, or anything sports branding related.

44th & Goalie: A Belated 2010 NHL Preview

2010-10-20T09:29:00.020-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

With the 2010 NHL season about two weeks in, 44th & Goal has decided to give you, the readers, a look into the new jerseys, logos, and typography in play this season.

Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks' new third jerseys were supposed to be unveiled November 26th, but a photo has been leaked. The new third is black like the home jersey, but contains considerably more orange than the homes, which are primarily black and gold. The new third also features the webbed-foot D logo on the chest instead of the wordmark crest that the Ducks wear on the home and road jerseys. The thirds look better than the home and roads. 44th & Goal sees a distinct possibility that the third will eventually become the home sweater, with a white road version to match. I would have liked to see an orange third sweater, since the team plays in Orange County, but the third the team unveiled is solid.

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres are doing the sweater shuffle this year, as the team's third jersey from last year has become its new home sweater. The team also unveiled a new road sweater to match, thus officially pouring salt on the BuffaSlug. The Sabres also have a new third sweater, which is royal blue, yellow, and off-white and features a Pepsi-style wordmark across the chest. The back of the sweater features a contrasting nameplate and numbers with a unique stitching design. It's a little out there, but NHL third jerseys have long held a tradition of being a significant change from the homes and aways.

Calgary Flames: The Flames 30th Anniversary uniforms from last year have become, albeit slightly modified to fit the Reebok Edge template, the team's new alternate uniforms. In addition, the Flames will have a special uniform for their Heritage Classic game in February. Can't the Flames just get rid of their current home and road jerseys and adopt the Heritage jerseys full-time. They could look great with a matching white or off-white version.

Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes are hosting the All-Star Game this year, and are wearing the logo, which is sweet, as a jersey patch.

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets are celebrating 10 years in the NHL with a little flag-o-rama. It's a lot of flag art, but it's the team's theme.

Dallas Stars: The Stars are swapping the status of their away and alternate sweaters, with the wordmarked sweater as the new away and the logo-crested sweater as the alternate. Is it time for a re-brand yet?

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings brought back a blast from the past with their "new" throwback jerseys. Also in the works, a white prototype based on the team's current third jerseys. Let's hope the prototype appears in next year's NHL preview.

Minnesota Wild: As I mentioned before, the Wild have some new typography. In addition, they also have a 10th Anniversary logo.

Montreal Canadiens: The Habs will be throwing back to a design they wore from the mid-70s to the mid-90s, which is barely different from their current away jerseys. And the point of this was…?

New Jersey Devils: The Devils will once again don their red and green throwbacks for a single game this year. Not bad, although they are slightly stripe-heavy.

New York Islanders: The Islanders reverted back to royal and orange, and with it, a retro sweater design. It's a shame, because the previous sweaters combined new and old elements very well. The new jerseys do not have the stripes on the shoulders representing the team's four Stanley Cup titles. Instead, the stripes have been moved to the logo, which now has four stripes on the hockey stick instead of three. The jerseys are a bit bland, but the logo update is very clever.

New York Rangers: The Rangers are celebrating 85 years with an anniversary logo and a throwback jersey. Both are pretty cool, especially because of the use of off-white to give the logo and jersey a vintage feel.

Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers have adopted last year's Winter Classic jersey as their new road sweater to match the home version. Hooray for consistency!

San Jose Sharks: The Sharks are celebrating 20 years in the NHL with a slew of logos. Wouldn't one strong mark have sufficed?

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs have made a few updates to their look this offseason. First off, the added hem stripes to their jerseys, which now have lace-up collars. The team also changed its name and number typography (old / new).

Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks are wearing a throwback this year for their 40th anniversary. The team also created a logo for it.

Washington Capitals: The Caps are starring in this year's Winter Classic with a throwback jersey from the 70s. (Additional photos here.)

That concludes our NHL preview for the 2010-11 season.

Why I Love the Internet
You may remember back in April, when Rattlers Radio felt the need to debunk my Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Appleton Foxes designs as merely concepts, which they were. Well, recently, certain members on a Nebraska Cornhuskers board were worried that the concept I posted was, in fact, a sneak peek at new uniforms for the team. I would like to reiterate that my designs are merely concepts of what teams could look like. If they were actual designs, I would not be unveiling them before the team did. I do, however, take the fact that the average fan thinks my designs are good enough to at least be rumored changes as a complement. I love the internet.

In Other News… Ole Miss got a new mascot to replace Colonel Reb. It's a black bear. The other choices included a "Land Shark" (I'm guessing it was rebelling against water.) and a grey person named "Hotty Toddy". Hotty Toddy really looks like the Greendale Human Being from the show Community… Here's a better picture of the new Maryland Terps basketball uniforms, including the alternates… The University of Miami is also getting basketball uniforms, as are UCLA, Missouri, and Boise State… The Redskins wore their gold pants again on Sunday… The Rams went all-navy versus the Chargers… The Steelers wore their throwback uniforms against the Browns… The Eagles wore white at home again against the Falcons, as did the Buccaneers, who hosted the Saints… The Broncos wore their orange alternate jerseys against the Jets. They should make those the primary home jerseys… The Titans wore navy pants against Jacksonville Monday Night. Not a great look…

Designer's Corner
This week's design is for the University of North Carolina. The team's current football uniforms do not make use of the school's single most identifiable sports uniform design element: the argyle pattern the basketball team wears. My concept keeps the classic NC logo and the alternate foot logo. I removed the Nike 90s logos, and brought back the ram in a letter sweater logos. The main changes are on the uniforms, which feature the argyle pattern on the helmet, sleeves, and pants. I gave an option for white helmets, since college football seems to be moving toward having multiple color options for every part of the uniform. The jersey numbers are also consistent with the basketball uniforms. In addition to the carolina blue and white jerseys, I developed a navy alternate jersey. The overall effect is to brand the University of North Carolina's athletics in a consistent manor, a la Michigan State.

Feel free to leave a comment about this year's new NHL logos and jerseys, the UNC Concpet above, or anything sports branding related.

Carolina League: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-10-13T09:21:00.013-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

44th & Goal continues its look into the aesthetics of Minor League Baseball with Part 6 of the 14-part series, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly. Today, we look at the Carolina League, one of the three leagues in Class A Advanced. Much like the other leagues, some teams have recognized the value of a well-designed brand, while others have yet to reach that apex. Here is a team-by-team look at the Carolina League:

The Good

Myrtle Beach Pelicans: The Pelicans re-branded before the 2006 season, and by doing so, they greatly improved their look. The previous logo featured a pelican ready to bat in front of a teal MB rendered in Copperplate, with a particularly awkward spot where the italicized B meets the horizontal streaks behind the ball. In addition, the team's jersey wordmark didn't match the logo. Uniform-wise, the caps matched the logo. However, the new logo is a vast improvement over the previous attempt. As you can see, the team traded the black and teal for navy and light blue to complement the yellow in the scheme, which is a major upgrade the helps set a calm, relaxing mood in the scheme. The logo further accomplishes the theme with a rope border encompassing the night time waterfront. The pelican in the logo is perched on a bat, giving the logo just enough of a baseball-specific touch. Two of the caps use an MB that matches the newly consistent typography, while a third cap uses an abbreviated logo featuring the head of the pelican from the primary logo. The team's home and away uniforms opt for the vest look, complete with light blue undershirts, while the alternate jerseys are light blue with yellow type. Overall, the Pelicans mix a bright, unique color palette with well-crafted logos for a look that is original within the MiLB landscape.

Wilmington Blue Rocks: The Blue Rocks current look has been on display for only a season, but it's already worlds better than the previous set. The current logo features a new mascot, named "Rocky Bluewinkle" and a new color palette of light blue, navy, yellow, and silver. (The old color palette was made up of royal, navy, yellow, and silver.) The team also utilizes a set of alternate marks, including a BR logo, a standalone Rocky Bluewinkle head, and two marks of the team's other mascot, Mr. Celery. The Blue Rocks have room for four caps: a home cap, a road cap, an alternate cap, and a batting practice cap. The Wilmington squad also rocks vests at home, much like the Pelicans, but the color scheme is much more focused on light blue and navy, not light blue and yellow. In addition, the Blue Rocks have some sweet socks. The home alternate jersey is light blue with navy type, while the road and road alternate jerseys focus more on navy. The Blue Rocks are a great example of a team incorporating various pieces of its history into a new brand, while still leaving room for new history to be made.

The Bad

Frederick Keys: The Keys have been in existence since 1989, and haven't changed their logo once in that time. I think its time for an update. The font is campy, and the banner with "BASEBALL" looks slapped on, as it intersects the K and S in an odd way. Furthermore, the baseballs are poorly rendered and appear to be exploding into bananas. (A side note: the team is based in Maryland and named after Francis Scott Key, writer/composer of the National Anthem. They are in no way affiliated with the Florida Keys.) And if you thought the primary logo was bad, check out the cap logo. Is there a need for the three outlines around the F or the gradient? This is a classic example of cramming five pounds worth of design into a two-pound bag. The home jerseys are aesthetically in the other direction, as the team just copied the simple stylings of the Baltimore Orioles circa 1995 – 2003. The road jersey isn't much better, as it uses plain block letters arched across the front. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Keys should just switch their name to the Frederick Orioles and just get this "We're not the Orioles, but we are" dance over with.

Potomac Nationals: I wonder who the parent club is? Before the 2005 season, the Potomac Nationals were known as the Potomac Cannons. Then, instead of refreshing the Cannons brand, the team decided to re-hash the parent club's identity. The current primary logo differs from the Washington team's logo only slightly, as it uses a diamond holding shape instead of a circle and features a pair of crossed bats that aren't in the parent club's marks. The P-Nats also have an alternate logo that uses a stylized P over a baseball encompassed in a circle. The caps feature a standalone version of the P. The home jerseys feature navy type, while the away jerseys go with red type. The P-Nats were impressively diligent in applying the graphic standards of the home club, down to the inconsistent color treatment between home and road.

Salem Red Sox: More brand borrowing from a Red Sox affiliate. In fact, here is a list of the Red Sox affiliates are as follows: AAA – Pawtucket Red Sox; AA – Portland Sea Dogs; A-Advanced – Salem Red Sox; A – Greenville Drive; A-Short Season – Lowell Spinners. All of these teams use a navy and red color scheme, and the PawSox, Sea Dogs, and Salem Red Sox all have uniforms that almost replicate the parent club's threads. The Salem squad's primary logo looks more like a Red Sox vacation destination than a team logo. The home uniforms feature a red cap with a Tuscan-style S and red-sleeved jerseys. The team also has away and alternate caps, both of which features a navy crown. Overall, it's just another substandard re-hashing of the Red Sox identity.

The Ugly

Kinston Indians: If you think Chief Wahoo is inappropriate, then the Kinston Indians logo is over-the-top absurd. The bulk of the logo package relies on an offensive caricature of a Native American. The home and away caps feature the "mascot", while the alternate and batting practice caps opt for a slightly more tasteful approach. The wordmark is interesting, but I cannot appreciate the identity because of its extremely distasteful nature. Maybe it's time for the team to become the Kinston Eagles again…

Lynchburg Hillcats: The Hillcats are the only Braves affiliate not to be called the Braves, but instead of owning their unique identity within the organization, they continue to use a sloppy, outdated logo. Take another look, I'll wait………… OK, starting with the type: it is awful. The thin offset outlines make the team look soft, graphically, and the gradiated letters on "HillCats" are almost illegible. Furthermore, the crossed bats (which look like clip art) just barely touch the type the the most awkward of ways. The mountains have the same clip art look as the bats, made possible by the extremely dainty black outlines that the bats also use. Then there's the bobcat head, which is the only piece of the logo that uses a thick, bold outline. The problem with the bobcat is that the bold outline is so sloppy, it looks like it was rendered in MS Paint. The logo is so bad the caps use a simple Tuscan LH logo. And the jerseys are as bland as the rest of the package, with the home jersey using a variation of the logo script while the away and alternate jerseys go with the Tuscan theme. With such a great name and color scheme, a good graphic designer could do a lot.

Winston-Salem Dash: So I got a text message from Brett Favre, and it had a picture of this logo. I'm kidding, of course, but the logo does look a lot like a certain part of the male body. Every time I look at this logo, I wonder how a team could spend thousands of dollars on an identity, have it look like what this looks like, and nobody caught the error. To make things even worse, Minor League Baseball is marketed as family-friendly, and this logo is absolutely not family-friendly in any way. Aside from the main error, there are also issues with the parts of the logo. The type is over-designed to the point where it is difficult to read, while the choice of a baseball as the mascot is simply uninspired at best. The team also has a set of supporting logos, which include a standalone baseball, a D logo, and a WS logo. The home uniforms feature the Dash script and are paired with purple caps, while the away uniforms use a Winston-Salem wordmark and grey-crowned caps. The team also has an alternate uniform with vest tops and a white cap. While the name is unique and interesting, this re-brand failed graphically in every way possible.

Designer's Corner
Today's design is a re-brand for the aforementioned Winston-Salem Dash. My first objective was to create a logo that wasn't inherently perverse, since Minor League Baseball is generally marketed as a family-friendly atmosphere. I opted for a giraffe motif, as the giraffe is a friendly animal. You might be thinking, "What does a giraffe have to do with dashing?" As it turns out, a giraffe is perfect for a team named the Dash, as giraffes can run at speeds of up to 35mph for short periods of time. This is essentially what a dash is: a quick, albeit short, run. Working with the giraffe theme, I decided a yellow/brown/green color scheme would fit the aesthetic qualities of the animal while giving the team a unique identity within the Carolina League and all of Minor League Baseball. The supporting marks include a D with the giraffe's coming through it and a WS logo. The type, as a whole, isn't nearly as detailed as the team's current wordmarks, but still conveys the fast nature of the team name through italics and the triangular notches that accent the custom typography.

After the logo set was in order, my next step involved creating cap concepts for the team. I tried options for the D logo, as well as the WS logo in addition to vintage concepts that feature simplified versions of the type. The primary home uniforms are a cream color that complements the warm tones of the yellow and brown, feature the Dash wordmark across the chest, and are paired with yellow caps. The sleeves are raglan-cut and accented with a subliminal giraffe spot pattern. The WS logo appears as a sleeve patch and the player number is placed on the hip of the pants, a tribute to the parent club White Sox. The away uniforms use a grey base and a brown cap that is emblazoned with the WS logo. Winston-Salem appears across the chest, while the D logo is placed on the right sleeve. Like the home uniforms, the sleeves are accented with giraffe spots, and the player number is placed on the hip of the pants. The alternate home and away uniforms feature colored jerseys. The home alternate uses a yellow jersey and cap, while the alternate road set features a brown jersey with yellow type. Alternate Uniform 3 is a faux-back design, complete with a trucker-style cap and a jersey with contrast raglan-cut sleeves. The type on the jerseys doesn't feature all the bells and whistle that the primary jerseys have, giving the uniform more of a classic look. Alternate 4 is an all-brown look with a green cap and contrasting jersey placket. It also features stripped-down typography for a retro feel. The overall look is original and family-friendly.

Feel free to leave a comment on the branding of the Carolina League, the Winston-Salem Dash re-brand above, or anything sports branding related.

Monochrome vs. Tri-Color in the NFL

2010-10-06T09:09:00.015-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Traditionally, many NFL teams employed a two-color uniform scheme, such as the Packers or 49ers. Sure, each of those teams uses three colors (or more), but the base colors of their helmets, jerseys, and pants are based on a two-color scheme. The Packers use gold (yellow)–green–gold (yellow) at home, with white swapping in for green on the road. The 49ers use gold–red–gold with white replacing red for away games. The Chicago Bears use another version of the two-color scheme in which the home uniforms are navy (helmet)–navy (jersey)–white (pants).

Aside from the two-color scheme, there is also a scheme called monochrome, in which the helmet, jerseys, and pants are all the same color. The Seahawks are the most famous example of a monochrome home uniform, but the trend is not new. The Dolphins and Jets have been known to sport the "Storm Trooper" look in which the teams wear all-white. More recently, the Ravens have sported an all-black look, and even the Bears have gone all-navy before. There is also a group of teams who have been lumped into the monochrome category, but aren't actually monochrome. Teams like the Bills and Texans (alternates) fall into this category. While the jerseys and pants match, the helmets are a different color. This group seems to be viewed as monochrome because the helmet takes up significantly less visual space than either the jerseys or pants. We'll call them 1.5-o-chrome teams. The 1.5-o-chrome look is fairly common on the road, but less so at home.

At the other end of the spectrum are the tri-color teams. Some of the current tri-color teams include the Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Jaguars, and Falcons. Most tri-color teams have white pants, paired with a bright helmet and dark jersey or a dark helmet and bright jersey. But one team employs the tri-color look while using a white helmet: The Tennessee Titans. And does it look ridiculous! The team has yet to pair its columbia blue jersey with white pants. If the Titans went white–columbia–white, it would be, by far, their best look. However, we the fans, have to look at a disjointed combination of elements, each a different base color, each with different striping. Certain teams that go two-color at home, opt for a tri-color road ensemble. Among them are the Steelers, Giants, and Patriots.

Due to the proliferation of alternate jerseys in today's NFL, there will always be tri-color looks. With teams only being allowed to have one helmet (except for throwbacks) matching three different jerseys will include possibilities for either monochrome or tri-color. Which one is better depends on the individual situations teams create. Monochrome generally looks better when a team has a significant block of a contrasting color on its jerseys, although exceptions can be made. Tri-color, however, generally looks best when paired with white pants or some other light color of pants. (And certainly not white helmets…)

In Other News… Last Wednesday, the Rays decided to trot out in plaid-billed caps. Pretty interesting… Michigan State forgot one thing in their re-brand: to make the S-logo consistent with the other type. The plain block S looks too close to Stanford. At least the field numbers were in the new typeface… Jay Valai of the Badgers had some seriously tiny two's on his sleeves Staurday… Air Force wore their "Thunderbird" uniforms, inspired by this. They even had abstract concepts on the backs of the jerseys instead of names… Oregon wore all-green versus Stanford Saturday night. The jerseys had the yellow numbers instead of the silver. It looks like the silver-numbered green jerseys are no more… The NFL kicked off its month o' pink last weekend… The Panthers wore their light blue alternate jerseys against the Saints… The Falcons wore their throwbacks in an old school looking game against the 49ers… The Rams rocked white pants instead of their typical gold… The Redskins wore their burgundy jerseys on the road with white pants… Joseph Addai is still wearing the Video Game Jersey… The first time I've ever seen a football Badge of Cowardice, and it's on Dolphins center Joe Berger. Sorry, no photo…

Designer's Corner
Today's design stays with the recent Big Ten trend. The University of Michigan has had the same uniforms (at home at least) for decades. The team's current logo is outline-heavy for a team with such simplicity uniform-wise. I simplified the logo to better match the overall scheme of Michigan aesthetics. In addition, I created custom typography for the wordmark and jersey numbers. The home uniforms are a break from tradition, but in an old school way. The jerseys feature striped shoulder yokes to match the striping on the classic Michigan helmets, and the M logo appers just below the jersey collar. The team's away uniforms are generally subject to the whims of the manufacturer. My rendering of the away uniform uses the same style as the home uniforms, instead of embracing the team's current mismatch paradox. (It's a paradox because despite how much fans cling to the tradition of the home uniforms, they seem not to care too much about the visual brand of the roads.) Both the home and away uniforms include an option for white pants. The alternate is a maize-out option in which I have paired maize jerseys with maize pants. The fauxback, however, keeps with the tradition of the wolverines by utilizing plain navy jerseys with maize numbers and plain maize pants. The helmet is also slightly different from the standard. I altered it to comply with these historical gems, making the facemask grey and adding the player numbers to the front of the dome.

Feel free to leave a comment about monochrome or tri-color uniforms in the NFL, the designs above or anything sports branding related.

Side Panel Madness

2010-09-29T09:21:00.010-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Since the Denver Broncos made history in 1997 by trotting out these uniforms, many teams have used the style in the pro and college ranks. As of right now, 7 of the 32 NFL teams use some type of uniform design in which the pattern on the pants continues up through the side of the jersey. These "side panel" designs have had varying degree of success, and below is a team-by-team synopsis of that success (or lack thereof):

Denver Broncos: Since Denver started this trend, 44th & Goal will start with the Broncos. The Broncos used to have pretty pedestrian uniforms, with only the colors helping the Broncos stand out in the NFL landscape. Enter Nike. The athletic wear company reinvented the team's image preceding the 1997 season and the rest is history. The current Broncos design relies on a vertical stripe motif with sharp curves on the ends. The home uniforms were originally supposed to feature navy pants, but those were relegated to alternate status at the behest of some of the team's veterans, such as John Elway. The Broncos certainly enjoyed on-field success in the new threads, winning two Super Bowls directly after adopting the new uniforms. Design-wise, the uniforms were an instant classic and remain a classic to this day. The one flaw within the set is the lack of interchangeability, but that's a minor quibble.

New England Patriots: Three years later, the New England Patriots would become the next team in the side panel craze, along with the St. Louis Rams (more on them later). New England's design consistenly uses a navy side panel outlined in red piping on the jerseys and silver pants, with an extra white outline flanking the red on the team's navy pants. Although the extra white outline inhibits the team from going all-navy, and sometimes the striping doesn't line up, the overall look is pretty well-executed.

St. Louis Rams: The Rams are the one-hit wonder of the side panel craze. The season after winning the Super Bowl, the Rams played in these uniforms. I guess after watching the team try out the side panels for a couple years, the team's brass thought said panels were superfluous, since the team wore a modified version of the uniform two seasons later.

Buffalo Bills: Buffalo, New York is home to the NFL's ugliest uniforms ( and I am not alone in that opinion) and the team that plays in them. Before the current incarnation, the Bills donned their Jim-Kelly-four-Super-Bowl-losses uniforms. And those uniforms weren't anything special, either, as the jerseys were almost exactly the same as the Giants' jerseys of the Phil Simms era. (The only true differences are the number font, and the fact that the Bills' striping uses a thicker white stripe with thinner red stripes on the sleeves.) Further back, the Bills wore the jersey they currently use as an alternate, which would not be advised as a full-time uniform since the stripes almost don't fit on the sleeves. But back to the current duds: The side panels on the jerseys are solid red, to mimic the streak on the logo. The pants, however, add to the red stripe, with navy flanking the red on the white pants, and nickel and white flanking the red on the navy pants. This is because the uniforms were originally supposed to be paired as such: navy jersey/white pants and white jersey/navy pants. The team is currently wearing either all-navy or all-white, making the side panels clash with the pant striping. Between this oversight and the guerish rectangular shoulder yokes (more visible on the away jerseys), the Bills have yet to perfect the art of side panels.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons adopted their current uniform design preceding the 2003 season. While the previous uniforms were pretty pedestrian, the current uniforms are not. Although the Falcons' threads do not use a "traditional" (and I use that term loosely) side panel, they do use a "side piping" style in which a single strip of piping runs down the side of the jersey and continues down the pants. As far as side panels go, this use of jersey space is one of the better options. The simple piping stays consistent between the jerseys and pants and manages to stay fairly lined up, even as players' bodies are turning.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals have, perhaps, the most unnecessary use of side panels in the NFL. Their uniforms feature tiger-striped sleeves and tiger-striping down the sides of the pant legs. But the home and alternate jerseys also have solid white side-panels. The Bengals apparently thought the white side panels were necessary to justify the pant stripes, but all they really do is clutter the design. Like the away jersey, the home and alternate jerseys would look better without the side panels, although the black pants would need to be edited.

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals use their side panels in a consistent fashion between the home and away uniforms (cardinal red panels with black piping), as both jerseys are paired with white pants. But things weren't always like that in the desert. The Cardinals used to have a pair of red pants in addition to the white set. The red pants, however, looked weird because the white section terminated in an odd way. Luckily, the team removed the red pant option following the 2007 season. But if you think Arizona is a one-pant-design team, you'd be mistaken. The team recently added a second pair of white pants to pair with their new black jerseys.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings redesigned their uniforms for the 2006 season, but pigeonholed themselves combo-wise. While the jerseys contain solid side panels, the pant stripes switch colors just below the hip, leading the uniform to only look correct if the jersey is worn with contrasting-colored pants (not that correct means good). The arbitrary color switch looks like an afterthought, whether the team goes purple jersey/white pants or white jersey/purple pants. I know what you're thinking: Don't the Vikings wear white pants on the road? Yes, they do, and the arbitrary color change on the pants looks even worse in that configuration, not to mention the ridiculousness of the side panels on the all-purple look. If only they went the Falcons' route and kept the side design to simple piping.

The use of side panels on NFL uniforms in the context of a design element certainly has its place, but uniform designers need to think about all the possible ways a team will mix-and-match uniform elements. The Broncos, Patriots, and Cardinals did so by limiting combinations, while the Bengals and Falcons tried to apply a mix-and-match philosophy, but the Bills and Vikings utterly failed.

In Other News… A week and a half ago the Ducks wore their carbon helmets with green jerseys and grey pants. The weird(est) part: Last year the numbers on the green jerseys were silver, and now they are yellow. Did the team add a second green jersey, or did they replace last year's? We'll see… Georgia Tech was not allowed to wear white at home versus NC State, as per the ACC's rules (both teams must agree if the home team wants to wear white), so they had to break out last year's gold jerseys. Big branding mistake not to have a contingency plan for this situation… The Redskins paired their burgundy pants with their white jerseys Sunday, a look with only two different striping patterns… The Dolphins wore their orange alternates Sunday night…The Bears wore their throwbacks versus the Packers on Monday. The uniform numbers on the backs of the jerseys looked pretty good (a little like the Red Sox), but the numbers on the front were a different font that was a bit thick, especially on the 4s and 8s… Jermichael Finley has apparently abandoned the "Video Game Jersey", as he was wearing a more standard model Monday…

Designer's Corner
This week's design section comes to you with a new name and a re-brand for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes' current logo was designed in 1979 and hasn't changed since. The main issue it has is that the hawk looks somewhat like a chicken, due to the rendering of the space below the eye and the small lower beak. In addition, the filled in eye treatment deprives the viewer of a key visual clue. My revision of the logo seeks to fix those issues, first by creating an iris and pupil within the eye, giving it more of a hawk-like appearance. I also made the lower beak larger and added a nostril in the top beak, in the interest of being anatomically correct. The shape under the eye was sharpened, as was the curves at the back of the head. The overall result transforms the team's image from 70s chicken to modern hawk. My next step involved creating wordmarks and uniform numbers that were original, yet evoked the proud, tough heritage of Hawkeyes football. I developed the typography from the Green Bay Packers uniform numbers, tweaking the size of the corners, and developing letterforms from the revised numerals. After the typography was created, I went to work on the uniforms. Iowa's current football uniforms are essentially knockoffs of the Pittsburgh Steelers, except that the Steelers changed their numbers in the 90s. As the story goes, Hayden Frye wanted to give the team the look of a winner to rejuvenate the program. And with the Steelers winning four Super Bowls in the 70s, not to mention that they shared a color scheme with the Hawkeyes, Frye contacted the Pittsburgh club and got approval to use the uniforms. Since the Hawkeyes have no problem winning games nowadays, it's time for the program to forge its own identity. I utilized a two-stripe pattern throughout the scheme, from the helmets down to the socks. I have also added options for the team to wear white pants and/or yellow jerseys. Lastly I developed a fauxback based on the uniforms the team wore last weekend. My version streamlines the uniforms by using only one number font, two striping patterns, and a black facemask.

Feel free to leave a comment about football uniforms with side panel designs, the concept above, or anything sports branding related.

Southern League: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-09-22T11:19:00.022-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Today we look at the branding efforts of the Southern League in Part 5 of a 14-part series about branding in Minor League Baseball. Who has great branding? Who could use an update to their identity? Which teams should start over, branding-wise? The answers to those questions and more:

The Good

Birmingham Barons: Remember when Michael Jordan retired from basketball to play Minor League Baseball? If you do, you may also remember that he, in fact, played for the Barons. The Barons' branding was very consistent with the graphic identity of their parent club, the Chicago White Sox. Black caps, pinstriped home uniforms, Old English typography mixed with classic script… all the White Sox hallmarks. After the 2007 season, however, the Barons decided to refresh their brand. Silver was minimized, while red stepped in to fill the void. While the old primary logo was essentially a wordmark, the new logo complements an updated version of said wordmark with a baseball holding shape that allows for a more structured placement of the subordinate typography. Although the supporting type is rendered in Copperplate, it fits within the vintage feel of this identity. The supporting marks also received an update: the B logo added a red outline, and the team added a new logo that is used on the batting practice caps. The logo of the old-timey player with a moustache is an evolution from this design. The new uniforms also seek to give the Barons more of their own identity by highlighting red throughout the set, especially in the alternate jersey. The home uniforms remain fairly true to their predecessor, keeping the overall look of an Old English B complemented by a pinstriped uniform with the team name across the chest in a classic script. The away uniforms feature placket piping with "BIRMINGHAM" arced across the chest in Copperplate. Overall, the Barons did a great job refreshing their brand. The "man with a moustache" logo is one of the best marks in MiLB.

Jackson Generals: Formerly the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, the Generals unveiled their new brand at their last regular season home game, a few weeks ago. (You can read a full review here.) The new primary logo is very well executed, and the secondary (read: cap) logo is solid as well. Also, kudos to the team for not keeping its bear mascot, as the BayBears and Smokies also have bear mascots. The uniforms, however, could be a bit less… basic. I'm not particularly thrilled by the plain white cap used with the pinstriped uniforms, something along these lines would have been better. The real difficult part to understand is why the team didn't include any green on the uniforms. The Generals are the only team in the Southern League with green. (Well, the Smokies have a little green on their logo, but nowhere on the uniforms.) They should have highlighted it more, possibly including it as an outline color to complement the black.

Mobile BayBears: The BayBears were included in my MiLB preview in March, and I still think they have a great set. The navy, light blue, and cream color palette gives the team an old-school feel, as does the new jersey piping. The cap with the bear head logo also deserves more praise, as the bear appears to be coming out from the shadows. The uniforms don't disappoint either, using a style of placket piping that reminds viewers of baseball's rich history.

Montgomery Biscuits: The Biscuits have had their current graphic identity since 2004, although the blue was darkened before the 2009 season. The team's primary logo is made up of a biscuit caricature and a script wordmark. The team also has two supporting marks: one in which the biscuit appears with a script M, as seen on the home caps; and a script B that appears on the away caps. The home uniforms use a triple-stripe piping on the placket, but use only a single line of piping near the armholes of their vest jerseys. The road jerseys are also somewhat peculiar, as they Biscuits buck the trend of grey away uniforms (somewhat) by opting to pair a navy jersey with their grey road pants. I don't think most teams could get away with such a whimsical and fun mascot, but when your team is named the Biscuits, what other choice do you have?

The Bad

Carolina Mudcats: The Mudcats have a solid base for their identity. They have strong colors that tie in with their parent club (Cincinnati Reds) and a solid wordmark. That said, the logo needs an update, despite the fact that it's a classic in the world of MiLB. Nothing drastic, but some of the lines in the current logo are quite thin and do not lend themselves to showing the mud cat in an intimidating or sleek light. In addition, some of the areas could use less detail to complement the bolder lines. The current caps use the C-fish logo across the board (home, away, alternate). The uniforms make use of the "MUD CATS" script. The Mudcats were a difficult choice for the "Bad" category, but nonetheless could use an update.

Chattanooga Lookouts: The Lookouts have the opposite problem as the Mudcats. The Lookouts have a great logo (a classic), but they lack quality typography and their color scheme is a mess. (You wouldn't know it by looking at the logos, but the team wears royal blue as its primary color. This love for royal is a byproduct of the team's partnership with the Dodgers, which literally means the team's brand is for sale. The caps used to be black and red, but with the Dodgers footing the bill of the Player Development Contract, the Dodgers apparently have the final say in how the team should look. This cross-contamination of brands essentially leaves the Lookouts without a true brand.

Huntsville Stars: The Stars re-branded between the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The old logo was about as campy as a sports identity could get. It literally looks like it came from the 1970s or 80s. The new logo is an improvement, but their are some items that could be improved. The rocket is well rendered and helps the viewer associate the team with Huntsville's claim to fame, Space Camp. The type, however, is a different story. "STARS" is rendered in Serpentine, which really belongs on race cars and Limp Bizkit albums. In addition, the "STARS" wordmark is warped rather awkwardly. The home and road caps use an H that doesn't fit with either font from the primary logo. The home uniforms use simple sleeve trim and the "STARS" wordmark.

Jacksonville Suns: The Suns, like the BayBears, were covered in my preseason preview of MiLB's branding changes. The set is full of inconsistencies, and the color scheme doesn't make sense. Black is the absence of light, while the Sun is a source of light. In fact, the jersey uses a different version of the script than the logo does.

The Ugly

Mississippi Braves: The Mississippi version of the Braves isn't much different than any of the Braves' other minor league affiliates, design-wise. It's another team accenting the parent club's script with an average-at-best design. The caps blend the Braves' hatchet with a block M that looks borrowed from the team's Milwaukee days. To see the jerseys, simply tune in to TBS sometime between April and September, as the Mississippi squad uses the same duds as the parent club, down to the Atlanta-wordmarked away gear. A Mississippi script is the least this team could do, although a total re-brand would make more sense.

Tennessee Smokies: The Smokies have a long, rich history in the Knoxville area, but that doesn't mean they can't have a great brand. The current logo features a mountain with trees in it above a "SMOKIES" wordmark. In addition, there is a baseball peeking out from behind the mountains and "TENNESSEE" and "BASEBALL" flank the mark. The color palette is not very cohesive, as it features navy, red, light blue, silver, and kelly green (plus white) for a grand total of six colors. Also, the way the mountains terminate at the bottom is a cause for concern. The smooth curve of the mountain's bottom edge is interrupted by the position of the letters in "SMOKIES", creating numerous small white pockets of negative space that are distracting to the eye. As for the typography, the team uses three distinctly different typefaces: a script-like font of capital letters for "TENNESSEE", a drop-shadowed serif typeface for "SMOKIES", and a bold sans serif (either Helvetica or Arial; I can't tell without any capital R's or G's present) for "BASEBALL". There is really only a need for two typefaces: one for the primary wordmark (in this case, "SMOKIES") and one for the supporting type. The uniforms aren't any better either. This is something I have seen multiple teams attempt: using a dated or vintage-style logo with extremely modern uniforms. It just flat out doesn't work. The uniform style clashes with the style of the logos. The caps are OK, considering what the team had to work with. The home caps are probably the best, as the trucker style is a unique element, and the alternate caps (red) are probably the worst, as the black bear imagery adds another unnecessary color (black) to the team's palette, in addition to the Smokies having the same animal mascot as the BayBears.

In Other News… The Redskins wore their gold pants again last Sunday. I wonder if the new pants will appear with the white jersey this season… Some of the New York Giants had excessively wide pant stripes on Sunday… I couldn't help but notice how awful the Bills' uniforms still are… The Vikings wore their throwbacks again, you know, the ones with the big sleeve stripes… The Falcons and Cardinals showed some Wisconsin-Nebraska-like similarities… The NBA has imposed a league-wide change in the construction of its uniforms, with new fabrics and templates… Speaking of the NBA, do you think they have a problem with teams having similar color palettes… New basketball uniforms for U of Maryland, complete with turtle shell… Colorado State will be wearing orange jerseys this week against Idaho…

Today's design stays in the Southern League. As I mentioned before, the Tennessee Smokies have numerous issues with their graphic identity, ranging from craftsmanship to concept. The team is one of three navy/red teams in the 10-team league, which is the first thing I sought to change. I decided to go with a burgundy/cerulean/powder blue scheme, which is unique within the Southern League, and really, all of MiLB. My version of the primary logo starts with a custom script for "Smokies" that feaures a bevel and three stars in the tail of the S, representing the Tennessee state flag. Above the wordmark, I developed a mountain scene that fits within a baseball. The supporting marks are letterforms that are used on the caps, with the S from the "Smokies" wordmark and a T for Tennessee that features the state's likeness as the crossbar of the T. The "Tennessee" wordmark is, like its "Smokies" counterpart, a custom script. For the caps, I tried different options including contrasting brims, trucker-style front panels, and even introducing a comined TS mark. The uniforms are fairly basic for two reasons: 1) I wanted the team to have a classic feel. The combination of the script wordmarks and simple jersey design accomplishes this. 2) The simpler uniforms allow the wordmarks to standout unimpeded. The jersey numbers are a block slab serif typeface, in tune with the overall classic feel. The primary home set starts with a white base and burgundy piping and is paired with an all-burgundy cap emblazoned with the S logo. The primary away uniforms use a light blue base and an all-burgundy cap that features a powder blue T. The alternate home and away uniforms feature burgundy jerseys that pair with the primary pant options. Alternate Uniform 3 uses one of the trucker-style caps I created paired with a raglan-cut jersey with contrasting sleeves. Alternate 4 allows for the team to make use of the darker shade of blue in the logo set by pairing it with the TS logo on the caps and jerseys.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions regarding the branding of the Southern League, the Smokies concept above, or anything regarding sports branding.

Texas League: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

2010-09-15T09:21:00.017-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

As a continuation of my look into the branding of Minor League Baseball, today's 44th & Goal will examine the visual identities of the Texas League. (You can also read my breakdowns of the International League, Pacific Coast League, and Eastern League.) Like the other leagues, the Texas League features some teams that have well-executed brands, others that are in need of an update, and some that should blow everything up (graphically speaking, of course) and start over. Without further adieu:

The Good

Corpus Christi Hooks: The Hooks were previously the Round Rock Express, which is now a Triple-A team in the Pacific Coast League. This was possible when the ownership group that owns the Hooks bought a Triple-A team from Alberta (the Edmonton Trappers) and moved them to Round Rock, allowing the then-Round Rock Express to make the move to Corpus Christi. The Hooks' primary logo features a "Hooks" wordmark in which the o's are the eyes of fishing hooks. The fishing hooks loop down below the underscore to reinforce the theme of submerging into water to catch fish. The city name appears inside a Texas flag-inspired banner above the "Hooks" wordmark. The team's mascot, a hook wearing a hat and holding a bat, is stitched onto the home caps, while the away caps are emblazoned with a CC logo (for Corpus Christi) made from two fish hooks. The jerseys are vests with placket piping. While the home jersey uses a modified Hooks wordmark with non-fish hook o's, the road jersey uses the CC logo as a crest, placed on the left chest.

Northwest Arkansas Naturals: The Naturals are a new team, having only been the Naturals since they moved from Wichita following the 2007 season. The name "Naturals" is a reference to Arkansas's nickname, "The Natural State". The primary logo consists of a mountain, a waterfall, and a baseball streaking to the left, in addition to a "Naturals" wordmark. Speaking of the wordmark, it uses an italicized and arched sans serif with a bevel. In addition, the N at the beginning of the wordmark features a lightning bolt, which is possibly a reference to Roy Hobbs from "The Natural". (Roy Hobbs carved his bat, "Wonderbat", from a tree limb that was struck by lightning.) The caps use the N monogram for home, away, and alternate. The home jersey and alternate jersey display the "Naturals" wordmark from the logo, while the away tops opt for "Northwest Arkansas" across the chest. Overall, the identity is pretty cluttered, but the N mark from the hats is very strong.

Tulsa Drillers: While the Drillers have called Tulsa home since 1977, the team's current scheme has only been in use since 2004. The primary logo consists of a man drilling into a baseball, flanked by "Tulsa" and "Drillers". The color scheme is very unique, as it is comprised of royal, graphite, black, copper, and light blue. The team also uses a set of alternate marks to reinforce the brand. The caps feature one of said alternate marks: a beveled T with oil dripping from it. The other supporting marks include a baseball with a drill through it, a version of the man drilling sans wordmarks, and a drop of oil that is on fire. The home jerseys have no placket piping, trim, or pinstripes, just a "Drillers" wordmark. The away jerseys do use placket piping to complement the "Tulsa" wordmark, and the alternate jerseys are royal blue with copper piping and the "Drillers" script.

The Bad

Frisco RoughRiders: The RoughRiders moved to the Dallas metro area from Shreveport, where they were called the Swamp Dragons. The RoughRiders use a black, red, and silver color scheme, which is surprisingly unique within the Texas League. The primary logo features a cowboy riding a horse under a western style "RoughRiders" script. The logo is a bit detailed, and some of the thinner lines appear to be difficult to reproduce in various media, such as embroidery. The logo could be very strong with a stylistic update. The secondary logo is a double-R with a black horse coming out from the right side. The secondary logo appears on the home and road caps, which are black and red, respectively. The home jerseys use a Riders wordmark that matches the logo, while the away jerseys rely on a "Frisco" wordmark in cursive script. The alternate jerseys are red with a embellished version of the "Riders" script. With a stylistic update, Frisco could have a great identity.

San Antonio Missions: The franchise has called San Antonio home since 1977, but between the '87 and '88 seasons the team re-branded and became the Missions. They were previously known as the San Antonio Dodgers. The Missions' primary logo is fairly basic: it's a depiction of the Alamo over "MISSIONS" in a bold slab serif. The problem is the use of white type against a white background. While the bold black drop shadow helps with legibility, the fact that the viewer does not see half of the edges of the letters hinders the logo when it is reproduced in small spaces. In addition, "SAN ANTONIO" appears tacked on, as if it were an afterthought. The secondary logo isn't much better, but at least it appears on black home and away caps. The team also uses a gold Sunday cap. The Missions' home jersey is a vest with trim around the armholes near the shoulder area. The "MISSIONS" wordmark appears across the chest with the alamo proudly above it. In addition, the player's number appears below the wordmark on the player's left side. The away jerseys are also vests, but use placket piping and a Dodgers-inspired script in black, outline in gold. One nice touch within the "San Antonio" script is the star that dots the I. The team also uses an alternate jersey with "Missions" in a white cursive script outlined in gold on a black jersey. The player number also appears on the front of the shirt. The basis of the identity is solid, but the identity package could use a facelift and the type work needs to be standardized.

Springfield Cardinals: As I have stated before, I've never been a fan of a team using the parent club's identity. I know it's a common practice in the lower levels of A-ball and Rookie Leagues, and that is exactly what it makes the Springfield team look like. There are plenty of ways to interpret the cardinal theme without simply swapping out a script. The team also has a sleeve patch with the cardinal inside the state of Missouri, which would be better if kelly green, spring green, and light blue weren't added. In addition the lower right corner of the logo has an awkward tension between the cardinal's wing and the outline of the state. The two primary caps feature an S logo with a cardinal, while the Sunday cap uses a batting cardinal and a C. To make matters worse, the team places "Springfield" on both the home and away jerseys, just like the Texas Texas's.

The Ugly

Arkansas Travelers: What can I say about the Travelers? I understand it's a difficult name to work with identity-wise, but how is this the best possible answer? The primary logo doesn't even have the full team name in it. Instead, it uses valuable graphic real estate on a slogan that doesn't even belong in the logo in the first place. It's no wonder none of the secondary logos even follow the branding of the primary. The home, road, and alternate caps use an LR logo with or without a star (depending on the cap) and the word "North" in a script. Once again, I can understand the logic of the LR logo on the the caps, and the logic of complementing it with a star, but the generic script "North" is too much. It's almost impossible to read, and the font used looks like it came from the 80s (and not in a good way). The home and away jerseys, by contrast, are rather simple. This identity isn't much of an identity at all, as it's wildly inconsistent. At least travelers outside of Arkansas understand the idea of matching.

Midland RockHounds: It looks like Scooby Doo and the Flintstones had a baby. The primary logo consists of a hound dog, wearing what appears to be a tunic from the town of Bedrock and a hard hat, holding a bat and a ball. In the background, oil derricks are gushing and the whole scene is cropped by a jagged circle with Mildland in African tribal-styled lettering. "RockHounds" appears in a chipped stone font that is more playful than tough over the entire logo. The sundial watch is a nice touch within the prehistoric theme, but the whole theme should probably be scrapped, as it appears to be left over dino-mania from the Jurassic Park movies. Working within the prehistoric theme, the the hound could have been made of stone or fossilized, instead of wearing prehistoric animal print. In addition, the type could be less goofy. Personally, I would try to bring out the intrinsic strength of rock, over making the rock look fragile by showing it chipping away. The team also has two supporting marks that appear on caps and inexplicably use red, when the primary logo shows the hound in an orange and blue tunic. The cap logos also use a gradient, which doesn't appear anywhere else in the identity. The jerseys (here is a picture of the road jersey) look like batting practice gear due to the side panels, which are modern and do not fit the prehistoric theme. This identity uses all the bells and whistles, but sometimes, too much is really just too much. Simplification would really help.

NFL Week 1 Notes

• I loved seeing the Eagles in kelly green this last weekend, now if only they mixed the lighter green with their current scheme.

• Another thought on the Eagles' throwbacks: The sleeve numbers didn't match the the front and back numbers. A team probably couldn't get away with that today, but the throwback's purpose is historical accuracy, not modern aesthetics.

• The Redskins decided to break out gold pants for their Sunday night game versus the Cowboys, along with socks from the 70th anniversary uniforms. On Sunday, the 'Skins sported four non-matching striping patterns: one on the helmet, one on the jersey sleeves, another on the pants, and one on the socks. Considering they were playing the Cowboys, this was a clash of the non-matching (the Cowboys and their loose sense of a color scheme vs. the 'Skins stripe-o-mania). I liked the idea of pairing gold pants with a burgundy jersey, but it doesn't mean all other principles of deisgn can blatantly be ignored.

Today's design is an elaboration of what the San Antonio Missions could do to improve their brand. In my re-brand, starting with the primary logo, I created a single holding shape around the entire mark, so the word "MISSIONS" isn't lost, like it is on the current logo. This also allows for the mark to appear as a unified whole, not a collection of parts. I added silver and a darker grey to the color scheme to create a western-style wordmark with dimension. The baseball is now placed at the top of the Alamo, instead of flying over it, for a more concise depiction. The cap logos are letter-based marks of an M and an SA, both of which are enclosed in abstract Alamo shapes. I have also created a logo to honor the team's mascot, Ballapeno. The wordmarks are consistent with each other, unlike the current scheme, which features the slab serif on the home jersey, and traditional script on the away and alternate jerseys. The cap options include various uses of the secondary logos, in addition to versions of the M and SA logo that do not use the holding shape. I also created a cap based on the helmet in the Ballapeno logo, with a simple star and two white front panels.

The primary home and away uniforms start with vests. Then, I applied a double-stripe of gold as placket piping, sleeve trim, and pant striping. Ballapeno appears as a sleeve patch as well. The home uniforms use a trucker-style cap with a white front, while the away uniforms use a solid black cap with a gold button and silver lettering. The home and away alternates feature black jerseys with the double-stripe scheme. The home alternate is paired with a black cap that features the M-in-Alamo logo, while the away alternate is complemented by a gold-brimmed cap. Alternates 3 through 6 are options for a possible fauxback design. Alternate 3 has an 80s style, complete with the Ballapeno cap, and the Alamo appearing on the front of the jersey, similar to the current uniforms. Alternate 4 features a vintage contrasting placket design, with the more traditional M on the jersey and a white cap. Alternates 5 and 6 are feature black jerseys and pants with more traditional typography. While Alternate 5 is paired with a white cap, Alternate 6 is paired with a gold front trucker-style cap.

Feel free to comment on the branding efforts of the Texas League, the uniforms stylings of Week 1 in the NFL, the Missions concept above, or anything sports branding related.

Action Jackson

2010-09-08T09:12:00.020-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

On Monday, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx unveiled their new name and logos. When the 2010 Southern League Playoffs end the Diamond Jaxx will officially be known as the Jackson Generals. While the old primary logo consists of a miner holding a diamond in one hand and resting a bat/pick axe on his shoulder over a "Jaxx" wordmark, the new logo features a bulldog wearing a WWII-style battle helmet biting a bat. The three stars on the helmet represent Tennessee, as they appear on the state's flag. The GENERALS wordmark is rendered in a Tuscan typeface, giving it a baseball-specific feel, while the JACKSON wordmark above it is displayed in a simple, no-nonsense sans serif. The mark employs a shield holding shape to frame the logo and bring the other elements together as a cohesive whole.

The Diamond Jaxx used a color palette that was rather expansive, containing black, two greens, burgundy, mid-grey, silver, tan and, of course, white for a grand total of eight colors. The Generals' brand has a paired down palette, focusing on black, emerald green, silver, tan and white. This reduction in the number of colors used allows for a more streamlined aesthetic and lower production costs.

While the Diamond Jaxx employed a beveled wordmark to match the rendering style of the diamond, the Generals use a Tuscan-style font arched over the bulldog's head with green accents below the wordmark, giving it volume and mass. The shield employs a similar shading style to the bulldog's mouth, giving the logo a sense of rhythm.

The Diamond Jaxx used a miner cropped by a J as their secondary logo, as it appeared on their home, road and alternate caps. The new secondary logo uses the Tuscan typeface from the Generals' primary logo to create an interlocking J and G, which is rumored to appear on the new caps.

To the million-dollar question: Is it an upgrade? While the miner and type in the Jaxx logo set was well-rendered, the brand featured too many colors and the name "Diamond Jaxx" is rather kitschy, considering the two Xs that end the word Jaxx. The Jackson Generals moniker brings with it a significant amount of history, evoking names like Shoeless Joe Jackson and Yogi Berra, both of whom played for past Jackson Generals teams. The Generals brand also gives fans a unique animal mascot (instead of this; it's apparently a bear, which is the same animal mascot used by the BayBears and Smokies, who are also in the Southern League). Overall, the re-branding effort was a significant upgrade, especially when it comes to the color scheme, name and mascot.

In Other News… The Minnesota Wild have replaced this wordmark with this wordmark. It certainly fits with the logo better than the previous wordmark, which was absolutely horrid… The NFL introduced 2010 sideline cap for players. It apparently has technology to allow fans and players to interchangeably wear the brim flat or curved. Too bad the design is garish… Penn State University will be wearing new basketball uniforms this year. They aren't bad, although the collar seems a bit thick.

This week is the finale of my MLB Double Play designs. Starting in the NL, we have the New York Mets. The Mets' current scheme came to be when the team added black preceding the 1998 season. Previously, the team was primarily royal blue and orange. Since the addition of black, however, the Mets' brand has increasingly relied on the combination of black and royal blue, relegating orange to an accent color. My design seeks to rectify that injustice (and trust me, most Mets fans I've met find it to be an injustice), restoring royal blue and orange as the team's primary colors. However, I also warmed the white to a cream color, similar to what the Mets currently use for their alternate jerseys. The royal, orange, and off-white color scheme gives the Mets a unique, retro look, which is a stark contrast from this. I developed a standalone M as an alternate mark, which appears on the batting practice caps. The home and away uniforms feature the famous "racing stripes" pattern made famous by the '80s Mets teams (without the pinstripes, however). The primary home uniform uses an off-white base, with the option of an alternate blue jersey. The numbers are a proprietary block numeral, since MLB Block is overused as it is. The away uniforms start with a cool grey base, giving the team a unique deviation from the standard Cool Base grey. There is also an alternate blue jersey for the road with NEW YORK on the chest in cool grey, outlined in orange. The Sunday Alternate looks to evoke memories of the Amazin' Mets of '69. The pinstripes are spaced further apart from standard pinstripes to give the jersey a unique element that helps reinforce the vintage look.

The Baltimore Orioles are up second. The team's current primary log o is of an oriole sitting on a script "Orioles" wordmark, while the secondary logo is a standalone bird, facing left, and the tertiary logo is a sleeve patch based on the Maryland flag. My version of the primary logo makes the bird the focus instead of the script, which is relegated to the uniforms. The oriole appears within a circle, making it a less horizontal logo. My version of the secondary is a standalone oriole head. I've always thought the current caps were rather cluttered. The oriole head, however, lets the viewer see more of the oriole's face, instead of its body. The tertiary in my concept is similar to the existing sleeve patch, but with revised typography to fit the rest of the design. The uniforms use a special style of trim that was inspired by the Maryland flag. The numbers are a slab serif in the same family as the supporting type on the logos (as I mentioned before, MLB Block is far too overused). The home uniforms use a white base and orange type and are complemented by a black hat with an orange brim. The home alternate jersey is orange with black type. The away uniforms use a neutral grey base and orange type, with an option for a black alternate jersey. The Sunday Alternates rely on a retro feel, illustrated by the trucker-style caps and thick sleeve trim.

Feel free to leave a comment regarding The newly-named Jackson Generals, the Mets and Orioles designs above, or anything related to the sports branding world.

Nike Pro Combat: 2010

2010-09-01T13:31:00.014-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Nike is at it again.

As it turns out, last year's wildly successful Pro Combat uniforms were a one-game special. To keep the Pro Combat train rolling along, Nike unveiled the 2010 edition of Pro Combat this morning. Here's a look:

Boise State: Famous for beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007 and blue turf, Boise State was selected as one of this year's 10 Pro Combat teams. Their new uniform features a grey jersey with one blue sleeve, which has a large, cropped image of the Boise State Broncos bronco head. The oversized logo theme continues onto the helmet, where the bronco head is displayed proudly… and massively on a blue shell. The pants are, like the jersey, asymmetically designed, complete with another large bronco head on the left hip, the BRONCOS wordmark down the right leg, and a silver B on the left knee.

Virginia Tech: Inspired by VT's relationship with the military, the uniform is all-black with grey accents (symbolic of military dress uniforms) to accompany the team's burgundy and orange. The helmet is a flat black shell with the VT logo in orange outlined in burgundy and white. The uniform numbers feature a computer-chip pattern signifying the school's technological background. The "tech-y" pattern is also used throughout the uniforms on orange accent panels that crop the shoulders and run down the pant legs.

Ohio State: Like VT, The Ohio State University unveiled its second Pro Combat uniform in as many years. This year's Ohio State uniform looks to honor the 1942 team. The helmet is rather basic, featuring a red shell, grey facemasks, and the Bronze Star of Charles Csuri, the MVP of the 1942 squad. The jerseys are also rather simple, only adorned by an American flag on the right sleeve and stylized jersey numbers that pay homage to the 1942 squad. The pants are simple, as well: grey with the Ohio State O logo on the hips. The under layer shows off a sublimated camouflage pattern to tie the scheme together.

U of Miami: Especially compared to last year's white-out Pro Combat set, this year's uniform is dripping with color. The helmet is a metallic shade of green that falls between Miami's normal forest green and emerald, complete with the U logo on each side. The jersey, by contrast, is bright orange with green sleeves which have a sublimated palm tree pattern on them. The numbers are the same font as last year's model, but instead of being half-green and half-orange, they are half-green and half-black with a white outline. Rounding the set out are orange pants that feature a green stripe that runs across the backside and down each leg. "The U" adorns the top of the pants on the back, while the U logo is placed on the left knee in silver.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide win the "Texas Longhorns Award" for the least change from their regular uniforms to their Pro Combat threads. The only difference between the standard and Pro Combat helmets is the addition of a sublimated houndstooth pattern on the helmet stripe of the Pro Combat version. The new jersey is also incredibly similar to the standard, with the only changes being the addition of an American flag to the right sleeve and (of course) the use of the houndstooth pattern on the numbers. The pants add a logo to the hip where there wasn't previously one, but to the average fan, not much has changed.

Florida: The Gators really adopted the gator skin pattern that Nike experimented with last year. This year's Pro Combat uniform uses said pattern on the helmet, sleeves, numbers, pants, and undershirt. The helmet is different from last year's (which was white), as it is orange and uses the classic Gators script. This year's jersey is white and is paired with blue pants.

Oregon State: To be worn in the "Civil War" (the school's rivalry game against U of Oregon), the Beavers' new pro Combat duds are modeled after the 1967 team known as the "Giant Killers". The uniforms use a black helmet and jersey with off-white pants and feature a consistent striping pattern of off-white/orange/off-white on a black background (black/orange/black on the pants). Other than the stripe, the helmet is solid black. Nike helped push the throwback look to this set by adding the sthttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3798142622684331953riping pattern to the sleeves of the undershirt, as the jersey sleeves are too small for such a thick stripe, in addition to the jersey number.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers are new to the Pro Combat game, but that didn't stop them from trying something different. The uniform is all navy with black and metallic gold accents and is supposed to represent the steel industry. The PITT wordmark and jerseys numbers are designed to look like they are cut from steel, while the helmet stripe is supposed to look like an I-beam.

West Virginia: Like Pitt, West Virginia is new to the Pro Combat game. The Mountaineers themed their set to honor the coal mining industry. The helmet features a thin strip of yellow to represent the headlamps worn by miners and a smudged black pattern is used throughout the uniform to further convey that message. The jersey and pants are both white, with the thin yellow stripe running down the sides of the pants.

TCU: Ah yes, TCU. They're the ones who trotted out this look last year. They kept the frog skin pattern, although this year it's "icier" to reference a memorable quote from celebrated coach Leo "Dutch" Meyer. ("We'll fight 'em 'til Hell freezes over, then we'll fight 'em on the ice.") This year's version will pair a silver frog skin-patterned helmet with a black jersey and matching silver pants. The jersey features purple side panels and shoulder accents, in addition to frog skin numbers. Overall, not that different than last year's model, but slightly better.

Nike did a good job fixing some of last year's issues with the Pro Combat set, particularly the use of the shoulder feather pattern and the overabundance of white. Many of the uniforms still use colors not associated with the teams (like black for Miami and silver/grey for Boise State), but since the jerseys are one-and-done, it's acceptable. The Alabama uniform's new additions are so subtle they could even be used as a full-time uniform. Pro Combat is here to stay, at least for the next few years.

Today, we have another Double Play Design, starting with the Cincinnati Reds. The "Oldest Team in Baseball" currently has a pretty strong identity. I didn't look to overhaul the existing scheme; instead, I sought to improve upon it. The current primary logo uses block letters for the REDS wordmark encapsulated within the C. I have replaced the block letters with the Reds' proprietary font, giving the overall scheme more unity. I have also eliminated black from the identity and replaced it with charcoal grey, adding a unique twist to the color scheme. For Mr. Redlegs, I swapped the two-stripe pillbox hat for something slightly more contemporary. The primary home and away uniforms use sleeveless jerseys with red undershirts, while the home and away alternates use red fax-vests (the jerseys have sleeves, but the piping still resides on the shoulders). The home hat is the same as the Reds used to wear before their foray into black accents, while the road cap is solid red with a grey C, to match the red/grey look of the road uniforms. The Sunday Alternate opts for a white crowned cap with a red C and is paired with a simple no-frills sleeveless jersey.

Second, we have Ohio's other team, the Cleveland Indians. Many people find the Indians' current logo offensive, and I can't necessarily blame them. The caricature is outdated and insulting. My main goal was to bring a level of dignity to the brand. To accomplish this, I decided to rely on abstract symbols of Native American culture, such as the feather and dream catcher. It was also important to not paint the team as warriors, since they are not specifically named after warriors, like the Braves. Baseball has a long tradition of not necessarily using fierce or intimidating mascot (read: Cubs, Orioles, Rays), so the more peaceful iconography isn't out of place. The color palette is brown and red to avoid the overuse of navy and red that currently plagues MLB. My primary logo uses a dream catcher with a baseball inside of it as a base. I then placed an interlocking CI in the center and an INDIANS wordmark above it. The secondary logo is a C with two feathers, while the tertiary is the CI by itself. The uniforms are very traditional, with the home using a cream-colored base. The jerseys feature placket piping and sleeve trim, while the pants have matching piping running down the sides of the legs. The home sets use more red than the roads, with the hats having a red brim in addition to the red home alternate jersey and the red type on the primary home uniform. The primary away features brown type outlined in red on a grey base, and the alternate away consists of a brown jersey with grey type to match the grey pants. The Sunday Alternate uses a red cap and a contrast-placket jersey with the feathered-C logo on the left chest.

Feel free to leave a comment on the 2010 edition of Nike Pro Combat, the Reds or Indians concepts above, or anything sports branding related.

NBA Uni-Palooza

2010-08-18T13:41:00.011-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Over the past week, numerous NBA teams unveiled new uniforms for the upcoming season. While some changes were simply tweaks, others were completely new uniform concepts. Here is a team-by-team analysis of the changes:

Minnesota Timberwolves: The T'wolves decided to go with the theory of addition by subtraction in creating their new threads. The new home and road uniforms are sans green, which the previous uniforms used a significant amount of. The streamlined color palette of blue, black, and silver is also accompanied by a simplified collar and an updated number font that is easier to read.

Overall, with the removal of green, the team took away one of its trademarks and now looks rather similar to the Magic. On the upside, the revised collar and jersey numbers streamline the uniforms and remove some of the wonkiness of the previous set. Grade: C

Utah Jazz: The Jazz have been in identity limbo for a while now (and some would argue they've been in identity limbo since they came to Utah). After deciding in 1996 to scrap the music note logo, the team went to a purple/teal/copper/light blue/black scheme and a logo system based on their mountainous home state. While the team played well in those duds, going to two NBA Finals, the uniforms were rather guerish (although they lasted for eight seasons). In 2004, Utah switched to a navy/light blue/purple scheme that lasted for six seasons. Critics of that scheme thought the navy and light blue were too similar to the Denver Nuggets (their biggest rival), and it always seemed the dueling blues were never fully accepted.

The team's new scheme (navy/yellow/green) is unique to the NBA, but not too unique as the Nuggets, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Thunder also use navy and yellow in some capacity. The new uniforms are, like the logo, a celebration of the past. Gone are the piping, wordmark and number outlines, and other modern uniform conventions. Present are simple block numbers and rectilinear side panels. The double outline on the side panels, while matching the trim, looks overdone next to the minimalist numbers. Like the logo set, the uniforms are nothing new, and quite frankly, pretty boring. The uniforms would have been much better with a green-centric scheme. Grade: C-

Los Angeles Clippers: Perpetually within the unfriendly confines of the little-brother complex, the Clippers updated their logo. The new logo updated the LOS ANGELES wordmark, the C and S in Clippers, and the basketball (the old version had an extra line that normally doesn't appear on a ball from that angle. The secondary logo was also tweaked, updating the serifs of the letters and adding a silver drop shadow to the LA. The uniforms were edited more substantially, however. The old uniforms used block numbers and solid blue side panels. The new uniforms, however, use an updated number font and a less "default" design for the sides that looks like a modernization of the Bulls uniforms. A Los Angeles script replaces the Clippers script on the road jerseys as well.

Overall, the updated logo doesn't go nearly far enough to differentiate the Clippers from their "big brother" the Lakers. The uniforms, however, are a complete upgrade, giving the Clippers their first semblance of an identity in years. Considering the uniform designers were painted into a corner by having to use a bad logo, their feat is all the more impressive. Grade: A- (uniforms); F (logos)

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs needed a new identity since their last re-brand coincided with the arrival of a certain someone. It's a weird symmetry, with their latest aesthetic changes coinciding with that player's departure. The new-look Cavs have darkened their red to burgundy and replaced their metallic gold with yellow. The navy takes a back seat in the latest branding effort as it is relegated to the logos only. The uniforms look like the Cavs and Celtics had a baby. The team removed the side panels and piping for a clean, simple, retro-based look. The new uniforms' only embellishment is within the 5-stripe trim and the nuances of the type, along with the phrase, "All for one. One for all." placed along the inside of the collar. The uniforms are designed to remind the Cavs of their history, while allowing them to look forward.

The uniforms, as a whole, are well-designed, clean, and combine the best parts of retro and modern. Pay attention, Utah, as this was the way to go retro but not out-of-date. Grade: A

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have leaked their home jersey, but they have yet to unveil their full uniforms. The jerseys feature the bridge logo on the front with the player's number with the logo. The trim is problematic, as the armholes are solid blue, the side panels are yellow, and the collar is blue and yellow. A little consistency between the uniform elements would greatly improve the jersey. The side panels and armholes don't look as out of place when paired with the shorts, as on this picture of the away set. However, I will reserve judgment for for when I see the full unveiling. Grade: Incomplete

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavs also have yet to unveil their new uniform set, but it was leaked on the internet. It looks like the team essentially swapped the navy and royal on the road set. It will be interesting to see what the team does with the alternate jersey it unveiled last year.

That covers the NBA's uniform changes up to today. Stay tuned for additional updates on the Warriors and Mavericks.

Today we have another Double Play Design. Leading off are the St. Louis Cardinals, who finish a two-game series with the Brewers today. The Cardinals are one of many teams with a red/navy color scheme. That was the first thing I sought out to change, as the navy (while classic) doesn't say anything about cardinals, and over a third of MLB uses some blue/red scheme. I opted for a red/burgundy/yellow scheme because it was original and worked well for a cardinal. I didn't want to overhaul the iconic "bird on a bat" logo, but I did tweak the typography. I added a slight bevel to bring the team into the 21st century. The jerseys evoke memories of Stan Musial, a Cardinals great by using placket piping with additional piping running down the sleeves and along the belt loops. The numbers are no longer the default MLB Block. Instead, I used a thinner block font, giving the Cardinals a unique look from the back, as well as their trademark jersey fronts. The home uniforms start with a white base and are paired with red cap featuring a white STL. The away jerseys are emblazoned with St. Louis instead of Cardinals. The primary away uniforms are grey and are paired with a red cap that contains a yellow STL. The away alternates use a burgundy jersey with yellow type and are paired with a burgundy cap with a red brim. The Sunday Alternates have burgundy piping on a white base and are also paired with the burgundy caps. The STL logo appears on the left chest of the jersey.

Up second, we have the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers biggest issue is that they use two different D logos: one for the cap, and another on the jerseys. I decided to eliminate the jersey D in favor of the cap D since the jersey D looks a little flat. I developed a new primary logo based on the team's logo from the 80s. The secondary logo is the cap D with a thin outline. The tertiary is a standalone tiger head, which is used on the BP jerseys. The uniforms use placket piping with no sleeve trim, as it is classic Detroit Tigers. The jerseys also uses the primary logo as a patch on the left sleeve. The home uniforms use a white base and are paired with navy caps emblazoned with a white D outlined in orange. One of my goals for the home uniforms was to add some orange in order to differentiate the Tigers from the Yankees (who, like the Tigers, have at least two version of their signature NY logo). The D on the jersey and the numbers are also outlined in orange. The alternate home uniform is similar to the primary home uniform, but uses a navy jersey. The away uniforms feature a new Detroit script that is rendered in an Old English typeface. The new script replaces the cursive Detroit the team currently wears. The away caps feature an orange D outlined in grey and match the colors of alternate away jerseys, which are complemented by orange piping. The Sunday alternates take a different approach than the other uniforms, starting with a white cap that contains orange piping over the seems. The cap is paired with a white uniform that has orange pinstripes, creating a retro look that implies tiger stripes.

Feel free to leave a comment on any of the plethora of new NBA uniforms, the Cardinals or Tigers concepts above, or anything sports branding related.

A Mid-Desert Classic?

2010-08-11T13:11:00.014-05:00

By Bowen Hobbs

Earlier this week, the Arizona Diamondbacks unveiled their logo for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Traditionally, All-Star Game logos are unveiled during the previous year's game and are prominently displayed in the upcoming host city's ballpark for an entire year or longer. The Diamondbacks' unveiling was considerably low-profile in comparison. The logo was not unveiled at this year's ASG in Anaheim, nor is there any visual representation (last I heard) of the logo or event currently at the stadium.

Much of the lack of promotion has to do with SB 1070, the controversial Arizona Immigration Bill. Numerous businesses and some MLB players have, in response to the bill, publicly stated that they will boycott the game and the state. Protestors have even petitioned Commissioner Bud Selig to move the game away from Arizona, although there is no indication that he will oblige.

Regardless of the politics surrounding the event, the logo has been unveiled and the game (barring an unforeseen event) will take place in Arizona. Speaking of the logo, there are some issues with it that could be improved and some things the team did well. The overall shape of the logo combines the ideas of the Southwest and a baseball diamond well. In addition, the use of the Diamondbacks' proprietary typeface instantly gives any viewer with baseball knowledge an indication of the the game's location, while the mountain in the background helps those without baseball knowledge identify where the game will be held. On the other side of the coin, the logo could use help in some areas. The D'backs A logo is placed at the top of the mark and is centered. The issue is that the A logo is italicized and while the bottom of the mark is centered, the top of the mark isn't, leaving the upper right corner of the A logo dangerously close to the edge of the diamond. Color-wise, the team could have chose something other than the sky blue/periwinkle color, which clashes with the black/sedona red/cream color scheme of the D'backs. An orange or a blue closer to aqua would have balanced the color scheme better. Lastly, the black outline on the diamond is noticeably thicker than the black outline of the text and the off-white outline surrounding the mark. If the outlines were evened out the logo would have more impact.

In Other News… The Milwaukee Admirals unveiled a new road jersey. It's black and features the team's skull crest. It replaces the former grey road sweaters. Overall, not bad, but I prefer the crest on the light blue alternate jerseys… The San Diego Padres are rumored to have new uniforms for next season. Here's hoping they're brown!… The Dallas Cowboys are looking into editing their uniforms. Maybe Jerry Jones did see the inconsistency on his giant JumboTron… As I had mentioned before, the New Jersey Nets are considering a name change. They even filed the official paperwork to do so within the last week. The leading rumored new name: Knights… The University of Texas Pan-American has updated its logo from this to this… Lastly, I recently did an interview with the Clinton Lumberkings (Class A; Midwest League) Director of Media Relations, Dave Lezotte. We discuss design, sports, and the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game. To listen to the interview, click here.

Today, we have another Double Play Design. We start with the Brewers' current opponent, the aforementioned Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting with colors, I wanted to keep the red/black/gold scheme the team currently uses over their old purple/teal/copper scheme for two reasons: The purple and teal are incredibly dated, and the red/black/gold scheme ties in nicely with the color schemes of the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Coyotes, giving the Phoenix area (aside for the Suns) a unified color palette, a la Pittsburgh (black/gold). I decided to get rid of the A logo, as it has seen better days. In its place, I developed a new primary logo featuring a modified version of the team's db-snakehead logo within the team name. The secondary is the modified db-snakehead, while the tertiary is a hybrid of the A logo and the D-snake. The uniforms feature a unique style of trim that I like to call "diamond trim", which was somewhat inspired by these jerseys. The home jerseys start with an off-white base, featuring the D-backs wordmark and the tertiary logo on the right sleeve, and are paired with the db cap. The away uniforms use a sand colored base, similar to the current Padres away uniforms. They away jerseys are emblazoned with an Arizona wordmark and utilize the db logo as a patch on the right sleeve. They are paired with the new A logo caps. The Sunday Alternate is similar to the primary home jerseys, except it is a vest with a black undershirt and uses no sleeve patches. The Sunday Alternates also use a black hat with a red brim instead of the all-red cap found on the homes.

Up second, we have the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays have had a slew of identities in the short existence. The current identity is one of the most generic in MLB. The Rays' current colors are navy, light blue, and yellow. Navy is the team's primary color, which doesn't help them differentiate themselves from the Yankees and Red Sox. With that in mind, I decided to scrap the existing color scheme for a dark green/orange/yellow scheme that gives off a much more tropical vibe. The logo set (aside from the tertiary) is completely new. the primary logo consists of a baseball/sun rising over the RAYS wordmark, which features a segmented gradiation that implies sun rays. The secondary is a custom interlocking TB that also features the segmented gradiation. I kept the manta ray logo as the tertiary but edited the colors to fit within the scheme. The jerseys and pants contain compound placket piping. The home uniforms start with a white base and green caps with orange brims.The RAYS wordmark appears on the front of the jersey while the manta ray is placed on the left sleeve. The home alternate is a green version of the primary home jersey. The aways use a solid green cap and pastel yellow jerseys and pants. Both away jerseys use the TB logo on the left chest in addition to the manta on the sleeve. The Sunday Alternate is an orange cap paired with an orange jersey. Like the home sets, the jerseys have RAYS across the chest and the manta on the sleeve.

Feel free to comment on the new 2011 MLB All-Star Game logo, the Admirals new road jerseys, the rumored changes for the Padres and Cowboys, the Nets possible new name, Texas Pan-Am's new logo set, or anything sports branding related.