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MLB: Project 32 - New Dugout Jackets Added


SFGiants58

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On 9/10/2017 at 9:51 AM, MJD7 said:

Alright... You've done it. This is my favorite series ever. 

 

But this set is fantastic! You probably know that I love the color scheme, and all the uses of the font & railway imagery fit perfectly. I particularly love the look of the Monday home, though I understand the set should probably normally stay primarily green. As for the numbers, I think a modified (or even straight-up) use of the local Broncos' font could work perfectly, as that's what I instantly thought of, and it would look a little thinner than your attempt to match.

 

Looking forward to Houston, should be an interesting one!

 

Thank you! I thought about the Broncos' font, but it seemed like a step too far. A (modern) block font kept the look a bit more grounded. I like to be sparing in my use of display fonts, and this seemed like a time to avoid one. The blue/green is enough to separate them from my other concepts.

 

On 9/10/2017 at 10:08 AM, KittSmith_95 said:

The Zephyr itself could use a few more details, as of right now it looks like a simple illustration of a Train made in MS Paint using whatever images you could find. The car itself needs that depth, otherwise it just blends in & doesn't work as a tertiary logo. But besides that, this look is a Grand Slam. @MJD7 basically said it all for me. I can't wait to see what you're doing with the Stros myself, and knowing you it's gonna come out fantastic. 

 

Thanks! You're right, the detailing on the train is a tad off. It needs more "stuff" on it to convey both perspective and detail. I've fixed it in the update.

 

On 9/10/2017 at 11:17 AM, CanucksFan said:

I feel like rather than having the two main alternates be clones of each other, you should put the secondary logo on the jersey for either one. It would freshen up the set a bit better.

 

On 9/10/2017 at 11:57 AM, coco1997 said:

Yep, this is easily one of my new favorite concepts in this series. I love train iconography, so I knew this was going to be a good one. It's just a gorgeous color scheme and the wordmarks and logos are all very sharp. 

 

I agree with @CanucksFan that the "D" logo would look great on one of the alternates (preferably the blue one) as opposed to using the same "Zephyrs" wordmark on both. Maybe add placket piping and front numbers to make a Zephyr-ized version of your purple Rockies alt?

 

Really can't wait to see Houston. Maybe my most anticipated team in this series!

 

Thanks, guys! I figured a Canucks fan would like the color scheme. ;) I'm adding a "D" logo to the green alternate, to mend this issue. The placket striping didn't jive with the asymmetrical stripes, so I left it off. 

 

On 9/10/2017 at 1:00 PM, infrared41 said:

 

Did you think I made it up? B)

 

 

Nope, just some minor fact-checking. I liked what you said, but I was unsure (because I couldn't find it in any official histories of the team). I was glad when I got confirmation!

 

On 9/10/2017 at 4:48 PM, the admiral said:

Terrific! I do mind "Colorado Rockies," I think it's one of the all-around worst brands in the big four leagues, so I'm pleased to see both words in the name replaced as well as everything else bad about the Rockies. It's cool to see a train-themed identity. Is the only other one the Purdue Boilermakers? 

 

The scripts look good, and sidestep a dumb argument I had with myself the other day: what constitutes a "Denver" font? That is to say, if you're going to commit to mountains as part of a Denver sports team identity, what do you do with your type? I know the Broncos used to use Clarendon Bold Condensed, which looked a little bit Western but not as much as, like, the Oklahoma font here, but that's just it: they used to use it and don't anymore because Denver doesn't really feel like an outpost of "the West" anymore now that it's gotten so much bigger and more cosmopolitan. (Personally, when I was in downtown Denver a couple years ago, I thought it felt like Madison without a lake. I went to some neat restaurants on a pedestrian mall and I read a good alternative weekly while being accosted by strung-out homeless people. Also, the airport is in Kansas for some reason.) I thought maybe some kind of Art Deco or Streamline Moderne typography would go well with the Zephyr theme, but they didn't feel right for Denver -- too Chicago/East Coast to me. These remind me of the Broncos new font a little bit, but not quite, and I think it works here. The curved underline is the signature element of the scripts more than the typeface itself.

 

Even though the original Zephyrs used kelly and royal in AAA, I'm not 100% on board (npi) with the idea of them keeping it in the bigs. I think this is mostly because I associate this color scheme with the '80s Hartford Whalers and Dallas Mavericks, teams that looked bad and lost a lot, which made them look even worse. There's also the fact that the Canucks have re-embraced royal and kelly (other way around, too, which helps) and really made it work because it feels so Pacific Northwest. I do know that the Burlington Northern has had lime green as kind of a signature color (the Metra line here that runs through southern DuPage County is just called the BNSF and all their timetables use a pretty bright shade of green), so maybe that could be an option if you really want to commit to that railway and the Denver Zephyr? That could get really loud really fast, though. I like purple and black, I like the shade of eggplant from the Rockies concept, but dominant kelly green with royal blue has had a bad run in sports and I can't get over it.

 

 

Thanks! I thought the font worked well with the whole Art Deco-like train iconography. I have a few friends from the area, and I've never gotten the impression of Denver as a "Western" city. It's too "modern" for that.

 

While I like Kelly/Royal, I can see where you're coming from on the "teams that looked bad and lost a lot" point (you forgot the original Timberwolves, who also did a lot of losing). It's also not easy to get them to touch. I think you'll like my solution to the issue.

 

The first update features train with more details, plus a new green alternate (images are in the spoiler tags).

 

Spoiler

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NvGw1GE.png

 

veWqVv8.png

 

 

The next version illustrates the team in a new color scheme, mountain purple and powder blue! I've used similar color schemes for the Rockies before, and I wanted to get that excellent color scheme into my series somehow. 

 

Spoiler

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QtYELKl.png

 

TnSu6Pe.png

 

cH4eG1o.png

 

 

C+C is appreciated! The Astros will be up in a bit!

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P.S. I will say that the primary cap logo for the Zephyrs alternate take would stand out better if the colors of the blue "D" and white outline were reversed. Since most every MLB primary cap has a white letter contrasting with a colored background, and some even have an outline with a tertiary color, this would be logical. I'd do the same with the retro alternate "D" as well. I understand that the minor league Zephyrs' cap was primarily a blue "Z" (and of course I greatly appreciate the high degree of authenticity you're providing in your designs), but most people would have trouble looking through an outline to see the "D" on the cap, even in our age of high-definition television which greatly improved the viewing experience in the NHL when it came to tracking the puck on screen.

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15 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:
On 9/10/2017 at 2:00 PM, infrared41 said:

 

Did you think I made it up? B)

 

 

Nope, just some minor fact-checking. I liked what you said, but I was unsure (because I couldn't find it in any official histories of the team). I was glad when I got confirmation!

 

I remember it reading about it in Sports Illustrated. It was a 4-5 page piece with great details on the whole thing. I want to say it was the late 80's or early 90's. May have even been the early-mid 80's. Anyway, you might be able to find the actual article on SI's website in their vault. Well worth the effort if you can find it. 

 

BB52Big.jpg

 

 

 

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Love the Zephyrs in purple and blue. It was an awesome color scheme for the Jazz, of course. I figured you'd go with sky blue or forest green (the Rockies seem to use that as kind of a tertiary color in team-associated logos: Coors Field, their All-Star Game, etc), big fan either way. I think the purple not only goes better with the mountains but also the metal of the train.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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On 9/12/2017 at 5:59 AM, coco1997 said:

Can't decide which color scheme I like more for the Zephyrs! Either way, the new train is greatly improved, and it's nice to see the secondary on an alt.

 

Let's see the Astros!

 

Thanks! I like both of them too, but I might have to give the edge to purple/powder. Stumbling upon that muted purple made that color scheme work. 

 

On 9/12/2017 at 9:43 AM, SS8609 said:

P.S. I will say that the primary cap logo for the Zephyrs alternate take would stand out better if the colors of the blue "D" and white outline were reversed. Since most every MLB primary cap has a white letter contrasting with a colored background, and some even have an outline with a tertiary color, this would be logical. I'd do the same with the retro alternate "D" as well. I understand that the minor league Zephyrs' cap was primarily a blue "Z" (and of course I greatly appreciate the high degree of authenticity you're providing in your designs), but most people would have trouble looking through an outline to see the "D" on the cap, even in our age of high-definition television which greatly improved the viewing experience in the NHL when it came to tracking the puck on screen.

 

Thanks. I used that color arrangement on the cap because I didn't want a royal outline on a green background. Part of my goal in the concept was to have green and blue show up in near-equal proportions on colored backgrounds (one of my complaints about the Whalers' classic look was that blue barely showed up on the green sweater). Also, a white "D" would mess with the silver outline. 

 

21 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

I remember it reading about it in Sports Illustrated. It was a 4-5 page piece with great details on the whole thing. I want to say it was the late 80's or early 90's. May have even been the early-mid 80's. Anyway, you might be able to find the actual article on SI's website in their vault. Well worth the effort if you can find it. 

 

Thank you! I think I'll take a gander at that.

 

18 hours ago, the admiral said:

Love the Zephyrs in purple and blue. It was an awesome color scheme for the Jazz, of course. I figured you'd go with sky blue or forest green (the Rockies seem to use that as kind of a tertiary color in team-associated logos: Coors Field, their All-Star Game, etc), big fan either way. I think the purple not only goes better with the mountains but also the metal of the train.

 

Thanks! I'm also a fan of that color scheme for the Jazz. The purple does go well with the silver train and its details. 

 

19 hours ago, coco1997 said:

 

ba7o0.jpg

 

Well, I ran into a bit of an issue. Allow one of my favorite Plinkett review highlights to describe:

 

1386023302559.png

 

In testing out the alternates on my action templates, I got some serious cold feet. One of them (which I'll show off at the end of the post) just looked terrible, and I opted to throw it out of the main set in favor of another design. Anyway, onto the Astros!

 

HOUSTON ASTROS, PT. I - An adventure into the Neo-Retro realm!

 

This concept has been a long time coming. After releasing my Project 30 concept for the Astros, I became dissatisfied with it. The font was too extended, the color balance was a tad iffy, and the racing stripes were a bad idea. Upon creating a condensed version of the font (Space Frigate - which had a bit of a "TMP-era Star Trek" look to it), I redid the concept with a vertical arch on the wordmarks. It brought the look closer to the original "Shooting Star" uniforms (which is something many neo-retro Astros concepts miss). I let it sit on the backburner for a while, cycling through different ideas on how to improve the look. I went through several styles of striping (racing stripes, tequila sunrise cuffs, etc.), shifted the color balance to orange-dominant (an idea @the admiral triumphed), and tried to find ways to work with the tequila sunrise pattern. These trials went on for the two-year duration of my old tweaks thread/dumping ground. Included here are galleries of several of the phases these concepts went through, these being MK I, MK II, MK III, and MK IV

 

Project 32 presented me with an opportunity to incorporate these experiments into one concept. I wanted the logos and uniforms to convey forward motion (slab-serif is too static for a team like the Astros), preserve that 1960's space age-y charm, and use a unique color balance. Orange-dominance won out, as the all-orange look is something the Astros could own in the majors. Also present is the tequila sunrise pattern, in a three-color form.

 

The primary logo features the new cap logo with a tequila sunrise contrail. The hat insignia (no longer a tilted version of the 2000-12 star logo) fixes the "static" nature of the current and retro H-stars. Slab-serif is not congruent with the space age/motion aesthetic, so I placed an italicized "H" into the logo. Here is a sampling of all of the variants I went through before deciding on a final one. Another benefit of this H-star is that it shows up on white/gray backgrounds, unlike the current one. The tertiary is the home uniform script.  

 

nElwebm.png

 

The uniforms are where the neo-retro approach becomes evident. The arched wordmarks rest underneath a modernized "shooting star" pattern, which features the tequila sunrise at the center. I've opted to render the sunrise pattern in a symmetrical pattern, to mimic a contrail. This style has precedence for the Astros, with their racing stripe uniforms. While it may be a bit too much color, I think I've used enough navy to keep the shades restrained. Thin striping graces the sleeves and pants, to draw attention towards the scripts. The primary logo is on the sleeves. Sock stripes mimic the look of the Colt .45's hosiery and the pattern on the wordmarks. The number font is my attempt to imitate the 1960's-70's varsity font used by the Astros.1 It's more neutral than the slab-serif.

 

YPinSwh.png

 

The alternates also have a neo-retro character to them. The orange top uses a cursive script, inspired by an old @robbman21 concept. I used thicker fonts (Fenway Park JF and Beaverton Script) to give the wordmark some depth. I saw this as a way to tribute the successes of the "Railmen" period and the Houston Buffs, while also sticking to the Astros' brand. The navy alternate features a navy cap and a wider tequila sunrise pattern since I didn't want to put a white outline on the design.

 

mL3QKVP.png

 

Also, here is the set on the @jayjackson3 action templates! Since the board software doesn't allow Imgur album embeds, I've enclosed them in a spoiler tag:

 

Spoiler

vkateyB.pngAp6E9pS.png

 

xnSbavS.pngAcQDZIS.png

 

6GSnzas.png

 

Now, the Astros can rock a proper neo-retro design that has both a unique colorway and a strong connection to the team's history. C+C is appreciated!


P.S. Open the spoiler tag. They're a useful tool for eliminating page clutter.

Spoiler

 

Here is a bonus feature. I've mocked up a creme version of the orange top (it was a little much for the main set, so I turned it into a mini-feature), and the rejected orange jersey. While it worked with the 2000-12 star, it didn't work at all with the new H-star.

 

QnJJJ79.png

 

 

I'm going to be doing two alternate takes for the Astros. One cleans up a somewhat-maligned identity, while the other plays with a little alternate history.

 

 

1William F. Henderson, Game Worn Guide to MLB Jerseys: (1970–2017) Eighth Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Aardvark Publishing, 2017), 466.

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Moving the Tequila Sunrise stripes to the socks is a very inspired move, and I love the retro script with the shooting star and Tequila Sunrise incorporated into the tail. Thank you for resisting the urge to dull down the Astros on the road and become navy-dominant. I hate flipping colorways within a team's uniform set like that, and the Astros should be able to see the use of orange all the way through. Don't know about you, but I always envisioned the Giants as a black team with a little orange, the Orioles as an orange team with more black, and the Astros with as much orange as one person can reasonably wear (dugout jackets would probably have to be navy. An orange jacket would look dumb).

 

The primary is a bit of a weak link -- all I see is a guitar pick -- but I had the same problem when I put together my shooting star update (god) six years ago. The cap logo and scripts said enough that a primary always felt redundant. I came up with this [attached below] but my heart was never in it and it just looked like a nuclear kumquat.

 

 

astros primary 5flat.png

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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I love this Astros concept. The sunrise striping within the shooting star is a great feature. My lone complaint is that the "center of mass" of the star doesn't align with the center of the contrail. It does on the Alt #1 version which look more mobile. 

 

Aside from that, this is magnificent. The "H" logo is dynamic and script is refreshing and modern. 

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I like the Astros look. The Orange heavy identity really pops for the team, but I'm not sold on the font used. The Alternate script with the shooting star underneath looks vastly superior IMO & would be better as the basis for the full set, unless a font was created with the cap "H" & the 90's Navy & Gold fonts in mind, IMO. The font used now feels like it'd be better on a Hoops jersey & it looks out of place on a baseball jersey. 

 

Spoiler

BTW, I hope we see the 90's Gold used in a Part 2 set. Please don't let me down. 

 

new_orleans_krewe_player_sig___qb_donny_

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5 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Thanks! I like both of them too, but I might have to give the edge to purple/powder. Stumbling upon that muted purple made that color scheme work. 

 

 

Thanks. I used that color arrangement on the cap because I didn't want a royal outline on a green background. Part of my goal in the concept was to have green and blue show up in near-equal proportions on colored backgrounds (one of my complaints about the Whalers' classic look was that blue barely showed up on the green sweater). Also, a white "D" would mess with the silver outline. 

 

 

Thank you! I think I'll take a gander at that.

 

 

Thanks! I'm also a fan of that color scheme for the Jazz. The purple does go well with the silver train and its details. 

 

 

Well, I ran into a bit of an issue. Allow one of my favorite Plinkett review highlights to describe:

 

1386023302559.png

 

In testing out the alternates on my action templates, I got some serious cold feet. One of them (which I'll show off at the end of the post) just looked terrible, and I opted to throw it out of the main set in favor of another design. Anyway, onto the Astros!

 

HOUSTON ASTROS, PT. I - An adventure into the Neo-Retro realm!

 

This concept has been a long time coming. After releasing my Project 30 concept for the Astros, I became dissatisfied with it. The font was too extended, the color balance was a tad iffy, and the racing stripes were a bad idea. Upon creating a condensed version of the font (Space Frigate - which had a bit of a "TMP-era Star Trek" look to it), I redid the concept with a vertical arch on the wordmarks. It brought the look closer to the original "Shooting Star" uniforms (which is something many neo-retro Astros concepts miss). I let it sit on the backburner for a while, cycling through different ideas on how to improve the look. I went through several styles of striping (racing stripes, tequila sunrise cuffs, etc.), shifted the color balance to orange-dominant (an idea @the admiral triumphed), and tried to find ways to work with the tequila sunrise pattern. These trials went on for the two-year duration of my old tweaks thread/dumping ground. Included here are galleries of several of the phases these concepts went through, these being MK I, MK II, MK III, and MK IV

 

Project 32 presented me with an opportunity to incorporate these experiments into one concept. I wanted the logos and uniforms to convey forward motion (slab-serif is too static for a team like the Astros), preserve that 1960's space age-y charm, and use a unique color balance. Orange-dominance won out, as the all-orange look is something the Astros could own in the majors. Also present is the tequila sunrise pattern, in a three-color form.

 

The primary logo features the new cap logo with a tequila sunrise contrail. The hat insignia (no longer a tilted version of the 2000-12 star logo) fixes the "static" nature of the current and retro H-stars. Slab-serif is not congruent with the space age/motion aesthetic, so I placed an italicized "H" into the logo. Here is a sampling of all of the variants I went through before deciding on a final one. Another benefit of this H-star is that it shows up on white/gray backgrounds, unlike the current one. The tertiary is the home uniform script.  

 

nElwebm.png

 

The uniforms are where the neo-retro approach becomes evident. The arched wordmarks rest underneath a modernized "shooting star" pattern, which features the tequila sunrise at the center. I've opted to render the sunrise pattern in a symmetrical pattern, to mimic a contrail. This style has precedence for the Astros, with their racing stripe uniforms. While it may be a bit too much color, I think I've used enough navy to keep the shades restrained. Thin striping graces the sleeves and pants, to draw attention towards the scripts. The primary logo is on the sleeves. Sock stripes mimic the look of the Colt .45's hosiery and the pattern on the wordmarks. The number font is my attempt to imitate the 1960's-70's varsity font used by the Astros.1 It's more neutral than the slab-serif.

 

YPinSwh.png

 

The alternates also have a neo-retro character to them. The orange top uses a cursive script, inspired by an old @robbman21 concept. I used thicker fonts (Fenway Park JF and Beaverton Script) to give the wordmark some depth. I saw this as a way to tribute the successes of the "Railmen" period and the Houston Buffs, while also sticking to the Astros' brand. The navy alternate features a navy cap and a wider tequila sunrise pattern since I didn't want to put a white outline on the design.

 

mL3QKVP.png

 

Also, here is the set on the @jayjackson3 action templates! Since the board software doesn't allow Imgur album embeds, I've enclosed them in a spoiler tag:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

vkateyB.pngAp6E9pS.png

 

xnSbavS.pngAcQDZIS.png

 

6GSnzas.png

 

Now, the Astros can rock a proper neo-retro design that has both a unique colorway and a strong connection to the team's history. C+C is appreciated!


P.S. Open the spoiler tag. They're a useful tool for eliminating page clutter.

  Hide contents

 

Here is a bonus feature. I've mocked up a creme version of the orange top (it was a little much for the main set, so I turned it into a mini-feature), and the rejected orange jersey. While it worked with the 2000-12 star, it didn't work at all with the new H-star.

 

QnJJJ79.png

 

 

I'm going to be doing two alternate takes for the Astros. One cleans up a somewhat-maligned identity, while the other plays with a little alternate history.

 

 

1William F. Henderson, Game Worn Guide to MLB Jerseys: (1970–2017) Eighth Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Aardvark Publishing, 2017), 466.

 

My only suggestion is to match the numbers with wordmark... other than that, I love it. 

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8643298391_d47584a085_b.jpg

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3 hours ago, ChicagoOakland said:

I have no idea why, but that star on the orange alternate reminds me of this:

5i5GdjC.gif

 

Well, probably because it's a star with a rainbow-colored contrail. You don't have to dig deep.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Well, this Astros concept was definitely worth the wait. It's a big improvement over your Project 30 Astros, and the wordmarks and logos are all excellent. I especially love how the rainbow guts look on the socks. I agree with @the admiral that the primary logo looks a bit like a guitar pick. I wonder if you could transpose the elements of the primary logo to the diamond-shaped MK1 logo?

 

My other small nitpick is that the script "Astros" doesn't really fit with the rest of the identity. I think it would work better on a Retro Day alt. I actually like the scrapped alts a little more than the ones you wound up going with, though I think the orange one would work better as a pullover. 

 

Can't wait to see the alternate takes! I'm curious if the "maligned-identity" will be their 2000-12 or very underrated 1994-99 look. 

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The Astros look really nice! I can really tell the amount of work you put in to this one. The sunrise within the shooting star is a genius move, and I really like its symmetrical use throughout. I myself don't think it's absolutely necessary for the 'Stros to be primarily orange, but it is a nice touch that makes them "pop" very well. 

 

I agree with both of @Carolingian Steamroller's points about the star and the "R" in the wordmark. A number font to match the wordmarks would be cool too. As for the primary, maybe it could just be the H-star in a sunrise circle? It doesn't have to be a full-on roundel, but it could be a cool idea. Or maybe just the H-star itself, even. I was going to suggest you put the sunrise on both sides of the star like the Carolina Pilots as the primary, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of it shooting...

 

Is it bad that I really like the orange alt you decided not to use..? I probably don't like it as much as the script version (which is gorgeous, btw) but still...

 

Great job once again!

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6 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Thanks! I like both of them too, but I might have to give the edge to purple/powder. Stumbling upon that muted purple made that color scheme work. 

 

 

Thanks. I used that color arrangement on the cap because I didn't want a royal outline on a green background. Part of my goal in the concept was to have green and blue show up in near-equal proportions on colored backgrounds (one of my complaints about the Whalers' classic look was that blue barely showed up on the green sweater). Also, a white "D" would mess with the silver outline. 

 

 

Thank you! I think I'll take a gander at that.

 

 

Thanks! I'm also a fan of that color scheme for the Jazz. The purple does go well with the silver train and its details. 

 

 

Well, I ran into a bit of an issue. Allow one of my favorite Plinkett review highlights to describe:

 

1386023302559.png

 

In testing out the alternates on my action templates, I got some serious cold feet. One of them (which I'll show off at the end of the post) just looked terrible, and I opted to throw it out of the main set in favor of another design. Anyway, onto the Astros!

 

HOUSTON ASTROS, PT. I - An adventure into the Neo-Retro realm!

 

This concept has been a long time coming. After releasing my Project 30 concept for the Astros, I became dissatisfied with it. The font was too extended, the color balance was a tad iffy, and the racing stripes were a bad idea. Upon creating a condensed version of the font (Space Frigate - which had a bit of a "TMP-era Star Trek" look to it), I redid the concept with a vertical arch on the wordmarks. It brought the look closer to the original "Shooting Star" uniforms (which is something many neo-retro Astros concepts miss). I let it sit on the backburner for a while, cycling through different ideas on how to improve the look. I went through several styles of striping (racing stripes, tequila sunrise cuffs, etc.), shifted the color balance to orange-dominant (an idea @the admiral triumphed), and tried to find ways to work with the tequila sunrise pattern. These trials went on for the two-year duration of my old tweaks thread/dumping ground. Included here are galleries of several of the phases these concepts went through, these being MK I, MK II, MK III, and MK IV

 

Project 32 presented me with an opportunity to incorporate these experiments into one concept. I wanted the logos and uniforms to convey forward motion (slab-serif is too static for a team like the Astros), preserve that 1960's space age-y charm, and use a unique color balance. Orange-dominance won out, as the all-orange look is something the Astros could own in the majors. Also present is the tequila sunrise pattern, in a three-color form.

 

The primary logo features the new cap logo with a tequila sunrise contrail. The hat insignia (no longer a tilted version of the 2000-12 star logo) fixes the "static" nature of the current and retro H-stars. Slab-serif is not congruent with the space age/motion aesthetic, so I placed an italicized "H" into the logo. Here is a sampling of all of the variants I went through before deciding on a final one. Another benefit of this H-star is that it shows up on white/gray backgrounds, unlike the current one. The tertiary is the home uniform script.  

 

nElwebm.png

 

The uniforms are where the neo-retro approach becomes evident. The arched wordmarks rest underneath a modernized "shooting star" pattern, which features the tequila sunrise at the center. I've opted to render the sunrise pattern in a symmetrical pattern, to mimic a contrail. This style has precedence for the Astros, with their racing stripe uniforms. While it may be a bit too much color, I think I've used enough navy to keep the shades restrained. Thin striping graces the sleeves and pants, to draw attention towards the scripts. The primary logo is on the sleeves. Sock stripes mimic the look of the Colt .45's hosiery and the pattern on the wordmarks. The number font is my attempt to imitate the 1960's-70's varsity font used by the Astros.1 It's more neutral than the slab-serif.

 

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The alternates also have a neo-retro character to them. The orange top uses a cursive script, inspired by an old @robbman21 concept. I used thicker fonts (Fenway Park JF and Beaverton Script) to give the wordmark some depth. I saw this as a way to tribute the successes of the "Railmen" period and the Houston Buffs, while also sticking to the Astros' brand. The navy alternate features a navy cap and a wider tequila sunrise pattern since I didn't want to put a white outline on the design.

 

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Also, here is the set on the @jayjackson3 action templates! Since the board software doesn't allow Imgur album embeds, I've enclosed them in a spoiler tag:

 

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Now, the Astros can rock a proper neo-retro design that has both a unique colorway and a strong connection to the team's history. C+C is appreciated!


P.S. Open the spoiler tag. They're a useful tool for eliminating page clutter.

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Here is a bonus feature. I've mocked up a creme version of the orange top (it was a little much for the main set, so I turned it into a mini-feature), and the rejected orange jersey. While it worked with the 2000-12 star, it didn't work at all with the new H-star.

 

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I'm going to be doing two alternate takes for the Astros. One cleans up a somewhat-maligned identity, while the other plays with a little alternate history.

 

 

1William F. Henderson, Game Worn Guide to MLB Jerseys: (1970–2017) Eighth Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Aardvark Publishing, 2017), 466.

The tequila-sunrise contrail looks amazing, especially on the navy shirt.

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