Airline Football League

[tBBP]

Okay folks...here it is.

I've FINALLY gotten my very first concept series completed. It's been a long THREE MONTHS in the making, but it's finally done.

First, some background: this concept series marries what used to be two of the loves of my life: football and the airline industry. (But, since I've recently cut ties with Delta Air Lines after three years, I'm not as fascinated with the industry anymore. However, since I grew up in a town known as the "birthplace of naval aviation", aviation has always been a part of my life.) Plus, I thought this would be something totally unique and different to try, so here it is.

In putting these concepts together, I set some rules for myself. To start with, I used the current livery of each respective airliner as a base for designing the uniforms, as can be seen with the different sets as they're unveiled. (Certain design features, such as striping and helmete color, depict that aspect better than most.) I also factored in certain things about the personality of each different airline; as a result, some designs are pretty plain and simple, whereas some may have more "pop" and/or character. Also, as a treat to all it may annoy, and as a way to help myself, if no black and/or white is in the official color scheme of the airline, or not prominenly in use in the airliner's livery, IT IS NOT USED IN MY CONCEPTS. (That rule of mine will REALLY show up once my Southwest Airlines concept is unveiled...but that's a little later in the series.)

Also, as an added bonus, most of the third outfits (alternate uniforms) of these "teams" were based off a previous livery of the respective airliner, to inject a "nostalgic", sorta "throwback" element into the mix, while at the same time, keeping the uniform somewhat fresh and modern, which is exactly what most airlines do when painting up aircraft in a scheme of the past.

In unveling the different sets in this series, I may try to stick to order of rank in terms of largest carrier by passenger volume, and so forth. As such, the "legacy" carriers will be unveiled first, and then on down the line, others will be revealed.

SO...WITH ALL THAT SAID, LET'S GET TO THE UNVEILING.

First up in the series is American Airlines, the #1 airline in the U.S. in terms of passenger volume and the largest airline in the world. In terms of livery, American is about as simple as it gets. The third outfit in this set drew its inspiration from American Airlines' "retrojet" livery.

As far as names and numbers, Arpey is the current CEO of American Airlines, which traces its history back to the year 1934, hence the jersey number. The "retrojet" livery came into play in '59, and Smith is the name of the long-standing then-president of American. (Future concepts will follow a similar theme.) As far as the striping on the alt pants, there really is no easy way to depict the "bolt stripe" like that, so I took my best stab at it. I don't think it's that bad for a first-timer, either. Also, if you look closely at the lettering on the retrojet, they are black, outlined in white, with a red dropshadow, and so that is how i depicted the numerals.

Anyway, enough yakking about this--on to the concept!

Questions, comments, criticisms (CONSTRUCTIVE PLEASE), concerns all welcome!

[Ben5]

So far, great job. Very well done. The sleve logo is a little small, but you are limited by the height of the logo. I am looking forward to the rest of these concepts; you gotta love a good series.

[fkaKrock5cent]

Looks good bucco

[lucky]

Everything graphic-wise is really well-done but to be honest with you, the best part about the whole thing was your intro and explanation for all the features.

I'm sure someone would complain about the boring fonts and color scheme, but everything matches the look of the airline so well that it actually makes it better than if you had jazzed it up with weird fonts and outlines.

Very cool concept - will JetBlue uniforms have TV sets on the backs?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Very cool concept - will JetBlue uniforms have TV sets on the backs?

Better question: If you were to fall in any financial hardship while making these concept designs, would we all have to bail you out so you could afford to continue?

[tBBP]

Very cool concept - will JetBlue uniforms have TV sets on the backs?

Better question: If you were to fall in any financial hardship while making these concept designs, would we all have to bail you out so you could afford to continue?

Y'all funny ain't y'all?

nah, seriously--that gave me a GOOD laugh, and I've been needing one all day.

(And just so you know, I'm ALREADY in a financial hardship--blame college--so fell free to send all donations to 354 Kn--you know what, scratch it. )

TVs on the backs of JetBlue's 'fits? Hmmm...wasn't in my original draft. Don't mean I can't slap a TV decal on the back of the shells, now, do it? (Sike.)

And in particlar response to lucky, i appreciate that detailed analysis of yours. In replying to my post, you pointed out something about most big carriers: the overall blandness of the color scheme/livery. Some, like American, are pretty blah. (There's a reason for that, though. American has almost no paint on their planes because it helps save fuel. Believe it or not, most planes carry up to 6 or 7 TONS worh of paint!!! Yeah--did someone say FUEL COSTS???) Anyway, getting back to the point--some liveries can be pretty blah (reference Northwest's new "silver bullet" livery); some are good, clean, and simple, like Continental and, to a degree, Delta; some are simple but just look so much better that way (the new US Airways livery fits the bill there), and then some are "just a TAD bit more DECORATIVE". I tried my best to reflect that aspect in the uniform designs. Not all elements will make it into my concepts, just the ones that work best, major or minor.

(And by the way, I forgot to mention this in my intro: the overall template design, along with the AFL logo, is my own creation; the actual football uniform template, along with the corresponding helmets, I credit that to a guy called Tempest, who used that style originally, I believe.)

And for everyone, thanks for the C&C. Keep it coming!

(By the way, next up will be United Airlines. Stay tuned...)

[TheCyrus]

I really like these. Excellent job.

[Phenomenal]

DO AIR CANADA!

[rcb05]

Personally, I think the tertiary logo works better as a helmet logo than either the primary or secondary. I could see either the primary or secondary making a good sleeve logo though

[tBBP]

DO AIR CANADA!

It's on my list...further on down the list, but it's definitely there.

Actually, in recent days, I've ADDED airlines to this series, so I guess it's "not complete yet"...but hey, I'll take requests! (Just know that requests are entered into my "queue", so it may take a while for me to get to them, but if I can get to them, I'll DEFINITELY give them a shot.)

Air Canada...coming soon...

[tBBP]

Personally, I think the tertiary logo works better as a helmet logo than either the primary or secondary. I could see either the primary or secondary making a good sleeve logo though

I thought so myself when I first started working on this set. But the only thing that turned me against it is that the eagle wouldn't be "instantly recognizable" as American Airlines. More people see and know the "AA" because it's the one the company pushes most, plus it's on the tail of the aircraft. Not all airlines will put their primary logo on the tail, but rather, some design that'll "stand out" and help identify their aircraft (this is a prime example).

Thanks to all who've replied thus far. Keep the C&C coming!

I would, however, like to make one request: if possible, could future (or repeat) posters do me a favor and point out the things they like and/or are not so hot about with these concepts? I only ask that to gauge peer interest and see what works and what doesn't. Also, as I was taught in my classes to "set objectives to meet before embarking on a design", your feedback is what will allow me to see whether or not I meet those objectives or not. (Those objectives can be found in my intro to this concept.) I know it's damn near difficult to meet ALL objectives, but if I can meet most, I feel like I've done a good job; if the public feels I hit ALL OF THEM, I've nailed it, which is GOOD. Conversely, I may not meet most or any, but that comes from what you guys think.

So, as an aspiring designer, and with all due respect, I ask that future posters please take that into consideration...just to help a young cat out.

'Preciate it!!!

[maz]

but hey, I'll take requests!

Hooters Air!

Very good concept here. Very clean, clever, classic, and best of all, visually pleasing. The only thing i dont like is how the numbers vaugely remind of the Chicago Bears. Other than that, if it were real, id buy it.

Cant wait to see more!

[gueman]

Great idea for a series. Great execution overall. But...I think a white outline of the logo in the helmet would make it pop. Also I am not a big fan of the pale silver jersey to me they look like you couldn't get the white ones cleaned. Another cool angle you could take on the alt would be a chrome helmet to mimic the look of the "Connies" of the '50's. But I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us.

[buckeyenut]

Amazing work! You made a simple color scheme look very nice. I don't have any complaints, its all very well done. Great work. The only thing I would suggest is to maybe lighten up the watermark a bit. But other then that I can't wait to see the rest.

[tBBP]

Again, thanks folks for your input.

In response to Gueman, I was thinking the same thing after I put it up--that was something I straight missed on (considering the logo is outlined in white on the plane). Imma have to go back and fix that. Good eye. Also, about the "pale silver" shells and tops of the third outfit, it's actually supposed to mimic the slight "off-white" tone of the tail and trim of the retrojet livery. I was thinking of going straight white with it, but then decided to go offwhite instead. maybe trying TOO HARD to stick to my rules perhaps...

As for the "Chicago Bears" thing, I was thinking the same thing while making this. (Chicago, by the way, is United's stomping grounds, although if memory serves me right, American runs a pretty good lil operation out of O'Hare, as well.) I knew I didn't want to go with block numerals, so I just kinda "doctored up" some Helvetica numerals in order to keep the appearance uniform and in line with the plane itself.

This one was relatively simple--I kinda let the plane guide me. Others were not so easy, and I think that will show. I'm concstantly reviewing my work, making little tweaks here and there, but I seriously do value the input of my peers in this community for purposes of helping me identify strengths and weaknesses--it'll all help make me better.

In a few days I'll be putting up my next concept set in this series. That would be United. Got a feeling some people are REALLY going to like it...

Keep the C&C rollin in! I'm pretty much like a sponge at this point...

[VitaminD]

Novel idea, BB. And if the AA concept is a sign of what's to come, I am going to like this a lot.

When this is done, I'll bug you for uniforms for the teams that no longer field teams in your AFL - Pan Am, Midway and the rest.

[sc49erfan15]

Great idea for a project, I really like this.

The only things I can see that can use some improvement are: a white outline around the logo (already said); the "American" wordmark on the away jersey, and maybe make the numbers just a little smaller, especially on the back.

Other than that, awesome work...and I'll be looking forward to seeing more! (Don't forget Piedmont Airlines!)

[thing2]

this is cool.

when/if you get time, you should do

delta

us airways

northwest

continental (possibly, might be hard)

airtran

frontier

[zig]

i like them. They remind me of the old bills jersey and are simple yet classy. The throwback jersey looks very realistic as an old jersey from 40 years ago

[rcb05]

One thing I think is very well done is the RWB striping on the sleeves/collar/pants. It echoes the striping on AA planes without being overkill.