tBBP

I could have sworn I've seen those [now-new] logos before...maybe they're updated versions of a concept I saw somewhere. Still not tue greatest logo[s], but better than what they're replacing...

Complete aside, but that would make a nice colorway for the Utah Hockey Team...

Not necessarily an identity change, but an existing identity in a new application... ...Say hello to the VERY FIRST HBCU hockey program—and jersey—courtesy of Tennessee State University.

It is. But 202 is also DC's [primary] area code, so that's probably why they chose to do it then. And I'm gonna guess they did that shoot sometime super early in the morning on Abe Pollin rather than on F Street, or otherwise someone surely would have seen that jersey on the street in passing. Shoot I've been past Capital One Arena several times just in the past three days and I'm surprised no one leaked this!

Completely off to the side but...how in the world were the Milwaukee Brewers legally allowed to get away with that for sooo long??? To @YelichGraphics's point: that's a good perspective to take. In some cases, things just "pass through" certain phases into, I guess, "timelessness"? I mean really at this point I don't see the Ravens—or anyone, for that matter—coming up with a number font better than what they have now, unless it's a slightly tweaked version of their current. I don't see any improvement that won't come across as predictable, robotic, or otherwise hackneyed (see Dolphins, Miami for a [non]perfect example). And to be transparent, I feel the same about the Eagles' current numbers...I know that's another flashpoint of contention amongst many. At this point, short of reverting to block, would a newer/different font really be much better than the current? (And I'd say the same thing had the Jaguars kept their '98-'08 numbers...that they're bringing hack this season as throwback alternates...that I'm sure are gonna garner a LOT of noise about permanent reinstatement...jus' sayin'.)

Well first, I think we all agree on the Ravens' stripeless black pants. Even replicating the helmet stripes on the black pants, if they felt the need to keep black pants, woul help immensely. (So too would replicating the braisher from the purple pants, except making it purple/white/purple/.) To the number font, though, I'm gonna go the other way on this—thus maintaining my long-held stance—and say that aside from possibly removing the large dropshadow, I see absolutely nothing wrong with the Ravens' number font, and am STILL waiting for someone somewhere to descriptively explain exactly what about that font makes it "dated". (And no, "they're not classic block" will not suffice here. Neither will "just because they're round".) And if its a font update some want, I say be careful what you wish for. See Broncos, Denver; Texans, Houston; and Falcons, Atlanta for examples of how that wish could go horribly wrong.

Love it for exactly what it is and is intended to be: a true alternate. Never should this become primary, but it serves extremely well in the capacity for which it was designed. Oh and...I'm legit amazed they actually wiped the mothballs off that forward-facing bird. But I must say...that particular doesn't really work too well on a helmet. It's fine for this application, but I somehow feel like the B from the birdhead logos would have fit better in this role.

[Reportedly] Sunshine just got PAID. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence reportedly agrees to 5-year, $275 million extension. Two things: 1) this QB market needs to equalize and quick. And 2) this is why we're getting all these ads and Color Rushes and whatever the NFL is gonna start letting Nike call whatever city-ish alternates they produce next and... ...Anyway, good for Sunshine. I personally like the guy, but at the same time i completely understand if folk say he ain't worth that kind of payday. But the bigger thing is that it seems like Turtleneck Baalke is beginning to understand that you got to quit being cheap to keep your key stalwart players. Between this and the nine digits just given to Josh Allen, it seems like the Jags might be about to turn a little corner here—if Press Taylor (and for that matter Doug Pederson) don't muff it up...

If keeping two colors (for the most part) were to be the goal, this would, IMO, actually be a GREAT way to do it. Stick the kelly green in there (that is, brightenup that lighter green somewhat), with the yellow, and yet keep to the same Wild aesthetic. That said, it does lose something with the absence of red...

My synopsis: The Lou notwithstanding (because that on its own really fits within the already established Cardinals aesthetic), two of these could serve as the basis for a full-on rebrand. Remove the giant IATA script, draft out new scripts that spell out the city name and nickname and that Guardians set (minus the sublimation) would be good to go tomorrow. Use some more of the actual colors (that is, make the jersey or scripts/numbers—or both) an actual color, lose the flame tips on the glyphs, and that Rays set would instantly be better than their current or inaugural looks. The only other one of those I find myself liking as a perma-alt if it were to ever happen would be the Brew Crew set. (Though I suppose the Seripientes one isn't bad on its own.) So y'all remember this Matt guy should the Yanks actually end up doing this. Careful what you wish for, bud! Tell that to the WNBA team that uses/calls it that. (I'm also honestly surprised the Yankees are even letting him get away with that since they still won't even allow facial hair...unless they all are cross-promoting the Liberty or something, I don't know.)

So, as a non-Minnesotan and increasingly more engaged hockey fan (I mean I've always liked the sport, but I've really gotten more into it over the past seven or eight years), and also an engaged fan of sports design and all things branding, I have some thoughts. The first concerns this nostalgia wave in general. This is something that transcends sports. It's the reason that shows like Star Trek: Picard and Power Rangers: Once and Always exist. It's also the reason certain people keep trying to reboot certain television shows, and why some people can't break out of the comfort zone of their own pasts. Nostalgia is really a safe space for the fun memories and experiences of our inner child(ren) to come outside and play again. Longing for times past is also what causes things like this rumored North Stars change (as has been the case with several teams across several leagues.) I get the emotional appeal about it; I just sometimes question the logic of it. Look, I grew up rooting, cheering, hooting and hollering for the creamsicle-clad Buccaneers...still have one of those original creamsicle jerseys in my possession to this day. For a while, I was one of the more vocal proponents of the Buccaneers returning to that look, and that was before they spent those dark years masquerading as alarm clocks. Thankfully, they came to their senses after realizing how failed an experiment that was...and that was also about the time I came to my senses about that old look. Here's the thing: I judged most of that based on the home version of that creamsicle look, but it wasn't until about two or three years ago that I realized just how loud and tacky the road versions of those uniforms were. Even though I still tinker around with the idea of the Buccaneers rolling out a reimagined brand identity featuring orange and white, once I separated my emotional attachment to those uniforms from the logic of the optics, I saw it clearly. Silly as it sounds, that was a real moment of clarity for me. What does any of this have to do with the Wild and this rumored retrobranding? Depends on how you feel about the Wild, retrobrands, or my post in general. One thing I will say right off the bat is that those colors, the kelly green and yellow (and white), are far more engaging to the eye. That is no question. That said, given the thematic ideas around which the Wild brand as a whole was designed, I just don't think the brighter colorway makes as much sense for that brand as the colors that originally came with it: the darker green (for the many forests, obviously), red and gold (which I presume were a nod to the aurora borealis/northern lights). And then there's the logo itself, designed for such a landscape. I still think that's one of the most ingenious logos I've ever seen, to denote so much symbolism into such a connotatively abstract name as "Wild" and pull it off to powerful effect. I say all of that because I think the kelly-and-yellow recolor loses a lot of that symbolic representation. Sure, our eyes "see" the symbols and "see" the logo, but to me it just feels like what it is: a lesser reproduction of the original. Then there are the uniforms. IF the Wild choose to implement basically the same uniforms as their reverse retros-turned-alternates, it's replicating dang near 1:1 the North Stars identity, number fonts and all. Not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but stylistically, that uniform style and that logo just don't fit right. The logo is sleek, obviously modern, connotes movement and dynamism, and with many curvilinear forms and line weights, while the uniform looks exactly like what it was when it was first designed: a traditional setup that while sharp on its own connotes none of those characteristics. I have a major issue with brands that attempt to "mash" together elements that tell two different visual stories to try to [re]create a cohesive whole. (To be fair, I have this same issue with the Dallas Stars' whole visual identity and whatever it is the Utah Jazz are attempting to pull off for 2025 and beyond.) Now, all this long soliloquy aside, I am not a Minnesotan nor did I grow up a fan of the North Stars...nor did I grow up with hockey all in my blood and veins like that, so ultimately my POV on this may be null and void to the greenbloods (!). But for whatever it's worth, this is all just my perspective...my two rusted Lincolns to submit for your perusal. Feel free to jettison it straight into the north stars if you like; no offense taken here.

USAToday has also picked up on this "report". https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/06/minnesota-wild-north-stars-jersey-colors-2025-rebrand-reaction And so here's today's quick block of counsel on media literacy. Pay very close to the usage of words and phrases like "reported to" or "reportedly" in stories...even more so in headlines, especially when those words are absent from the headlines only to be found in the stories. Unless a named source of the report comes out, always take with a couple kernels of salt. Doesn't mean the news will ultimately be false, but in this age of instant reaction, all it takes is for one person to turn "reported to" or "reportedly" into "will" or "are" and then people start running, um, wild with stuff because not enough people are willing to backcheck the source of the info, and then emotions run high, and, well, we know... All of this is exactly what I was thinking. In theory, head-to-toe solid colors shouldn't be an problem on the ice (unless it's head-to-toe white, let the Leafs tell it), but it's the trend-chasing thing that could become the issue. If it makes sense for the brand, it's one thing. Otherwise, remember Kevin Stefanski's wise words: "you gotta have contrast, man."

Source link?

I know this is the NFL thread, but to your point about MLB's City Connects, a few of them would actually make decent primary sets (I'm thinking of Cleveland right off the bat—minus the giant CLE, of course). But I know it's only a matter of time before City__________ comes to the NFL. Shoot, few of the last teams to rebrand have already slick-slid City-ish uniforms into their rotation, starting with the whole "Indiana Nights" thing. And now look at how they're naming these uniform sets—NYJ, Detroit, Houston and Denver have all "nicknamed" their individual uniform sets (wait, did we actually have four rebrands this offseason?), and now here comes Minnesota with the nicknamed "Winter Warriors"...and an extra color to boot (silver), minus one of their actual primary colors (yellow). Again, though, I get why the shield and the swoosh are pushing all this stuff on consumers...but that don't mean I got to like it. (Though I do like a select few of these alternates...)

It has exactly none outside of selling more and more and more—did I mention more?—jerseys, which is exactly Nike's (and Fanatics') goal at the end of the day. That's ultimately all this is about...

More evidence of the cyclical nature of design trends...if this ain't evidence, I don't know what is.

Well just be glad they didn't mash the I-55/I-74 concurrency in there also!* *Which is the only reason I know about or care that Bloomington/Normal exists...that used to be my planned fuel/layover stop traveling between points northwest and back to/through Indianapolis...

I wonder if this may jump off a lil' mini-trend in the NHL, now that San Jose has claimed head-to-toe teal (yet for some reason made the numbers on their white sweaters black with teal stroke). Between that and what seems like an uptick in teams wanting to "own" colors/colorways, we'll see what the Utah TBDs come up with for a uniform. (Wouldn't surprise me to see head-to-toe purple if they end up aping the new Jazz colorway...) That's eggplant and jade to you, pal. (But yes, you're correct.)

Someone wanna tell these teams/Nike that it's okay to use other base colors than nav—sorry, pitch blue—and black??

It looks to me like it's an italicized version of the current [highlighter] JAZZ script... ...Which is to say: yeah, not good. Ideas seem to be all over the place...

(But yes, I agree.)

The side panels work well on the black uniforms...are completely unnecessary on the purple ones. I don't know if...or at least I hope that they don't plan on adding those side panels to the 2025-26 sets. Doesn't work with the mountain motifs across the front. Also, the strokes on the scripts and numbers are too thin (IMO). In actual real up close daylight, those colors appear to work much better. Still kinda wish the blue was more cyan than sky, but I can roll with that.

Hallmark of Mark Verlander of Verlander Design...as far as I know, he was the last independent graphic artist to fully develop NFL team identities before the league switched over to the exclusive Reebok contract in 2002.

This has been going on for several seasons now. Oklahoma State just did it last offseason, and Syracuse did it a few years back (lest we all forget the 44° angle scan line stuff). I don't even think this is Nike per se; it's just the [design] cycle we're in. Nostalgia/traditional is back in style and many teams are riding the wave.