soccer Around the World: Nike Kit Redesign Series (Xolos de Tijuana Added)

[Scheuer]

 

With this year's set of jerseys, the people at Nike Soccer changed their template. This would have been all well and good, but their new template seems to be restricting their creative process. They're kinda going through the motions with new kits and just slapping colors onto templates and calling it a day. Lazy designs such as the similarities of the England and US kits would have never happened before the new template. The inventiveness and crisp aesthetic that used to be there in every Nike design is pretty much gone. I will be designing jerseys from teams around the world, from MLS to Europe to Africa, club or national teams. I want to reignite that inventiveness, but do it with the template they have now. I want to show that the template doesn't have to constrict the creativity and uniqueness of each jersey.

 

Designed Teams

Portland Timbers

VfB Stuttgart

Los Angeles FC

German National Team

Derby County

FC Augsburg

US National Team

Xolos de Tijuana

 

 

 

What better team to start with than Oregon's own Portland Timbers? I really like the chevron pattern that Portland used on their current home uniform. It is unique, reflects a part of their brand that is really special, and executed pretty well. I wanted to take the chevron idea to a different level and put that Nike spin on it. I wanted to give the Timbers an iconic look that they could rock for a long time to come.

 

 

The main focus of the kit is the jersey. The big chevron stripe in the middle is reminiscent of the current jersey, but is paired with thinner chevrons up and down the jersey. The shoulder yokes don't restrict the design, but instead give it more depth and a unique dynamic. The shorts are simple white with a green stripe, and the socks are equally as simple.

 

C&C is much appreciated, as this is my first post. Also feel free to recommend other clubs and national teams to redesign below. Thanks!

[JosiahWVU]

Great job, I really like it! US National Team would be great.

[Scheuer]

21 hours ago, JosiahWVU said:

Great job, I really like it! US National Team would be great.

Thanks a ton, I've been working on a US jersey for the longest time, they're just so hard to design because of all of the elements they've had in the past. I definitely want to finish up what I have on that front though and post it.

[Scheuer]

 

Striking while the iron is hot, the next club I took on is my favorite German club, VfB Stuttgart. I really liked the Stuttgart alternate kit from last year that used the colors of Baden-Wuerttemburg. I wanted to make a "state pride" kit, similar to what Nike or Under Armour might do for college football teams. This idea using yellow as the primary color would also look really cool, seeing that Stuttgart has had a yellow alternate in the past. I also wanted to give a more modern twist to Stuttgart's classic look while still keeping it pretty grounded.

 

 

To do this, I made a few unorthodox changes. To give it a more modern look, I changed the state colors from black and gold to dark charcoal and gold. I also made the badge the Old German VfB wordmark featured on the club crest with the single star above. To add more depth, I featured patterned gradient striping all over the kit, from the chest stripe to the socks and shorts. To match the iconic chest stripe design that Stuttgart is known for, I added subtle gold horizontal pinstripes to the shirt and socks. To finish it all off, I added the state flag as the jock tag. For all of the additions and changes to the classic Stuttgart look, it is still unmistakably a Stuttgart kit.

 

Feedback and C&C is much appreciated. Again, any team suggestions are welcome. I always like a challenge!

[Scheuer]

 

For a little Boxing Day treat, we go back across the pond for a bit with a tandem of jerseys from MLS expansion club Los Angeles FC. When LAFC unveiled their branding, I became a huge fan of their look. They have a modern brand that is still pretty rooted in influences of the city's history with the art deco style and nods to the LA Aztecs. LAFC still hasn't released what their kits will be, but I wanted to get a head start on that. I set out to to create kits that, like the crest, are modern but rooted in a simplistic, art deco inspired look.

 

 

For the home kit, I picked a two tone charcoal and black design for the shirts, and rounded it out with classic white shorts and black and gold socks. For the away kit, I chose a crisp white and gold kit with wing designs on the sleeves, along with contrasting charcoal shorts and white and gold socks. Both designs are elegant, simplistic, and highly recognizable. They are flashy without being too over the top, something which I think would highly benefit the club. These kits will set them apart across the country and the in the LA market.

 

Again, all C&C and feedback is very much welcomed, including club suggestions for future designs. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season!

[bucknut42]

Amazing job on the LAFC kits. IMO, those colors aren't a lot to work with, but you pulled them off amazingly. I especially love the wing pattern on the white kit, absolutely superb. I'd love to see what you can do with Orlando United.

[JosiahWVU]

Very nice. I would switch the shorts. I think LA would be a good all black team. Love the wing pattern.

[Scheuer]

3 hours ago, bucknut42 said:

Amazing job on the LAFC kits. IMO, those colors aren't a lot to work with, but you pulled them off amazingly. I especially love the wing pattern on the white kit, absolutely superb. I'd love to see what you can do with Orlando United.

 

Thanks a ton, I'll have to add Orlando to my design list. They are definitely a club that needs something different.

 

2 hours ago, JosiahWVU said:

Very nice. I would switch the shorts. I think LA would be a good all black team. Love the wing pattern.

 

Thanks, I think you could be on to something there. Black shorts with maybe the wing pattern on the socks would look pretty cool.

 

[Scheuer]

 

I've always loved Germany's green away kits. I've always thought that they're really unique and steeped in tradition. Sometimes the away kit is the kit left up to experimentation, but usually Germany's stay relatively the same. Adidas has messed with the green kit lately, ditching it altogether the past few cycles only to bring it back in a mutilated form for the Euros. I set out to make a classic Germany green away kit, but update it a bit. Think of giving it the Philadelphia Eagles' 2000 black and green rebrand treatment.

 

 

The biggest changes I made related to the coloring. Instead of the traditional kelley green and white color scheme, I went with a dark green and black. The darkened colors are aimed to give it a more menacing and dynamic look. Lastly, a gradient striping can be seen on the sleeves and socks.

 

C&C much appreciated as always. Next, I'll be doing English Championship side Derby County.

[Digby]

LOVE the LAFC look. Been tough for me to imagine a good away kit for them but yours is really well-executed. I like Germany as well, but I find the overall effect too dark even though that's what you were going for. A lighter, more traditional Germany green would suit it well I think.

[Scheuer]

On 12/27/2016 at 1:20 PM, Digby said:

LOVE the LAFC look. Been tough for me to imagine a good away kit for them but yours is really well-executed. I like Germany as well, but I find the overall effect too dark even though that's what you were going for. A lighter, more traditional Germany green would suit it well I think.

Thanks for the feedback, I kinda agree with you with the shading on the Germany kit. Maybe something in between the two greens.

[Scheuer]

 

Derby County is one of those iconic English clubs that seem like they have been around for forever. Likewise, they have a classic look, with their white and black ram crest and kits. There is not much that needs to be changed with each new design when a club has such a traditional look. However, traditional kits don't need to look boring. I wanted to make a few small modifications to the kit to bring an extra flair and unique look.

 

 

I turned to the club centennial colors for my inspiration. Back in the 1800s, the club wore a kit with sky blue, peach, and brown before switching to the black and white of today. During the club centennial, the club brought back the colors as accents to the white jersey. I liked the idea, but thought the execution was a bit haphazard. I set out to use these colors more effectively throughout the kit. I made a stripe design out of the centennial colors and used as trim throughout the kit, most noticeably on the bottom of the jersey and as trim on the socks. Besides this one touch, the kit is essentially unchanged. It is Derby County, less is more.

 

All C&C and design suggestions are much appreciated!

[Scheuer]

 

I've taken a bit of a break to build up some creativity. Before I come back, here's a kit from the archives, a FC Augsburg concept. Augsburg came onto the German football scene a few years ago after years in the lower leagues. They have had a huge amount of success for being such a small club, earning top finishes and Europa League births. Something about their brand and colors have always interested me for some reason. Nike has always made some really good kits for them, and I wanted to add something to their kit pantheon. 

 

 

I based a lot of the kit off of the thistle on the club crest. A dark green crosshatching is featured on much of the kit, most notably on the kit and the tops of the socks. The kit is pretty simplistic, mostly using white and green. The kit is the right mix of clean and dynamic.

 

Any C&C and team suggestions is welcomed!

[Scheuer]

 

I've gotten some requests to redesign the US National Team. The US is probably one of the hardest teams to design for out there. When redesigning US kits, you run into a couple of problems. The US' color scheme is fairly common across the world of football, and even when they to design a traditional kit, they just end up looking like England or any other team that wears white and blue. As a result, they try over and over to land on an iconic design to set themselves apart from other teams. There are so many different elements and designs that have been used throughout the years. They've tried traditional, modern, and everything in between. Sashes, hoops, plain, everything. They can't even seem to settle on the colors very much. I mean just take a look at the uniform history for yourself. The only thing vaguely maintained has been the white home kit. I've designed at least four or five different iterations of the US kits over the years, and I've suffered under much of the same curse of waffling between different design elements and looks.

 

There have only been a few kits in the US' history that have made my jaw drop. They are the crisp, iconic Centennial kits, and the infamous Bomb Pop kit. I initially hated the Bomb Pop, but it grew on me and a lot of the fans. It was designed really well, as it displayed national colors prominently and smartly. In addition, it had a lot of personality and was something that separated the US from the crowd. I set out to design a secondary kit that updated the bomb pop and would provide a good contrast to the traditional white home kit. Here is what I came up with.

 

 

 

The first change I made was updating the colors. With the new federation rebrand, the colors darkened a bit from what was on the bomb pop. The new colors give it way more dynamic look than the original kit, which I love. For the jersey design, I took a lot of inspiration from Sweden's change kit they used for the Euros. The different colored stripes fading into the all red bottom of the uniform gives it a different flair from the original kit while still staying true to spirit of the original design. With this design, the US has a design that they can build upon for years to come that is uniquely American.

 

Any C&C and team suggestions, is, as always, more than welcome.

[ahowe6464]

USA looks great.

 

On what @Digby said about Germany. I looks to dark, but I feel that that might be because of the background color. Could we see it with a lighter background?

[Scheuer]

42 minutes ago, ahowe6464 said:

USA looks great.

 

On what @Digby said about Germany. I looks to dark, but I feel that that might be because of the background color. Could we see it with a lighter background?

Thanks! I'll check out the Germany background and update that soon. I think you might be on to something there. 

[Digby]

I really dig the USA! Only change off the top of my head would be moving the number lower, or a smaller navy-colored one -- despite the outline it's tough on a white background. But I tend to like it when the USA gets a little wacky with its kits, especially on the away kit. Too bad Nike's recent ruthless templatization would prevent that.

[Scheuer]

16 hours ago, Digby said:

I really dig the USA! Only change off the top of my head would be moving the number lower, or a smaller navy-colored one -- despite the outline it's tough on a white background. But I tend to like it when the USA gets a little wacky with its kits, especially on the away kit. Too bad Nike's recent ruthless templatization would prevent that.

I was playing around a bit with the numbers and adding a box of blue around them like on rugby kits or moving them into the red, but they didn't really work. I'll try out some other ideas I had, but thanks a ton for the feedback! I just wish Nike got wacky in a consistent way.

[Scheuer]

 

To get a new design challenge, I want to try to focus more on redesigning Latin American clubs for a little while. I'm starting off with Xolos de Tijuana. Xolos are Tijuana's Liga MX team, a league that in my opinion is criminally underrated. Xolos has a unique club identity, branding themselves as a club without borders. Tijuana has gotten a reputation as a home for US players, as they have some of the most Americans on any team in the league. They draw fans from both sides of the border, creating an open and accepting multicultural club identity. This can be seen in the Aztec and Southwestern art motifs that are implemented on their kits. I wanted to give another take on implementing these art motifs while keeping the kit traditional Xolos. 

 

 

I wanted to emphasize Tijuana's shared art motifs with Northern Mexico and the American Southwest. A red sublimated Southwestern striping design fills the jersey, with a sublimated black stripe in the middle of the jersey. The same striping pattern is featured on the socks. The rest of the jersey is simple and traditional, with black shorts and sock tops, and white accents throughout the kit. Tijuana's look is unique and flashy without being too over the top.

 

All C&C is welcomed and appreciated. Any team suggestions, especially for Latin American teams, is more than welcomed!