AAF x NFL (AAF as the NFL's farm system concepts)

[Silence of the Rams]

3 hours ago, JH42XCC said:

AFC West

• DEN: Salt Lake Stallions -- Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, UT)
• KC: Omaha Spirits -- TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
• LV: Reno Bandits -- Mackay Stadium
• LAC: San Diego Fleet -- SDCCU Stadium

 

 

3 hours ago, JH42XCC said:

NFC West

• ARZ: Arizona Hotshots (relocated to Tucson) -- Arizona Stadium
• LAR: Bakersfield Bighorns -- Memorial Stadium
• SF: Sacramento Surge -- Hornet Stadium
• SEA: Portland Osprey -- Providence Park

 

Two big issues with this. Vegas's affiliate would not be Reno as they have territorial rights with San Francisco. Also Sacramento while it does have some connections with the 9ers really has no interest

[mattr1198]

9 hours ago, JH42XCC said:

Laying out what the rest of the AAF could look like:

 

• AFC North
  • BAL: Annapolis Crows -- Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • CIN: Louisville Legends (relocated from Atlanta) -- Cardinal Stadium
  • CLE: Columbus Bulldogs -- MAPFRE Stadium
  • PIT: West Virginia Coal Miners -- Milan Puskar Stadium (Morgantown, WV)
• AFC South
  • HOU: Austin, TX -- Austin FC Stadium
  • IND: Muncie Flyers -- Scheumann Stadium
  • JAX: South Georgia Leopards -- Allen E. Paulson Stadium (Statesboro, GA)
  • TEN: Memphis Express -- Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
• AFC West
  • DEN: Salt Lake Stallions -- Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, UT)
  • KC: Omaha Spirits -- TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
  • LV: Reno Bandits -- Mackay Stadium
  • LAC: San Diego Fleet -- SDCCU Stadium
• NFC East
  • DAL: San Antonio Commanders -- Alamodome
  • NYG: Hudson Valley Bruisers -- Michie Stadium (West Point, NY)
  • PHI: Delaware Vultures -- Delaware Stadium (Newark, DE)
  • WSH: Norfolk Renegades -- Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium
• NFC North
  • CHI: Illinois Grizzlies -- Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL)
  • DET: Toledo Cougars -- Glass Bowl Stadium
  • GB: Wisconsin Wolfpack -- Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)
  • MIN: Fargo Norsemen -- Fargodome
• NFC South
  • ATL: Birmingham Iron -- New Stadium at BJCC
  • CAR: Raleigh-Durham Bobcats -- Wallace Wade Stadium (Durham, NC)
  • NO: Shreveport Steamers -- Independence Stadium
  • TB: Tallahassee Pirates -- Bragg Memorial Stadium
• NFC West
  • ARZ: Arizona Hotshots (relocated to Tucson) -- Arizona Stadium
  • LAR: Bakersfield Bighorns -- Memorial Stadium
  • SF: Sacramento Surge -- Hornet Stadium
  • SEA: Portland Osprey -- Providence Park

 

For some of these teams it's like you read my mind, but they will be a little different in both name and location.

[mattr1198]

As promised, here are the AFC North affiliates:

 

Chesapeake Crabs (Baltimore Ravens): Staying close to home are the crabs, named for the Maryland bay's long fishing history and the crustacean that occupies the bay itself. I felt doing any names related to either Ravens or Edgar Allen Poe would be a bit off and unnatural. Navy Stadium seems like the only natural location for this team in Annapolis in spite of its large size.

 

Louisville Junglefowl (Cincinnati Bengals): Decided to get a bit more unique/fun here. This team is also the first to cross state lines, as they are located an hour and half south in Kentucky, where there is a large farming population with a lot of chickens, hence the name (jungle added to make it more fierce and generate an association with the Bengal tiger as both are located in the same regions of the world). As Louisville's stadium is too big for an AAF affiliate, they will play in the soon-to-open 14k seat stadium in neighboring Butchertown.

 

Columbus Bulldogs (Cleveland Browns): A seemingly obvious name for a seemingly obvious city, as Columbus is the largest in Ohio. The logo is primarily an adjusted version of the Dawg Pound logo used by the parent organization and Mapfre Stadium is an obvious choice as OSU's stadium is far too large.

 

Erie Bluecollars (Pittsburgh Steelers): Honoring West Pennsylvania's working heritage and the parent organization's name, the Bluecollars fits the city of Erie perfectly and the logo is familiar (if you're a Steelers fan that is ) but still fierce. Veterans Stadium has undergone renovations and its size is definitely suitable for an AAF team now.

 

Again, comments are welcomed and I'll be working on the AFC South next.

[mattr1198]

Well guys, the AAF is officially dead...however that does not mean that this series is over! I will be continuing on without the AAF league name involved and act as if it were an NFL acquisition.

[neo_prankster]

On 3/31/2019 at 10:58 PM, Silence of the Rams said:

 

Two big issues with this. Vegas's affiliate would not be Reno as they have territorial rights with San Francisco. Also Sacramento while it does have some connections with the 9ers really has no interest

 

Oh yeah, and Fleet fans would've disapproved of their team being affiliated with the very NFL club that moved away.

[Silence of the Rams]

1 hour ago, neo_prankster said:

 

Oh yeah, and Fleet fans would've disapproved of their team being affiliated with the very NFL club that moved away.

I meant in the legal sense

[MilSox]

On 3/31/2019 at 9:49 PM, JH42XCC said:

 

• • GB: Wisconsin Wolfpack -- Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)

 

 

That's also the name I came up with for a hypothetical Packers farm club.

 

But if they play soccer at Miller Park, they can play football. And in Milwaukee, they'd be in a bigger market where they wouldn't have to play second banana to the Badgers.

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, NicDB said:

 

That's also the name I came up with for a hypothetical Packers farm club.

 

But if they play soccer at Miller Park, they can play football. And in Milwaukee, they'd be in a bigger market where they wouldn't have to play second banana to the Badgers.

 

Haven't the Brewers said no to football at Miller Park?

[CaptainKirkMN]

Shoot, I was excited about a possible concept for a team in Morgantown.  Still a nice concept for Erie, although I wish there were maybe some blue in it considering the name.

[MilSox]

52 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

Haven't the Brewers said no to football at Miller Park?

 

Not as far as I know. I recall seeing Miller Park being mentioned as a candidate for a UFL team before that league folded.

[chestnutz]

Hey Matt! Cool project, I would LOVE to see something like this implemented, and it's clear you've put a lot of thought into it.

 

I'm going to go a bit of a different route in my critique than the majority of these comments, and focus on the graphic design portion of your series, as a lot of the replies seem to be focusing on the nitty gritty of your location choices, stadium possibilities, etc. when all I want to look at and talk about is the logos and designs. Forgive my upcoming few-beers-in-at-adult-softball rambling, but I think you have a good eye and great ideas and could benefit from some more in-depth design critiques. I think other posters were right - your designs are too simple, and maybe you didn't spend enough time on them. I encourage you to do so! Then again, maybe I'm way off and the design aspect of this project isn't that important to you...in which case oh well, if there are any other logo designers out there maybe something here will be helpful! I want to show you that "simple" doesn't have to be a bad thing, so I'm going to try and go over some super easy tweaks that could make one of your logos better.

 

Gonna focus on your Hogs idea to get across my points, because it's freaking brilliant, I'm a Toronto fan, and with a couple simple tweaks, I think you could have a great, SIMPLE clean logo. It's almost there. So I hope you don't mind, I'm going to use it to give some easy tips on sports logos, how I would improve the design.

 

First, let's talk concept. It's awesome, but I think you missed out on some big opportunities! I wouldn't recommend changing the colors - the Bills one looks super weird with a red buffalo and blue stripe and so would this - it just looks off, ya know? So keep it the same, it still is clearly recognizable yet distinct in its own right. Second, you have the warthogs tusk all the way up like he's a bison, how can he fight his fellow Canadians?! Looking at reference photos, we should try to mimic the anatomy of the subject. So just an easy fix would be move that tusk down closer to his snout. And when I think of warthog, another thing I think is those crazy rat tails they waving around. Adding a little, one-wave-line on his butt is something that allows the viewer to easily recognize what this abstract thing they're looking at is (and really, that's what many sports logos are), that also helps add some flair and motion - another key component of sport logos. Speaking of motion, just a few degrees tilt upwards can help portray that a bit better. Notice that's why they do it in the Bills logo - buffalo don't actually run like that - they're loafs. So a little tilt up makes the hog look less like he's scurrying away, and more like he's leaping into action (doing what, I don't know, what do warthogs even do?)

 

Okay, a few quick tips on the drawing side to keep in mind for sports logos, that I hope other people can benefit from as well!

 

In general for logos, try to use as few points and as simple shapes as possible. Keep it real clean, using a few clean curves and straight lines - always minimizing. If you look at what makes the Bills logo work well, even though it's one of the simplest in the league, it's the simple geometric shapes. Straight lines, clean curves, no fluff! So all I did was trace over your logo using as few lines and points as possible, try and do that going forward - it can be a good exercise.

 

 

Notice the bottom of his snout to his front leg, or his ear to his snout - before it was a squiggly line that looked too illustrative, now it's one curve, from point A to point B. The logo is entirely straight lines or long curves, making it more abstract, imply motion, and gives him a lil fierce edge. Logos don't need to, and really shouldn't be, realistic. Don't be afraid to get a lil funky with it. And try to keep the points to a minimum!

 

After we get the general shape and motion down, THEN you can go in and add the finer details like the little tufts of hair the bison has, that add that little extra character. All I did was make a couple triangles, then add them to the main shape. The other legs are literally just duplicated - just as they are in the Bills one. Keep it simple, remember!

 

 

Another simple way to make your sports logos look sleeker is by making your lines thicker. I mean real thicc. Again, these aren't illustrations - don't use any small 1 point lines as details on a pirate's collar or dog's snout or anything. Hell, if you want to add a gray outline, just make it thicker! Make it looks like it belongs, with a purpose, not an afterthought. Keep in mind, sports logos are really meant to be seen from far away - whether on a TV screen or in the stands. They need to be bold, without little points or objects or lines.

 

 And when you do have outlines or strokes - keep them consistent! See how the width of the white stroke on the red stripe is the same as the width of the white line between the front and hind legs? Never use more than 2, MAYBE 3 line widths in a logo. It's simple things like that you can do to ensure all your logos look consistent within themselves, cohesive in every part - not just a bunch of parts layered on top of each other.

 

I'm not sure what program you're using, it looks like maybe photoshop or gimp, but I'd DEFINITELY recommend getting Illustrator, Inkscape, or some kind of vector software. That's really the only way to make logos, where you can get those sweet, sweet curves. Just practice with the pen tool every day. Trace logos. Seriously, trace this one, trace a bunch of sports logos, (this site has a few dozen or so around I think). That's how I best learned the pen tool AND the general rules that 95% of good sports logos follow.

 

Anyhoo, I'm sorry for the looong comment, a lot of this is more general and not just directed at you - I just like focusing on the design aspect of these things and I hope some other people starting out could benefit from some feedback like this! 12 years ago I first joined this community and didn't know my way around any program or what made for a good logo. But there were loads of awesome people who helped me improve by giving sometimes harsh, but always helpful criticism and feedback. As a fellow designer, I hate when people comment unconstructive things or don't expand on their criticism a bit. You don't like it / it's too simple / too complicated / the colors don't work? Well why is it that way, and how can I improve it?!  I may have gone a bit overboard on the how you can improve it part 

 

But again, I like your style and what ya got, seriously keep doing this and really take time with each of your concepts. And if you ever want some advice or to chat hit me up!

[mattr1198]

3 hours ago, chestnutz said:

Haha I'm going to be honest with you this concept is beautiful and really well done! I'd still keep the red and white alone because Canada, but totally realized I missed the fact that I should've made the streak come from the tusk. Also thanks so much for all the advice! Super helpful and will definitely be using in the future!

[heavybass]

Ok... I like that Boar concept.

[chestnutz]

7 hours ago, mattr1198 said:

Haha I'm going to be honest with you this concept is beautiful and really well done! I'd still keep the red and white alone because Canada, but totally realized I missed the fact that I should've made the streak come from the tusk. Also thanks so much for all the advice! Super helpful and will definitely be using in the future!

 

Ah yeah totally thought about it being Canada and red! Good call. But yeah keep at it, excited to see the rest of the series!

[Guest darkpiranha]

1 hour ago, chestnutz said:

 

Ah yeah totally thought about it being Canada and red! Good call. But yeah keep at it, excited to see the rest of the series!

Fantastic update and explanation.  I advise you to put as much time into each one of your designs as chestnutz did in tweaking it.  

[mattr1198]

Here are the AFC South Affiliates, with two of the teams being carryovers from the now former AAF:

 

San Antonio Commanders (Houston Texans): Not much change here, just a recoloring to the texans colors. Chose the Commanders for Houston rather than Dallas simply due to San Antonio's proximity to Houston versus Austin (so spoiler alert, Dallas' affiliate will be in Austin).

 

Evansville 500s (Indianapolis Colts): When choosing a city for the Colts affiliate, it was between Evansville and the larger Fort Wayne. However, upon further research, I discovered there is no football stadium suitable in Fort Wayne, and thus chose the Reitz Bowl in Evansville. The name clearly references the famous Indy 500 and the logo is sleek and simple, but also the lines give it the appearance of a tailpipe on a car.

 

Tallahassee Caimans (Jacksonville Jaguars): With Tallahassee being the only large city close enough to Jacksonville, it only made sense for the team to have their affiliate there and also play in the soon-to-be-built Jake Gaither Stadium on Florida A&M's campus, a more intimate environment stadium than FSU's. The logo is two Caiman heads side-by-side forming a T, although as you can tell it's a bit rough, as I'm still debating other logos or even other names if you don't like it.

 

Memphis Express (Tennessee Titans): Not much change here other than the color shift from red and light navy to a darker navy and the Titans' iconic baby blue.

 

Let me know what you think, especially with Tallahassee's name and logo. If you have another good name/logo idea for the team, feel free to share as I work on the AFC West affiliates!

[JH42XCC]

Tallahassee Caimans is a good name for the Jaguars affiliate. However, I'm not sure about the logo. I probably would've made the logo with the caiman head in a similar profile to the Jaguars logo. Though they may end up looking too much like the University of Florida's logo.

 

Also, I wonder where the Buccaneers will have their affiliated team. But that's later in this concept.

 

By the way, can't wait to see what you have in store for the AFC West. Maybe the Chargers place their affiliate in Anaheim/Orange County? It would also be interesting whether or not the Salt Lake Stallions pair up with the Denver Broncos.

[mattr1198]

With more time on my hands now that exams are done, I was able to complete the AFC West (and am in the process of rethinking the Caiman's logo/idea as well)

 

Colorado Springs Stallions (Denver Broncos): I knew as soon as I began the Stallions would be affiliated with the Broncos (with the name and all). However, I decided to relocate the team to the populous Colorado Springs and refreshed the logo (notably the text and horse chest, now a built-in "CS" instead of just an "S") and colors to reflect that. They will also play in the only suitable football venue there, the famous Falcon Stadium of Air Force.

 

St. Louis Guardians (Kansas City Chiefs): While a bit farther in proximity than other teams, St. Louis is the perfect location for a Chiefs affiliate due to the population (from experience living in St. Louis) being fans of the Chiefs with the departure of the Rams and the overall size. The name came from the fact that St. Louis is considered the Gateway to the West and thus it must be guarded. Cheesy, I know, but it suits. The logo features an emblem similar to that of the Chiefs instead reading "STL", under the Gateway Arch. The Dome at America's Center is the only true venue for this team, as there are few venues nearby and this venue needs a tenant.

 

Santa Barbara Surf (LA Chargers): While the San Diego Fleet would look like an obvious choice to be the Chargers affiliate, unfortunately due to the heavy anger with the Chargers' departure, there would be some sentiment towards the team. Thus, instead, I gave them an affiliate up north in Santa Barbara, named after the iconic waves coming in from the pacific. They will play at UCSB's large soccer venue, Harder Stadium, as it is the only suitable football venue in the area and is also perfectly sized.

 

Bakersfield Raiders (Las Vegas Raiders): You may think this is a bland name and logo, but it fits the Raider brand extremely well, as the team is not very lenient with their brand and would likely want to keep their name involved in the affiliate (see many teams in the NBA G-League as examples), especially considering the location and the only city within decent proximity of Las Vegas. Bakersfield is an avid community of Raiders fans and there would not want to be any confusion with the teams since its not located in the same state as Vegas. Memorial Stadium is perfect for the team in terms of location and size. To be honest, with the name association and team support in the LA metro area, this team could attract crowds even closer to the Chargers and Rams.

 

Moving onto the NFC soon with the NFC East and might be delivering a new Caimans logo too, so look back at my AFC South post for any changes! As always, let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.

[JH42XCC]

I say these are great choices for the AFC West AAF affiliations, especially with relocating the Stallions from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs to be closer to their affiliate, the Denver Broncos. Also, Bakersfield as the Las Vegas Raiders affiliate. Now why didn't I think of that before?

 

Can't wait to see what you have in store for the NFC East affiliates. Obviously, the Cowboys affiliate will be in Austin. If I had to guess the other 3, it would be like this:

• NYG: Hartford, CT
• PHI: Hershey, PA
• WSH: Norfolk, VA

 

Also, from the looks of it, these could be the affiliations for a few of the remaining teams:

• CAR: Raleigh-Durham, NC
• CHI: Quad Cities
• GB: Whitewater, WI
• LAR: Orange County, CA
• SF: San Jose, CA
• TB: Daytona Beach, FL

 

[Mvdbutler]