BigRed's AFL (24/24 Western Aus. expansion added, series complete!)

[BigRed618]

I knew about Aussie rules and the AFL for some time, but it wasn’t until last summer when I really started getting into it. During those months, my work schedule would require me to rise very early, around 4:30-5am, and the sports channels on TV would sometimes play KBO and AFL games. I came to like watching Aussie rules, and even have a favorite team, Collingwood. And now I decided to start a series of AFL concepts. 
 

I noticed there’s a distinct attitude surrounding the uniforms of the AFL. Though the teams have logos, they do not seem to take center stage in the jersey (or jumper, or guernsey, as I've heard them being called.) Rather, each club uses a distinct pattern and color combo to identify themselves, this pattern is usually established when the team is first founded, and any deviation from that pattern is regarded with strong dislike. In my series I hope to do my best to present decent, attractive, innovative concepts while respecting Australia's sporting culture.

 

ADELAIDE CROWS

 

First thing I did for the Crows is a new logo, something that references their colorful guernseys and something that has less resemblance to the NFL's Baltimore Ravens logo. Widened the hoops on the home jersey so there would be two of each color, and the clash shirt was designed to please those who prefer the Crows in white and those who like the yellow ones they’ve worn.

 

That's about it for my first ever Aussie rules concept. Let me know how I did.

[WLD42]

As a fellow American footy-phile, I'm super excited to see this thread! Even if you did have to choose the Pies as your club... (Although if Maxon Cox is still tearing it up, I can't blame you too much; I haven't been following too closely since 2019, but from a quick Google search it sounds like he's still a solid player.)

 

As far as your Adelaide concept to kick things off, that clash absolutely steals the show. That's a thing of beauty, it would look great on the field and I think would sell a ton to boot. Adelaide's certainly had their ups and downs as far as clash jumpers, but if they introduced yours, I think it would stick around for a long, long time. The minor changes to the home are fine, the Crows have a great-looking jumper so there was no need to reinvent it. I'm more of a uniform guy than a logo guy, so I can't critique your logo too much, but if I had to say anything it'd be that you might have gone a bit too extreme in removing the details; I think I get where you were coming from, because their current logo could probably stand a refresh, and I like the incorporation of the stripes from the jumper, but the overall shape seems a little funky.

 

Looking forward to this!

[BigRed618]

3 hours ago, WLD42 said:

As a fellow American footy-phile, I'm super excited to see this thread! Even if you did have to choose the Pies as your club... (Although if Maxon Cox is still tearing it up, I can't blame you too much; I haven't been following too closely since 2019, but from a quick Google search it sounds like he's still a solid player.)

Glad to see you’re already enjoying it, and to tell the truth, the main reason I picked the Magpies was because FS1 seemed to favor them when deciding what games to televise, and the seemed to do pretty good every time I saw them in action anyway.

 

BRISBANE LIONS

 

 

The Lions have an interesting story, reflected in their uniforms. Formed in 1996 from a merger of two struggling clubs, the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy FC aka the Lions, the Brisbane Lions' whole identity is seen to be a fusion of elements from Fitzroy and the Bears. Though they take the maroon color from the Bears, they will play in a uniform similar to their home colors but with red in place of maroon when playing in a Victorian stadium, to resemble the jumpers they wore as the Fitzroy Lions.

 

Some controversy arose in the late 00s when the Brisbane decided they would get a new logo, along with a revamped lion on their jerseys. The new lion, nicknamed the "paddlepop lion," proved unpopular, and three years later was replaced with the old Fitzroy Lion, where it remains to this day. For my concept, I made an attempt to modernize the lion with a little more restraint, a combination of sorts of the old cat and the new. Here’s a closer look...

 

 

That’s about everything. Let me know what you think.

[BigRed618]

CARLTON BLUES

 

The Blues have a unique look in that they’re one of the few AFL teams that do incorporate their logo into their jumpers. Only changes I’ve made was some fixing of their logo, a revival of a relic from the 1920s. They came up with a new monogram in the late 50s, and started wearing that in the late 90s, but then dropped it in favor of their previous monogram last season. My concept logo maintains the overall shape of the old-school monogram while fixing some things I found annoying, some lettering being out of line, strange serifs that stick out every which way... This pic should explain what I mean...

 

That should do it for these guys. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m doing these teams alphabetically. That means my Pies are up next!

[RichardWitham]

On 2/25/2021 at 8:29 PM, BigRed618 said:

Glad to see you’re already enjoying it, and to tell the truth, the main reason I picked the Magpies was because FS1 seemed to favor them when deciding what games to televise, and the seemed to do pretty good every time I saw them in action anyway.

 

BRISBANE LIONS

 

 

The Lions have an interesting story, reflected in their uniforms. Formed in 1996 from a merger of two struggling clubs, the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy FC aka the Lions, the Brisbane Lions' whole identity is seen to be a fusion of elements from Fitzroy and the Bears. Though they take the maroon color from the Bears, they will play in a uniform similar to their home colors but with red in place of maroon when playing in a Victorian stadium, to resemble the jumpers they wore as the Fitzroy Lions.

 

Some controversy arose in the late 00s when the Brisbane decided they would get a new logo, along with a revamped lion on their jerseys. The new lion, nicknamed the "paddlepop lion," proved unpopular, and three years later was replaced with the old Fitzroy Lion, where it remains to this day. For my concept, I made an attempt to modernize the lion with a little more restraint, a combination of sorts of the old cat and the new. Here’s a closer look...

 

 

That’s about everything. Let me know what you think.

the fitzroy fans would be in an uproar, especially because it HAS to be the fitzroy lion according to the merger agreement. changing it in any way breaks it

[WLD42]

Brisbane looks pretty safe as far as the jumpers; looks like you just put your revised logo on the existing design, but the Lions have never really strayed from that look, so no need to reinvent it. I didn't know about the requirement @RichardWitham mentioned, but for the sake of doing concepts, I mostly like it, especially the mane and the emphasized fur-spikes on the legs. The teeth look a little odd; honestly, I think the original design might have been onto something with only having the one small top tooth and no bottom tooth. Maybe the bottom tooth can work, but either way I think the top one is too big, it almost looks more beaver than lion. I also prefer the shape of the snout on the original. But I think if the face gets those few adjustments, your design is a really good modernization of the original lion, and definitely loads better than the 2010s front-facing logo.

 

I'm not sold on the white Carlton jumper; especially from the nosebleed section (or a wide shot on TV) I don't think that drop-shadow treatment of the monogram would read. I think just making the monogram blue is the way to go, even if it's a safe move. I'd actually be interested to see what you could come up with for a clash jumper that's more than just a plain white one. Your Adelaide clash is so creative, I think I'm just really wanting to see that kind of treatment for some of the other teams whose home jumpers are more or less untouchable!

[BigRed618]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll see what I can do about those last two. 
 

COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES

For my adopted home team, I made a new logo with a more streamlined bird. Ever since the AFL began using clash jumpers, the Pies have for the most part went with something similar to their classic stripes, but more predominantly white. My concept clash is also mainly white, but also incorporates gold, a color currently used only as an accent color for their logo.

 

[BigRed618]

ESSENDON BOMBERS

 

For the Bombers I made a new crest, featuring a more stylized fighter jet ascending upward in line with the club's trademark red sash. I brought back the grey clash jumper, where the jet makes an appearance, with a orangish gradient underneath to suggest movement.

[WLD42]

I really like that Collingwood clash! To my knowledge, I don't think the team has ever tried introducing an additional color, but the gold works well and the skinny stripes make for a good white-based clash jumper. It might work better with white shorts rather than gold, just to keep it more strongly recognizable as the Pies' established color scheme, and maybe some small gold accents on the socks, but the jumper itself is beautiful.

 

The Essendon clash is a really fun idea, too, with the plane in the sash. I'm on the fence about the orange more than I am about the gradient; I think the gradient works fine, but orange feels a little out of place for the Bombers, at least to me. If you really like the gradient, you could try it with black, though that might not look good either, I can't really picture it well enough to say. Maybe have the sash be solid red after all, but with gray lines breaking it up below the plane, if that makes sense?

[BigRed618]

4 hours ago, WLD42 said:

I really like that Collingwood clash! To my knowledge, I don't think the team has ever tried introducing an additional color, but the gold works well and the skinny stripes make for a good white-based clash jumper. It might work better with white shorts rather than gold, just to keep it more strongly recognizable as the Pies' established color scheme, and maybe some small gold accents on the socks, but the jumper itself is beautiful.

 

The Essendon clash is a really fun idea, too, with the plane in the sash. I'm on the fence about the orange more than I am about the gradient; I think the gradient works fine, but orange feels a little out of place for the Bombers, at least to me. If you really like the gradient, you could try it with black, though that might not look good either, I can't really picture it well enough to say. Maybe have the sash be solid red after all, but with gray lines breaking it up below the plane, if that makes sense?

I see what you mean about the Bombers. I just used orange to convey a sense of speed and "heat," but I can understand how that may look out of place. I may try using black fading into red in a future edit.

 

BLUES AND MAGPIES EDIT

I used a solid blue version of my logo this time for Carlton, and brought back the sky blue that they experimented with in 2011-12. The Pies' away was a simple fix, swapping out their gold shorts in favor of white.

 

FREMANTLE DOCKERS

 

This one was tricky. In the beginning Freo had a jumper that was purple, green, red, and had a big white anchor on the front. Seemed outlandish, but apparently it was all supposed to be a reference to the port city, the green and red used to represent port and starboard, respectively. Again, outlandish, but fun, and quintessentially Fremantle.

 

In 2011 the club decided to get a whole new look, with a new logo and new jumpers to boot. To this day, opinions on the new look are night and day. Some like the more professional, timeless tone, with its simplified color scheme of just purple and white, and its triple-vee design on the jumper, a reference to another footy team that played in Freo long ago. Others feel like something was lost when they did away with the anchor and the green/red, that the current look doesn’t have the soul and personality that the old one had.

 

I can understand both sides of the argument, so for my concept, I try to meld together elements from both eras. The chevrons of Old Fremantle stay, but they’re infused with the port/starboard colors, same with the logo. 
 

So yeah, let me know what you think of the idea. Cats are next.

[TrueYankee26]

Love the green and red chevron design

[BigRed618]

GEELONG CATS

 

 

Early on when I was just learning about the AFL, I originally wanted to follow Geelong, purely because they were the first professional team I knew of that used the domestic cat as a mascot. Even now I have some admiration for GFC for their regular tribute to our favorite furry companions. The jumpers I designed were inspired by one of their earliest uniforms from the 1890s, where the hoops would become round towards the top to conform with the shape of the collar.

 

Feedback appreciated. Suns are next.

[BigRed618]

GOLD COAST SUNS

 

Main thing I wanted to do was a new logo. Maybe keep the football shape, but make it look more like a sun, and this was the result.

 

[Johhog]

I think you've had several small dunks in this series (especially Essendon and Geelong) but I don't really think the Gold Coast logo works as intended. It might be because of the football shape of the sun but I think the logo ends up looking a bit distorded.

[WLD42]

The Dockers are fantastic! That's a perfect meld of the club's two eras, and injects some personality back into the classic, but perhaps too conservative, identity they've gone with. I honestly don't have any feedback other than that I love it.

 

I like what you've done with the Cats; it looks modern, even in its throwback inspiration. The only minor, nitpicky thing that sticks out to me is the way that the bottom hoop would have a "point" on the sides where the front and back meet, with that being the only hoop that wraps all the way around; since you've already got each hoop straightening out a bit more as you go down the jumper, maybe that bottom one could just be completely straight. (Or maybe you like it, and "it's a feature, not a bug"!)

 

I mentioned before that I don't have much authority to comment on logo design, and that really is the only thing you changed with Gold Coast, but I will say that I kind of miss the inclusion of "GC" in the logo. No real suggestions on how one might go about working the letters back in, just a comment.

 

I'm continuing to enjoy your concepts and looking forward to the rest! (And since I hadn't mentioned my loyalty earlier, go Saints!)

[BigRed618]

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY GIANTS

For AFL's youngest team, I make an attempt to create a full wordmark based on their G logo, and make that the centerpiece of their jumpers.

 

I am now halfway through the league proper, but since I’ve started I’ve gotten ideas for expansion teams. Inspired by an article I’ve read on the subject, I’ve decided to create six fantasy clubs after I’m through with the real teams. These would be...

- Tasmania

- Northern Territory

- North Queensland (Townsville)

- Mandurah, Western Aus.

- Canberra

- Third team in South Aus.

 

Still working on names, colors, etc. Suggestions welcome.

[WLD42]

I like the full wordmark you created for the Giants, I think it does the team justice! I wouldn't mind seeing the clash incorporate the "Big G" design that they currently use, rather than just a white version of your new home jumper; I do think that it's a strong look for them and worth retaining in some form. Of course I also get that keeping that design unchanged isn't much of a "concept," but I think there's room to use the Big G but make some other creative changes to the jumper design.

 

Really looking forward to those expansion clubs! No suggestions at the moment, but if you're still looking for thoughts later on maybe I'll have some by then. Mostly just interested to see what you come up with, though!

[BigRed618]

Thanks for the feedback again. I have a good idea what I want for the Townsville concept, but the rest I’m still working out.

 

HAWTHORN HAWKS

 

Brown is one of my favorite colors in sports, so I always have respect for those willing to wear it. For the Hawks, I bring back the primary logo they used in the early 00s, my favorite one, and their home stripes have a pinstripe pattern to them, a design they have visited on two occasions in the past. The clash is based on a vee design they wore early in their history, but with a modern twist, utilizing a second shade of brown.

 

That’s about it. Demons are next.

[vtgco]

I know basically nothing about Aussie rules, but what you're doing looks great!

 

I love the new look for Essendon, especially that away! Got a cool '70s vibe to me, and the gradient is handled perfectly (not too loud or too subtle.) The speed lines could work, but I doubt they'd look as good.

Not that it'd necessarily be better, but I'm curious if you tried having the crest in the shape of this old logo?

 

Your Carlton monogram is certainly better than the current one, but I like the small separations the '50s one has. I'd be curious to see a version with that. I like the powder blue jersey a lot better than the white.

 

I think the darker brown feels a bit unnecessary in the overall design of the Hawks' away, and maybe you could use the hawk logo rather than the monogram for the back. Otherwise, the team looks pretty good.

 

For Brisbane, the way you handle the shirts' halves for the back is cool, though maybe the top half should be the maroon half on the white shirt? Totally agree with @WLD42, your lion's face shape feels way more rodent-like than lion-like. It could really stand to have a smaller mouth and a more defined snout. The rest of the body is okay, though.

 

The Suns' face is pretty fun. Put it on a baseball instead of a football and it'd be a good way to revive the Jacksonville Suns.

Fremantle & Geelong are really classy and well-done combinations of eras, no changes necessary!

 

Overall, great work!

[BigRed618]

MELBOURNE DEMONS

What is now known as the AFL started as a regional affair based in the state of Victoria, so over half of the league's teams are based in or around its capital city of Melbourne. Despite this, the Demons are the only club who dares to claim all of Australia's second city for itself. 
 

My concept is fairly conservative, but I wanted to bring back their demon logo in some capacity, and I tried out some vee-shaped pinstripes on the front of the clash.