USFL Logo/Helmet Refresh (AZ Wranglers & OAK Invaders Revisions)

[Skycast]

The Birmingham helmet is alright, not bad, not good, however it does say Stallion (singular) when it’s the Birmingham Stallions (plural). That would just get roasted in real life.

[BengalErnst]

2 hours ago, Skycast said:

I will start by saying your work is well done, but I’ll also say (as I pretty much did before) that it seems like you are quickly looking up stuff, and just creating a helmet without give much thought or consideration to the original. Just slapping a helmet concept together. Of course (as a poster above says) the “USFL loyalists” won’t like it because you’ve removed the essence of many of the teams original designs and colors that made them who they are and what set them apart. 

 

I’d say do some other work that isn’t USFL related. Make a fictional league with teams to your liking then we can judge your work on it’s artistic merit instead of how it does (or doesn’t) reflect the USFL.

Or he can design or re-design whatever he chooses to do, and you can make the choice to look at it if you want to.  Some of your suggestions have been very on point and fair, but to tell the guy that he can’t put his own vision of the USFL out there because you have a boner for the league is pretty ridiculous.

[BengalErnst]

2 hours ago, Skycast said:

The Birmingham helmet is alright, not bad, not good, however it does say Stallion (singular) when it’s the Birmingham Stallions (plural). That would just get roasted in real life.

The “s” is behind the face mask a bit. It should probably be moved up a little bit so it can be seen, but it is there 

[Skycast]

2 hours ago, BengalErnst said:

Or he can design or re-design whatever he chooses to do, and you can make the choice to look at it if you want to.  Some of your suggestions have been very on point and fair, but to tell the guy that he can’t put his own vision of the USFL out there because you have a boner for the league is pretty ridiculous.

 

Relax man, you put something like this out on the internet you have to take in all kinds of criticism. Soak in what you want and disregard everything else. By all means put your vision out there, but if you’re gonna call it the USFL expect folks to comment on it and critique it from a point of view of the original USFL teams.

 

It’s far from ridiculous...in fact, you getting a little testy with me here is where it’s getting ridiculous. I’ve given fair critiques all the way through and in my opinion I have not been harsh at all.

[Skycast]

2 hours ago, BengalErnst said:

The “s” is behind the face mask a bit. It should probably be moved up a little bit so it can be seen, but it is there 

 

Yea, I see it now that you’ve pointed it out (kinda, sorta)...it’s not behind the face mask “a bit.” It’s flat out behind the bar of the face mask and very difficult if near impossible to see, so that right there makes it a bad design outright.

[Wildcomet]

4 minutes ago, Skycast said:

 

Yea, I see it now that you’ve pointed it out (kinda, sorta)...it’s not behind the face mask “a bit.” It’s flat out behind the bar of the face mask and very difficult if near impossible to see, so that right there makes it a bad design outright.

 

That's fair, and as I had stated I was aware of it so it was less a mistake and more a problem I just hadn't yet been able to solve. If I get stuck with a design I'll share it despite the issues for feedback to spur ideas or let me know if I need to change directions entirely.  At least in this case people aren't trashing the concept, just critiquing the execution, so I know it's worth it to keep tinkering with this design rather than start over. The issue I struggled with was when I just moved it back or made it smaller to avoid the facemask it looked weird on the helmet in a way that was worse to me than the obscured letter. I guess I'll just need to get more creative with angles/scales to find the sweet spot of where it looks centered and proportional without blocking any letters it looks like.

[Wildcomet]

5 hours ago, Skycast said:

I will start by saying your work is well done, but I’ll also say (as I pretty much did before) that it seems like you are quickly looking up stuff, and just creating a helmet without give much thought or consideration to the original. Just slapping a helmet concept together. Of course (as a poster above says) the “USFL loyalists” won’t like it because you’ve removed the essence of many of the teams original designs and colors that made them who they are and what set them apart. 

 

I’d say do some other work that isn’t USFL related. Make a fictional league with teams to your liking then we can judge your work on it’s artistic merit instead of how it does (or doesn’t) reflect the USFL.

 

Appreciate the positive comment about the work itself; thank you for that. I would contest the idea that I am not informing myself or considering the original helmet designs (I admitted was worse about it when I started this but have made more of an effort since the first Panthers concept was shared), but I will concede that I do not have a great basis to judge what may be considered 'iconic' or otherwise off limits for altering with this league. When I do the research into the logos/helmets all I can really go by is what I read/see and what I think works or doesn't work about the designs.  If you know of a resource that would help with understanding that essence you're talking about I'd be happy to learn (heck, even PM your thoughts on what shouldn't be changed about my on-deck teams if you're so inclined, I'll take what insight I can get). Honestly, part of why I chose this league in particular was I had the impression that the USFL was considered innovative for its time in terms of team branding, and in my head assumed that trend would have continued into the modern day if given the chance so there would be more room for creative license without betraying the essence of the league.

 

I've mainly done fictional leagues/sports in the past on this forum. I specifically wanted to do this in part because modernizing older team identities is a different and in some ways more difficult challenge than just making something out of nothing. I would hope I can get the designs to a place where fans of the teams can appreciate them even if it takes a few tries so I do appreciate the feedback, but I also know modernizing means more than just slapping the original logos/colors on a modern helmet template so I'm working to figure the right balance out.  I do this to learn as much as anything and do appreciate the time being invested in this thread even if it isn't always resulting in praise.

[Wildcomet]

Hello all, time for another team to share. Here's my take on an update for the Jacksonville Bulls!

 

I maintained the basic concept of the logo, a black bull with red/orange stripes in front of a gray circle with a black outline, but gave the bull a more aggressive profile and switched from the window shades looking stripes to the two bolder red/orange stripes along its back and horns and some accents around its leg which is now more prominently shown. I added a subtle J in the bottom right of the circle to help connect it with Jacksonville and fill in the negative space. It also gives the Bull something to be charging towards.

 

I know I know, I changed the helmet color again, but frankly I do not see a reason why Jacksonville and Tampa Bay would both need to have silver/gray helmets with red/black lines & logos on them. Changing to black lets them stand out more as a team- especially against their in-state rivals- and as we've seen with the Jaguars black is a color that the city can embrace for sports teams. Inspired by the original helmet, I adapted it's concept of the logo coming up from behind the helmet by connecting the new logo's orange/red stripes on the back of this helmet with "BULLS" written in gray inside the stripes a la the original, and I kept the original facemask color. I know it's a surface departure but it was also very much inspired by the original design, and I think it gives them a really good look. This is one of the designs I was more happy with being honest, so I hope others like it also.

 

[Wildcomet]

I appreciate the couple of likes I've gotten for the last one, thanks! Today I have the Philadelphia Stars update to share.

 

I personally felt like this logo needed a pretty good facelift, but I did not want to completely abandon what made the team what it was, so I attempted to find a new way to use the elements of the original logo. The inspiration that came to me was to lean a bit more into the space meaning of stars, and I tweaked into what I guess we could call the 'Starfighter Logo'.  I blended the wordmark's A into the top of the star to give it a couple winglets and a cockpit, and a couple lines on the back to create tail wings and an engine. The striped 'shadows' from the original were replaced with different colored outlines radiating out reminiscent of how an aircraft can create visible pressure waves in the air when breaking the sound barrier. Exhaust from the engine was integrated into those outlines. A note on colors, in the original logo I found on this site part of it appears pretty yellow, but on helmet pics I found the helmet and that section of the logo appeared more gold, so I opted with the gold based on that research.

 

The helmet is not changed much at all from the original; same shell and facemask colors and the helmet logo is outlined in white. Aside from the updated logo (which here I lengthened the exhaust lines to give it a 'flightpath' along the helmet) I just used the exhaust portion of the logo to create a small stripe in the center above the facemask.

 

[omnibus]

Best concept on this board in MONTHS...maybe even years.  Well done.

[Wildcomet]

21 hours ago, omnibus said:

Best concept on this board in MONTHS...maybe even years.  Well done.

 

Thank you!! Given the quality of work by many people on this board that means a lot.

[GoCubsGo]

I love these Helmets. There Orginal, But you can still feel the 80’s teams Vibe. Great work, Keep it up.

[Wildcomet]

Thanks for the nice comments, I'm glad Philly's new look was well received! I got a revised version of the Birmingham Stallions helmet to share today. The logo is not changed from the first concept I shared.

 

It took some playing around with the scale on different parts of this, but I think I hit the sweet spot where all the text is visible without it looking off-centered or any other way out of whack. Part of what bugged me before when trying to make is smaller was that the stripe then seemed a little thin, so I took the bottom white & goldenrod portion of the logo under Stallions and incorporated that into the diagonal stripe, and I think it added a lot to it.  I also made the horse a little bigger relative to the Stallions wordmark on the helmet compared to how it is in the logo. Small difference, but it helps it sit right on the helmet to avoid the chinstrap clip. As mentioned in the first version, on the flip side of the helmet the text would be flipped so it would still read 'Stallions' from left-to-right.

 

 

[Wildcomet]

Good evening (at least it is where I am)! I have the next to last new concept for this series to share. Meet the updated Pittsburgh Maulers!

 

My take on this logo is pretty true to the original, but I added some orange and some gray details to the logo on the man and hammer to bring that gray color from the wordmark into the logo itself, and rotated the logo down so the man is leaning into his swing a bit. This just made the logo feel more active to me. Like the man is swinging it, not just posing with it. The helmet is largely in line with the original (same color, facemask and basic logo/center stripe use) so fans of the team should be comfortable with the new look. I did add a couple gray accent marks to the lower jaw area based on those used in the logo. I felt this helped pull the helmet together and give it a more active, aggressive profile.

 

 

After this I just have the San Antonio Gunslingers and a planned revision of the Arizona Wranglers and then I'll be done I think (unless I decide to tweak something on any of the others teams I've done or these last couple new ones). Are there any other teams that anyone would like to see me take on? Let me know!

[The Gambler]

Pittsburgh Maulers

 

This is my Favorite so far. Great colors, Nice update on the logo. 

 

Great Work!

 

 

[BengalErnst]

Yeah this has been entertaining and you’ve done such a great job, I’d like to see you tackle other previous football leagues. 

[LogoFan]

On 7/29/2021 at 8:53 AM, Wildcomet said:

I appreciate the couple of likes I've gotten for the last one, thanks! Today I have the Philadelphia Stars update to share.

 

I personally felt like this logo needed a pretty good facelift, but I did not want to completely abandon what made the team what it was, so I attempted to find a new way to use the elements of the original logo. The inspiration that came to me was to lean a bit more into the space meaning of stars, and I tweaked into what I guess we could call the 'Starfighter Logo'.  I blended the wordmark's A into the top of the star to give it a couple winglets and a cockpit, and a couple lines on the back to create tail wings and an engine. The striped 'shadows' from the original were replaced with different colored outlines radiating out reminiscent of how an aircraft can create visible pressure waves in the air when breaking the sound barrier. Exhaust from the engine was integrated into those outlines. A note on colors, in the original logo I found on this site part of it appears pretty yellow, but on helmet pics I found the helmet and that section of the logo appeared more gold, so I opted with the gold based on that research.

 

The helmet is not changed much at all from the original; same shell and facemask colors and the helmet logo is outlined in white. Aside from the updated logo (which here I lengthened the exhaust lines to give it a 'flightpath' along the helmet) I just used the exhaust portion of the logo to create a small stripe in the center above the facemask.

 

 

First, let me say I've enjoyed your series.  You've presented some interesting takes on USFL updates and I really like your Bulls concept quite a bit!  And just turning the Maulers' logo a bit so it appears he's leaning into the swing...that by itself is an improvement and well done!

I don't mean tobe a jerk when I say this, but I'm seriously not getting the Stars logo.  Is it supposed to be an arrow breaking through the star or maybe a space capsule?  I'm honestly not sure what I'm looking at, which sounds harsh and maybe it's just me, but I like the direction you've taken it and just feel like come clarity might help. 

[Wildcomet]

2 hours ago, LogoFan said:

 

First, let me say I've enjoyed your series.  You've presented some interesting takes on USFL updates and I really like your Bulls concept quite a bit!  And just turning the Maulers' logo a bit so it appears he's leaning into the swing...that by itself is an improvement and well done!

I don't mean tobe a jerk when I say this, but I'm seriously not getting the Stars logo.  Is it supposed to be an arrow breaking through the star or maybe a space capsule?  I'm honestly not sure what I'm looking at, which sounds harsh and maybe it's just me, but I like the direction you've taken it and just feel like come clarity might help. 

 

No worries,  I don't mind and I appreciate the compliments on the other work. The idea was that it was meant to be like a fighter jet/spacecraft in the shape of a star. The point with the gold & orange windows on it is the cockpit, the other four points make up main wings and tail wings, with the rocket exhaust coming out the back. When I was researching ideas for I saw some different references to things called Starfighter (movies, an Air Force jet, etc) and decided to take the "Starfighter" idea in a very literal direction. I couldn't change the shape much or make it too detailed without losing the overall appearance of the Star however, so I tried to keep it pretty basic.

[Wildcomet]

We're back, and it's time for the last new concept I have planned to share, a touched up version of the San Antonio Gunslingers!

 

I felt like San Antonio would be the sort of city that would appreciate maintaining the general feel of this identity even if it nowadays would look a little old fashioned, so no big changes here. I thickened some lines and added some shadows here and there, but mainly I just gave the poor guy a bit of muscle mass. I removed black to bring it down to 4 colors from 5, as I just didn't see that many colors being needed and black didn't appear to be an important color to their uniforms from what I saw in researching.

 

The helmet is pretty close to the original; I kept the green shell and white facemask, but I took the Gunslinger out of the roundel for the helmet and made him a little bigger (the legs being cut off at the ear hole is actually intentional, I thought it would look like he's standing up from behind the hole about to take his shot, like he'd used it for cover). I modified the center stripe to match the pattern of the Gunslinger's belt on both sides.

 

[jbird669]

I like the Gunslinger helmet, but I think you should cut the logo out at the man's waist. Looks kinda goofy, IMO, the way you have it. Then again, the USFL was a bit off, so maybe it fits!!