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WNBA Uniform Concepts - Freezin' Finale (with Stinging Updates)


edjb93

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Hey what's up, everyone! I'm back with another series. Last time, you saw me posting NBA uniform (and logo for some teams) concepts. This time, I'm going to tackle uniform concepts from the world's premier women's basketball league, the WNBA.

 

It took a long time before I created this series, due to so many reasons: difficulty in conceptualization, external drive problems, etc. But, here we are, finally.

 

I liked the route that the league and Nike went to, which is, having unique designs for the teams and not resorting to a single templated design. I'll follow that suit in this series. And just like in the NBA, these uniforms are categorized into heroine (white), explorer (dark), and rebel (alternate). But I added another edition, and it's called the storyteller, which is equivalent to the NBA's city uniforms, plus the name itself has a deeper meaning, in which the WNBA establishes new chapters per game. That statement was the best Nike-esque expression I could ever write. Not only that, these four editions form the abbreviation H-E-R-S.

 

Similar to my NBA concepts, league logo on the jersey is in the front (with the colors varying per team) and the NOB goes back to its traditional position (arched and on top of the back number). And the best thing here? No sponsors! Well, the teams can add them if they want to.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic: Connecticut | MiamiNew York | OrlandoWashington

Central: Atlanta | Charlotte (v.2) | Chicago | Cleveland (v.2) | Detroit | Indiana

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Midwest: Dallas (v.2) | Houston | Minnesota | San Antonio | Tulsa (v.2) | Utah

Pacific: Las Vegas | Los AngelesPhoenix | PortlandSacramento | Seattle

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INDIANA FEVER

 

While I liked the heroine and explorer uniforms, I feel like they miss something that adds to the fever: the script. Thus, the outcome is a tweaked version of the current ones, with the 'Fever' script being front and center once again.

 

You may ask, "if you brought back the script, then what happened to the arched Indiana script?" The answer lies on my rebel uniform concept. It's a tribute to the Pacers' yellow alternate uniform that Reggie Miller wore in the latter part of his career.

 

Finally, I know that the Stranger Things uniform got a lot of hype, which is a good thing, given that more teams (including the NBA, on that matter) should incorporate recent pop culture onto their uniforms. But in this series, I went way, way back...to the 70's. And since the Pacers have incorporated racing themes on their uniforms, I think it should be fair to have the Fever pay tribute to 'The Greatest Spectacle of Racing', the Indy 500. In particular, my storyteller uniform pays tribute to one of the pioneers of women empowerment in motorsports, Janet Guthrie. Yes, the sponsor of her most notable Indy 500 cars is based from Texas, but I think those paint schemes are the first thing to come to mind whenever her name is mentioned. I retro-fitted a particular Texaco-sponsored livery to a basketball uniform, with a green 'F' written on the star instead of the 'T'.

 

 

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Edited by edjb93
Front number on the storyteller uniform no longer touches the logo
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37 minutes ago, Will94 said:

any concepts 4 the comets,monarchs,and sol?

 

I would love to expand the current lineup of teams to include the defunct ones, especially the first 4-time WNBA champs (Houston Comets), so that my series would have 23 to 24 teams, but for now, I'm concentrating on the current 12.

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3 minutes ago, edjb93 said:

 

I would love to expand the current lineup of teams to include the defunct ones, especially the first 4-time WNBA champs (Houston Comets), so that my series would have 23 to 24 teams, but for now, I'm concentrating on the current 12.

 

 

i always wondered  to see the defunct teams in Nike's wnba template. but  those fever uniforms is the business i wished you can also do it in the pacers  flo jo version

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LOS ANGELES SPARKS

 

Being one of the league's original teams, the Sparks truly deserve something special. Though my heroine and explorer uniforms look like what they wear now, I made a change to the side panel design, so that it resembles a palm tree leaf. Also included in the changes is the outline for the wordmark (both editions say 'Sparks') and the numbers.

 

I initially thought of a different design for the rebel uniform, which is based from SB Nation's concept, but I instead went with the same design as the previous two uniforms and added teal as an accent. The city name script transfers from the explorer to the rebel, and also gains an outline.

 

Like my city uniform for the Lakers, the storyteller uniform also features black, gold, and anthracite, and pays tribute to Hollywood as well. but this time, it's a general tribute to the film industry. The Lakers have stars, the Sparks have film strips and, of course, sparks. As a final touch, the uniform wordmark used here is the world-famous Hollywood sign, with the number font following suit.

 

 

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  • edjb93 changed the title to WNBA Uniform Concepts - Los Angeles...Palm Trees?

The palm frond shape is a good idea for LA; I think they might be improved if one side (probably the front) wasn't outlined, to make a slightly asymmetrical effect.  Not sure how I feel about all the wordmark outlines, though; I think the IRL un-outlined versions look better.

The black alternate looks good!

 

Indiana looks great! Nothing to complain about... I just really like the return of the Fever script. And that race-car alternate is so fun; really well done!

 

Good work!

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LAS VEGAS ACES

 

I absolutely love the uniforms for the Aces. All the three editions are a chef's kiss. I wonder if the folks at Nike took inspiration from a concept by @JimmyN64 from 2018. Nevertheless, my version is a merger between all the designs I mentioned. Both the heroine and the explorer tops get the (sorta) full diamond treatment on the sides, while adding gold to the updated collar shape. The 'Las Vegas' script on the explorer jersey is now straightened out to fully complement the one in the heroine. Save for some changes such as the garter striping and the logo on one side of the shorts, I retained the current rebel uniform.

 

Things get more interesting in the storyteller uniform, because it's a play on one of Las Vegas' nicknames, the 'City of Lights', which is the script being used here. The main design was inspired from the baseline design of the court used from the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. On the background, it's a sublimated gradient pattern featuring a 4-point star that looks like a diamond and the star from the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.

 

 

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  • edjb93 changed the title to WNBA Uniform Concepts - Viva Las Vegas

NEW YORK LIBERTY

 

Compared to their current versions, I toned down my concept heroine and explorer uniforms for the Liberty, eliminating the crown design on the shorts, to give 'em a traditional vibe but with a modern touch (due to the colors), since they're one of the inaugural teams of WNBA. I could not find a copy of the actual jersey wordmarks and the number font, so I borrowed the team wordmark from the mothership and edited it to be similar to the uniform scripts.

 

For the rebel uniform, I retained the 'Equality' moniker but I eliminated all the vertical striping on the entire uniform in favor of the flames from the shorts.

 

The storyteller uniform pays tribute to both New York City (this explains the blue and orange, as well as the wordmark and number font) and Brooklyn (taken from the Nets' 2017-18 city uniform).

 

 

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Edited by edjb93
Added inner copper outline on wordmark and script on heroine and explorer uniforms; updated number font on storyteller uniform
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  • edjb93 changed the title to WNBA Uniform Concepts - LIBERTY!
17 minutes ago, Bomba Tomba said:

Are the side stripes on the blue one also a Twin Towers tribute?

 

Oh sorry, I did not elaborate it much, but it's not actually a tribute to the WTC Twin Towers. The side panels feature the gaps from each tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. Like I mentioned, this has the same idea as the Nets' 2017-2018 city uniforms.

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SEATTLE STORM

 

When the Storm's uniforms were unveiled, I had mixed reactions. On one hand, the Space Needle-shaped side panels are a great touch. On the other, the shoulder yoke ruined the look. That's why for my heroine and explorer options, I removed the yoke.

 

The rebel uniform is heavily inspired by the early era of Adidas uniforms for the league, especially the stylized cyclone shapes on the side. Also, even if the current identity looks clean to me, this doesn't compare to the previous logo, regardless of the color combo. Thus, I used the script and the number font (not that exact) from that era to complete the look.

 

I initially planned for a stormy look for the storyteller look: a dark gray gradient with a touch of bolt green. Eventually, I shelved that idea out, since I think it will garner a negative reaction. My second idea is that I wanted a red uniform for the Storm, since the color has been integral since the beginning. Heck, even the team's mascot, Doppler, is still red. And I also would like to mix red with something that Seattle basketball fans long for (I do too): THE SONICS. I chose the Sonics' most recent uniform as the main design template, with 'Cascadia' written at the front, representing Pacific Northwest (Cascadia is the region's other term). Accordingly, the logos on this particular edition are recolored as well.

 

 

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  • edjb93 changed the title to WNBA Uniform Concepts - Tweaking the Storm

Interestingly, I think removing the shoulder yokes from the new Storm uniforms is an upgrade on the green jersey but not the white one... Maybe it's because I just like less yellow in the color balancing?

I think the two alternate sets are solid ideas, though I think they ought to switch base colors! A red version of that Storm fauxback would be an interesting Reverse-Retro-type deal, while the yellow would better with that Sonics template. As a local, I love that Cascadia shoutout, and I could image that green Sonics hoop with blue & white outlines on a yellow base looking pretty nice :)

 

Blindsay already covered it with that GIF, but the Aces look great! The addition of gold trim on the collar is a small thing that goes a long way. My suggestion would be to have the black collar trim go "on top of" the side-panel diamonds (i.e. don't let the gold diamond outline touch the hem of the sleeve), and maybe "lifting" the shorts design upward to have side points as well. That City of Lights alt is a nicer execution of the idea that the Las Vegas Lights have tried, so well done. I don't know how that first black alt is different from the real thing, but the real thing is probably my favorite in the IRL league, so...

 

Mixed bag with the Liberty. I appreciate that you switched the trim from copper-heavy to seafoam-heavy on the home & road, but your color change to the script/number outlining on the black jersey has reduced legibility in an unpleasant way... My solution would either be to switch back to copper outlines OR to make one of them solid white and the other solid seafoam, both with no outlines.

The removal of the crown/wings on the shorts feels okay, I think... I could take or leave the seafoam alt's side panel changes, though. The blue Brooklyn Bridge jersey is quite nice, though! I'd be curious to see it with the same font.

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@vtgco, I would like to thank you for your good observations on my concepts so far.

 

The reason I went to a different font for the Liberty storyteller uniform is that I want to mimic the blue uniforms that the team had before. Maybe changing the number font would make a good remedy for it, like what the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Wildcats' football program used before. As far as the heroine and explorer editions are concerned, maybe adding an inner copper outline would make the wordmarks and numbers a bit legible from afar, but I would probably make it not that obvious, so as to not stray into tradition for what's normally the home and away uniforms.

 

Going over with the Aces, yes, I can tweak the side panel treatment on the heroine and explorer options, so that the gold outline doesn't touch the sleeve trim, but I'm using the current styling on NBA's in-game uniforms, where the side panel striping is normally layered above the sleeve trim.

 

I did not mention this on my Storm concept, but I originally planned to have the Sonics design as the rebel uniform. Like my final output, it was supposed to be yellow-heavy, which means the inner arch will also be yellow instead of having a contrasting color like green or white. Not only that, the neon green will play a supporting role on that design.

 

Anyway, thank you for your comments, I truly appreciate 'em.

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CHICAGO SKY

 

When the Sky's uniforms were unveiled, I thought that they would look better if sky blue is emphasized instead of black, since the Sky has been a sky-blue-and-yellow team. While I am a BFBS guy, there are some cases where black is not necessary, and this is one of those cases. Because of that, I relegated black to being an accent color on my heroine and explorer uniforms, putting the emphasis back to sky blue. I could not find the actual number font, so I went with Strasua. I also changed the font of the city name on the explorer edition to somehow jive with the one on the heroine jersey. I retained the fading pinstripes because it looks cool, but since I made the design in Paint, just assume that each pinstripe has the detail.

 

For the rebel uniform, I went with the skyscraper design (inspired by Willis Tower) that graced the team's uniforms during the first years of Adidas in WNBA. And it's in yellow, just the way the Sky's alternate uniform should be.

 

The storyteller uniform features colors, floral designs, and other elements from the marquee of the Chicago Theatre. Originally, I planned to make it a sky blue jersey, but I really wanted a black jersey from the start, so you could imagine this edition as the marquee's appearance at night.

 

 

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Edited by edjb93
Added Willis Tower antennae to rebel jersey side panels
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