iamdaviinci's NBA Concepts - LAKERS CITY EDITION added 9/25

[iamdaviinci]

Starting a single thread for all of my NBA concepts moving forward. Just finished the project shared below and don't currently have anything else in the works, but will update the thread to add each new project as it's completed. Always open to discussing suggestions, so please feel free to post them in the replies here or send a message.

 

Genuinely interested in any and all feedback on these designs, especially constructive criticisms. Like to know why folks think certain ideas and/or elements do or don't "work." Extremely self-critical throughout the creative process, so please do not hesitate to challenge anything or everything.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

First up is a Statement Edition concept for the Phoenix Suns. Their new Association/Icon Editions have a few aggravating design flaws, but still look pretty decent from a high level. This concept attempts to reconcile some of the issues with composition, while also introducing a bold color palette and "total solar eclipse" theme. The second image illustrates the reflective properties of the silver within the chest graphic, and the hidden contents contain additional images of the details. (Side note: KD should've worn #7 for the Suns.)

 

PHOENIX SUNS x JORDAN BRAND Statement Edition Concept

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Tore]

This is an absolutely phenomenal concept that takes some cues from the extremely popular Suns 20/21 city edition and reshapes it to fit the more traditional Suns mold yet feeling refreshed and modern. 
The black base contrasts extremely well with the orange/yellow wordmark and numeral, of course. An interesting point is the dual toned purple shades, which reminds me a bit of what the Rockets did with their earned editions from 18/19. It is a bit curious that we havent seen more uniforms with the use of dual toned colour - anyway, the silver rays which works as reflector is quite the suprise and a pleasant one at that!

Did you consider making the NOB reflective? - I do think reflector names would be twice the fun, really!

Both the jersey and shorts is very well balanced and its great to the implementation of yellow in a Suns concept as it is usually the colour thats left out. 
The angled wordmark and numeral is a great throwback to the fan favourite 90s Suns, and the modern Suns wordmark and this new numeral pairs better than the actual numerals they use too!

I can easily envision the players wearing this concept uniform that you have created; it is authentic, original and it is an extremely well thought out concept. 
I do wonder what it would look like in orange, but then the Total Solar Eclipse theme would void, besides that I do not have any critical thing to say as I have never seen a Suns concept as well executed like this. 

[iamdaviinci]

Appreciate the kind words mate! I'm very into tonal color palettes right now -- I tried it (albeit unsuccessfully) for your Celtics, but now I'm on to a different team about which you're probably a bit less excited  

 

As for applying reflective properties to the NOB, I actually considered it for every silver application (Jumpman logos, sponsorship patch, laundry tag slogan, belt buckle logo, NOB). I'm not sure it could realistically be done well across so many different materials, so I left it at just the most essential element (chest graphic).

 

You make a fair point re: an orange version....I hadn't considered that! I think it would lose a bit of its boldness when translated to white and purple Association and Icon Editions, respectively, but perhaps an orange Earned Edition could work.

[iamdaviinci]

Next up is a City Edition concept for the Los Angeles Lakers. After completing the above Suns Statement Edition concept, I wanted to further explore tonal color palettes. Some of the promotional graphics for HBO's now-cancelled series "Winning Time" got me thinking about how the Lakers have never worn a uniform in the primary shade of purple (#9063CD, per TruColor) their logo used from 1976 through 1999. This lavender-esque color pairs well with both their traditional gold (#FCC72C, per TruColor) and their brand new shade of darker purple (#330072, per TruColor).

 

With that color palette in mind, I wanted the design to focus on the several successful eras of Lakers basketball under the Buss family. The base color establishes a captivating-yet-vintage feel as a nod to the Showtime era....the neck/shoulder/side taping and paneling are derived from the Shaq/Kobe era as well as the Kobe/Pau era....the wordmarks and numbers are primarily pulled from the current LeBron/AD era....and the belt buckle logo is evocative of the franchise's iconic championship banners. I wanted to include a subtle tonal pattern within the side paneling - I worked with stars, disco ball tiling, palm leaves, etc. - but ultimately scrapped it because nothing looked or felt quite right for the Lakers.

 

Once again, the hidden contents contain additional images of the details.

 

LOS ANGELES LAKERS x NIKE City Edition Concept

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CLEstones]

Anyone got this template in PSD?

[iamdaviinci]

2 hours ago, CLEstones said:

Anyone got this template in PSD?

 

It's a custom template, but that's being generous. It's actually four separate files in AI (jersey front, jersey back, shorts front, shorts back), each with several dozen layers. Once finished, those four files get converted and dropped into a fifth file in PS to produce the final presentation and clip the detail images. It's a terribly inefficient process, and I've always wanted to provide a single, polished template file, but realistically I don't think I'll get around to it any time soon.

[CLEstones]

On 9/25/2023 at 1:11 PM, iamdaviinci said:

 

It's a custom template, but that's being generous. It's actually four separate files in AI (jersey front, jersey back, shorts front, shorts back), each with several dozen layers. Once finished, those four files get converted and dropped into a fifth file in PS to produce the final presentation and clip the detail images. It's a terribly inefficient process, and I've always wanted to provide a single, polished template file, but realistically I don't think I'll get around to it any time soon.

 

Bummer.  Thanks anyway.

 

Does anyone have a decent/easy .PSD template for hoops unis?  Thanks.