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Reds new unis in action


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Simply Beautiful.

fullj.getty-73394602tw009_reds_cubs_jpg_5_38_36_pm.jpg

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

But, in having said that, I will say this:

while, overall, the uniforms are pretty good-looking as a whole, it's certain elements that, to some, just don'e need to be there. First and foremost, for a team called the REDS, why even include the black? Used the right way, yes, I understand it can be a nice accent color, but combining an old-syle "nostalgic" typeface with an element more indicative of "fresh, hop, and modern" is really just a clash. TCR makes a point there: stay on one end or the other. Baseball IS America's pasttime (no matter what the NFL may say about that, along with half of us), and no sport prides itself more on its history and "nostalgic" aura than baseball, which is why the "classic" looks (a la Detroit, NYY, and the Dodgers, even) usually are at the top of people's "best looks" list, so, by that line of reasoning, people who follow that logic will be a bit touvhed off by elements that don't really follow that schematic, i.e. unnecessary black (see the Mets--whose black jerseys I acutally liked when they first came out), the A's and Royals' black jersey experiment (NEITHER of which should have passed go), additions of purple and teal and things like that that may have been "innovative" during the 90's (which really, when you look at it, was just a style renaissance just like the '70s was, as far as uniform design is concerned).

All that said, I think that those uniforms of the Reds look rather nice...it's just the black I'm lost on. (Of course, I still have ever-clear-and-present images of Deion Sanders running around in a Reds uniform that had not a singular ounce of black in them...

(One other thing: numbers outlined in white with a black shadow = triple layer. Not too good a mesh with SINGLE PIPING running through the uniform, IMHO...)

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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Simply Beautiful.

fullj.getty-73394602tw009_reds_cubs_jpg_5_38_36_pm.jpg

(One other thing: numbers outlined in white with a black shadow = triple layer. Not too good a mesh with SINGLE PIPING running through the uniform, IMHO...)

That's only if you make a point to think about how the numbers are sewn on.

As far as you can visually tell, it's a single red number with some black accents sewn around it. If the white outline were say gold, and you could visually see the three layers, I would agree with you.

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fullj.getty-73394602tw009_reds_cubs_jpg_5_38_36_pm.jpg

These new Reds' uniforms are, to me at least, a huge missed opportunity. They came SO close and yet there are a few things that ruin the uniform for me.

First off, they kept black as an accent. If they simply got red of all black they would look 10X better.

The font also bugs me. I get that they're trying to go super old school (seeing as they are the oldest team in baseball) but the font just doesn't work, mostly because they never used that font before. It would be one thing if it was an old design they brought back, but instead it's just faux-retro.

These uniforms need to lose the black (with the exception of the Mr. Red logo) and go with simple block numbers and names. Those two changes would move this uniform from middle-of-the pack to top 5 in the Majors, easy.

On the bright side they did bring back Mr. Red, the way he was meant to be that is.

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I don't get all the hatred for the black. Yes, it shouldn't dominate the scheme, but it certainly doesn't anymore.

What it does do is make the red pop all that much more.

I find red on white by itself to be really quite drab.

You know how everyone agreed the Cardinals uniforms in the Civil Rights game looked really dull and like they had ironed on numbers?

Well, this would have the piping and a better front, but block red numbers with no accent would just be so, so blah.

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I don't mind a touch of black, but I do mind the white outline and black dropshadow. Rather than make the letters "pop", as a black outline would do, it blurs the line and makes them harder to read.

That muddies the look and turns what would be one of the sharpest uniforms in the bigs into a middle-of-the-pack mess.

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I don't get all the hatred for the black. Yes, it shouldn't dominate the scheme, but it certainly doesn't anymore.

What it does do is make the red pop all that much more.

I find red on white by itself to be really quite drab.

You know how everyone agreed the Cardinals uniforms in the Civil Rights game looked really dull and like they had ironed on numbers?

Well, this would have the piping and a better front, but block red numbers with no accent would just be so, so blah.

Agree with you on every point.

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I don't mind a touch of black, but I do mind the white outline and black dropshadow. Rather than make the letters "pop", as a black outline would do, it blurs the line and makes them harder to read.

That muddies the look and turns what would be one of the sharpest uniforms in the bigs into a middle-of-the-pack mess.

Exactly. The font itself is actually quite readable -- nicely proportioned letters with even lines and small but suggestive serifs so that the letters are clearly distinguishable -- but adding a drop shadow effectively adds extra lines to the letters. Letters being nothing more than sets of lines, adding lines to the letters, especially letters that must be read at a great distance, at odd angles, and in motion, is just a bad idea. A single undergraduate fine arts student fresh from an introductory typography course would catch that kind of design screw-up with the letters; how much would it cost MLB's design contractors to involve someone who could help avoid this sort of mistake?

However, I do get my hackles up a bit at all the singling out of the Reds uniforms as a particularly bad example of unreadable lettering. In fact it's not. It's a good typeface for the purpose, and compared to how many teams treat their block letters, the Reds are actually in the upper half of MLB in terms of uniform name readability. Switching from drop shadows to outlines is no panacea in this day and age, what with the proliferation of multiple outlines that effectively blur all 26 letters into indistinguishable rectangles when seen at any distance. Even a simple black outline around the red letters is liable to be a step backwards from these drop shadows; bright with a dark outline tends to muddy the letter shape in favor of defining its outline. So even if the Reds were to ditch the drop shadows, I think the odds are better than 50-50 that anything they would come up with would be worse.

A contrasting color that would be tonally lighter than red, and thus suitable for letter outlining or even drop shadows that don't threaten legibility, would be silver. Appropriate, too, for a team trying to play up old-timeyness, since silver generally has more old-fashionedy connotations than gold.

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Simply Beautiful.

fullj.getty-73394602tw009_reds_cubs_jpg_5_38_36_pm.jpg

(One other thing: numbers outlined in white with a black shadow = triple layer. Not too good a mesh with SINGLE PIPING running through the uniform, IMHO...)

That's only if you make a point to think about how the numbers are sewn on.

As far as you can visually tell, it's a single red number with some black accents sewn around it. If the white outline were say gold, and you could visually see the three layers, I would agree with you.

That would be IF the numbers were sewn on. Apparently Cincinnati is leading the charge of the iron on brigade with their game jerseys.

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I will agree with Icetank's comment that this was a missed opportunity for the Reds' unis. While this is better than the previous set, the crazy font and the drop shadow mar what could have been a spectacular uni.

I would have loved to see a return of what was, in my opinion, the best set ever -- the one they wore from 1967 through 1971:

Johnny-Bench-Tony-Perez-Photofile-Photograph-C10107056.jpeg0527_large.jpg

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I get that they're trying to go super old school (seeing as they are the oldest team in baseball) but the font just doesn't work, mostly because they never used that font before. It would be one thing if it was an old design they brought back, but instead it's just faux-retro.

I'm no expert on fonts, so I won't claim that this is exactly the same one, but they used this on their road jerseys throughout most of the 1930s, and it looks awfully similar...

nl_1938_cincinnati.gif

I think they surely had this road jersey in mind when they designed the new road jerseys and then carried the font over to the back of the home jerseys.

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I will agree with Icetank's comment that this was a missed opportunity for the Reds' unis.

Icectank? :therock:

Er, duh on me!

Unfortunately, these people here insist on giving me work to do, thereby interrupting my concentration on important matters like unis.

Anyway, sorry, IceCAP!

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I'm pleasantly surprised at how the numbers and names look on the back. That photo of Phillips and Dunn made the unis look really sharp, in my opinion.

The only beef I have with the black right now is the black bill on the roads. Totally unnecessary, and a link to the past unis that doesn't need to be there.

The new "Redlegs" font looks better than I expected, but I remember seeing the road jersey and thinking the old block letters looked clearer and better. I guess there's nothing to be done about it--the Reds seem to be using the new font on their publications, merchandise, etc. I kind of like the font, but I always liked the way "CINCINNATI" looked on any of their old sets.

I think it's still a major, major upgrade, speaking as a longtime Reds fan. And, honestly, I always wished the Reds would add some kind of trim to their unis back in the seventies, eighties and nineties. I, too, can't stand the overkill of black in uniforms, especially when it isn't a part of their color scheme (see Royals, KC). I'm kind of glad the Reds didn't use navy for trim (too Indians) or royal blue (too Cubs). The silver somebody mentioned is an interesting idea, but I think one current use of red and silver isn't very effective (Houston Rockets).

Again, I think the Reds' home set is really, really good, but the jury's out for me on the road set. The alternate--I don't really care. I'm one of those that is glad the Cubs got rid of their alts the other day. I think the Reds alt will probably look pretty good, but I just don't get too excited about it.

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I don't get all the hatred for the black. Yes, it shouldn't dominate the scheme, but it certainly doesn't anymore.

It's the drop shadow. Here I thought you'd hate that black seems to be used as an outline on the logo (far as I can tell), but a drop shadow on the lettering/numbering.

I agree with Gothamite--a black outline would have been much better.

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POTD 2013-08-22

On 7/14/2012 at 2:20 AM, tajmccall said:

When it comes to style, ya'll really should listen to Kev.

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