B-STYLE: New Flava of Phish

[tBBP]

Yep...I know I been gone from up out these parts for a REAL HOT minute (real life kicked in...and right now so is my baby girl inside her momma stomach )...but I ain't never strayed too far from my sketchpad OR my laptop. I've also been pretty much reworking my entire methodology to concept-making, taking myself in deeper and pushing myself even further than I ever thought possible. The result of all that is a new schematic I've simply termed "B-style" (as can and will be seen in this and future concepts of mine). And this one here that I'm about to present is one that I've been sitting on pretty much since the start of this lil' re-do series of mine...and finally got to some type of finishing point on.

For anyone who cares to see the previous entries in this series, the links are below:

Cleveland Browns

Tennessee Titans

Philadelphia Eagles

St. Louis Rams

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks SHOCKERS!

New York Jets

Washington Redskins

Carolina Panthers

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cleveland Browns update

Dallas Cowboys

Buffalo Bills

Baltimore Ravens

And so now here we are...from B'more all the way down to South Florida...the Miami Dolphins.

When I first set out to concoct this thing here, my whole entire aim was to go and try something radically different for the Dolphins. I came up with several different designs, all to varying degrees of wild and...well, different. HOWEVER, in having scanned through, checking out, and studying the works (and ideals, it would seem) of some of the more respected members around here, I pretty much reined myself in a little bit. (Actually...I owe a big-time shout out to the artist formerly known as Tempest for helping me see that sometimes, there is real true beauty in even the simplest forms...'preciate that, cat.)

Anyway...on to this here. What I set out to do was mainly give the Dolphins an entirely new image, from top to bottom. Well...it ain't quite pan out that way. BUT, I did manage, after several tries, to concoct what I believe is a fresher, more streamlined, and, well, for lack of better phrasing, less "Disney-like" appearance, at least in reference to the logo package. The inspiration, as most owuld guess, came from the Dolphin Stadium logo, except I pushed that a little further and, well, the end result came out very, um, Houston Texan-ized. To me, it represents an evolution in the Dolphins' logo design, rather than a total revamp...it still holds the shape and basic image of the existing logo...just, well, cleaner, in my opinion. The other thing I wanted to do was ax the navy and introduce a new color, to sort of accent the aqua and orange, colors that by themselves are "wild" enough that a uniform ain't gotta be too wild in order to stand out, and so I ended up going with a neutral tone...a cool GRAY, because, well, most dolphins do seem to be that color, don't they?

Well anyway...after I finally settled myself on my (as-yet) "final" logo design, I set out to revamp the Dolphins' typography. Out is the old Machine block font and that cartoon script writing, and in is a more "grown-up", sleeker looking typeface and number set.

Check me out below:

After I came up with that, I set out to draft out some uniform designs. I think I managed to go through every extreme from mildly tame to Arena-league wild with this here, BUT, as I said above, aqua and coral are unique enough colors to stand out on their own. And after looking at all my drafts, I pretty much went straight basic with what I consider my "final" design for this concept...for all intents and purposes, it's pretty much similar to what the Dolphins have now, except that the navy is switched out for the porpoise gray, and the striping arrangement is slightly different. You probably won't be able to see the "porpoise gray" very well, but I also intended it that way...as a trim, in the same vein as the Dolphins' navy is now. The "finished" design comes in four sets: one primary home, with aqua top and white pants; one primary away set, with white top and AQUA pants (and Dolphin fans know how much they'd LOVE to see those things again...or ANY kind of aqua on the Dolphins, really ); one secondary away set with white pants (it'd pretty much be inevitable with this team), and a coral-based third/alt design akin to what we saw from the 'Phins a few times between '02 and '06.

Anyway...having said all that, here is my concept design for the Miami Dolphins. Check me out and holla back...

[chestnutz]

Beautiful uniforms, love the simplicity. I don't know, the logo seems off to me. I think it looks too simple and corporate-y for a sports team.

[eRay]

I must kind of disagree about the logo, there is something about it that just doesn't pop off the screen at me, but saying it is too corporate is too easy. I think after having a comic looking 'Phin it would be hard to go to a 'Phin that has no personality at all, just two colored shapes, because that is a huge jump. The fans wouldn't really have anything to hold on to. I think a new team like the Texans can get away with it, but making a transition like this would be tough. I certainly appreciate the simplicity of it, and would welcome it, but in the real world this move might not be accepted at first. I have only one problem with the "blank" jerseys; the shoulder logo is the same as the helmet logo, and repetition like that isn't my thing. stripes would work much better IMO, and with nice colors like that it would look even better. good work but again, the only thing on the jersey aside from numbers just mirrors the helmet, so try to give the look something new. i am looking forward to hearing what others think, as i think people might be split about this.

on a technical note: it looks like you forgot the wordmark on the collar of the secondary home jersey.

[gingerbreadmann]

B, I always look forward to your concepts. This is no different. I love reading your thought process and all, it's real interesting. I actually love the logo; it's not perfect but far from corporate-y.

My only gripes are, like eRay said, the shoulder logo being the same as the helmet(though I can live with it, you should get a secondary; and why only on one shoulder?), and I think a bit more orange needs to be on the first home jersey, maybe on the collar of sleeve cuff.

Wonderful job Bucco.

[andrewharrington]

That's a darn good complement, so thankya for that. I'm not a total fan of the style here (the double outlines, the numerals and logotype) but everything is pretty simple and cohesive throughout, so that's def. a plus. The one thing I'm not keen on is the dolphin in the logo. I love the simplicity in it and the idea behind it, though I think your tail is too small. To me, the dolphin stadium logo looks better without a tail until someone shows me a tail that makes it look better.

[Epiphanic]

Speaking as a Dol-fan, I agree with what eRay said about the logo transistion. Your version is a huge jump from what they have now. At the risk of repeating what he said, there isn't any attitude that pops out at you with this one. It is much simpler, but I'm not sure if it's better. The second and third times I've looked it has grown on me, but it is far from a touchdown (if I may be permitted to use a football phrase). In short, I think this logo would be accepted eventually but never fully embraced because it is such a disconnect from previous iterations.

The jerseys on the other hand look great. The aqua pants look gorgeous. Who am I kidding the aqua looks great. I'm not sure if Miami wore anything other than the white monochrome this past season. The probably did, but I certainly don't remember it. The replacement of orange with coral is probably the most exciting part of this set. I absolutely love Miami's current orange uniforms and would like to see what coral would look like on the field.

[robbman21]

Great to see a new concept from you, and these are OUTSTANDING! These surpass the Saints unis as my favorite concept of yours. Great job!!

[GFB]

These are just a few concerns/opinions I have...

- I would have liked to see you keep the logo three colors. I think a little orange in the logo couldn't hurt...

- I agree with andrew that no tail is probably the better way to go...

- I think that with the simple style of the logo (no outlines or shadowing) that you would be best served going with a bolder font. Maybe even a bolder font with no outlines...

- I'm partial to the tealer aqua than the bluer aqua...

- The colors need to be brighter.

You have to realize that I hold you to a higher standard than 95% of the boards. So this is really nitpicking....

Great job (but I think that goes without saying....)

[tBBP]

'Preciate all the feedback thus far.

Honestly...the uniform draft probably wasn't my absolute favorite...but, overall, it seemed to be the most cohesive. As for the logo, I was going for more of an avant-garde feel...and I musta cracked my neck in half looking back and forth at my drafts with the tail and my draft without the tail. Initially, I wasn't entirely feeling the logo draft I ended up with...but, for some reason, over time (a LOT of time), it just grew on me. Maybe it's like Alize in that way in that though it isn't as potent as other alcoholic drinks, it will sneak up on you eventually.

But yeah...I see what most are saying here, and I welcome and appreciate all of it. I know in a few of my initial drafts, I ended up with something that might have split the difference between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons...but, as I said, the colors are unique enough that I didn't want to overkill it with extraneous bells and whistles i.e. crazy striping/piping and such. Being that I think the 'Fins' basic look is pretty decent as is (save for their lack of aqua, since they never wear it) I may revisit some of my more radical drafts and see if I can work some of those elements into the draft I have posted up.

Stay tuned...and in the meantime, I'll continue taking all C&C on this here.

[illwauk]

I guess I'll echo the "it looks too corporate" sentiment about the logo... but that is the direction that sports logos are going in nowadays (the Houston Rockets comes to mind).

No beef with the unis. The 'fins have a unique enough color scheme that can get away with having a relatively "plain" design. And it stays true to their traditional look.

[mania]

The biggest issue to me is the silver in the logo. It either isn't used anywhere else, or it blends in to where it doesn't stand out at all. I'd either redo the lower part also aqua or add a darker color(that to me would make the numbers pop a lot more).

[fishheatcats]

I LOVE those uniforms. Simple, but hey are very modern even without the use of navy. I give those my Dolfan seal of approval! As for the logo, I'd rather see the teams original logo with these jerseys rather than this. I don't think it's the tail that throws it off, it's the sun in the background. Try making the bottom half of the dolphins orange, and then lose the sun altogether. Maybe make it bigger and position it like the Chargers' bolt. If you want to keep the sun, stick with the original Dolphins logo.

[LEWJ]

Love it. Although, I'm not really a fan of white collars and cuffs, it'll work better than what they have.

Also, I think you should switch the silver and aqua on the dolphin in the logo.

Still, solid job.

Great job.

[bohob]

These look great. I love that logo. I think it works well for a Miami team. My only gripe is that the orange should be brighter.

[whchoclte]

The new dolphin logo you presented is almost an exact replica of the new dolphin staidum design logo done by SME.

Take a peek. Dont want you infiringing on previous work.

[Drew22]

The new dolphin logo you presented is almost an exact replica of the new dolphin staidum design logo done by SME.

Take a peek. Dont want you infiringing on previous work.

Read the intro. He said he got the idea from that.

[Frenchie]

The new dolphin logo you presented is almost an exact replica of the new dolphin staidum design logo done by SME.

Take a peek. Dont want you infiringing on previous work.

Thank You!!! I caught that as well...

Don't care that the inspiration came from that logo, still not quite original enough to warrant a change...

And I have to admit that as a true Fins' Fan (or DolFan) I say: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!!!.

If I were to make changes to the Dolphins' identity, I would simply go back to the original.

Sorry...

[kewp80]

Wow, great to see some of your stuff again, and congrats on the baby on its way.

Of course this is great. I love the simpler logo, going along the lines of the current trend in the NFL. Maybe instead of no tail, put the tail behind the ring of fire so that it looks like it's jumping through it. This may need you to turn the dolphin to a 3/4 view though, I dunno.

My other little nitpick is that maybe make either the aqua or coral darker or brighter if you know what I mean. Right now the whole thing kinda looks too light. I'm also not a big fan of the numbers; look really similar to the Titans numbers.

As always, really nice job.

[dirwuf]

Curious as to why all Dolphin concepts that involve the sun use a variation of the current "hollow" sun. Why not fill in hole and have it be solid orange with some sort of outline around the dolphin. What I'm trying to say is that I think the sun needs to be bolder...

Would also like a bit more orange on the aqua set...perhaps the socks.

Must agree with others and lose the sleeve logo...I'm a stripe fan myself

[tBBP]

Curious as to why all Dolphin concepts that involve the sun use a variation of the current "hollow" sun. Why not fill in hole and have it be solid orange with some sort of outline around the dolphin. What I'm trying to say is that I think the sun needs to be bolder...

Would also like a bit more orange on the aqua set...perhaps the socks.

Must agree with others and lose the sleeve logo...I'm a stripe fan myself

Not a bad idea..speaking of the logo suggestion. I may have to try that and see what I can come up with.

Also...it appears the general consensus (at least the one unanimous one that sticks out as of now) is that I should lose the sleeve logos. Okay...I can go along wih that.

Stay tuned...may have to tweak up this thang here a little bit.