Scotland National Team Concept

[logocruncher]

While I work on updating my Vancouver Whitecaps concept, I thought I'd show you guys my idea for the Scotland national soccer (or, as its better known over there, "fitba") team. I even whipped up some rudimentary action shots of my concept kits in action.

I absolutely love the home kit Adidas unveiled for this year, but I just can't get over the three stripes. They really clutter up an otherwise clean design. So I started out by simplifying the look, getting rid of the unnecessary piping and stripes over the shoulders. Then, I added the Saint Andrew's cross across the chest to mimic the flag. Other than that, I kept the design fairly simple, with white shorts and red socks hearkening back to the glory days of Scottish football (the '70s, when Archie Gemmill reigned supreme).

Home Kit

Home Kit in Action (Based on a photo of Gerard Piqué)

Adidas' effort on the away kit was considerably less impressive, so I thought I'd give Scotland a totally new away look. The white and light blue color scheme evokes the flag, which is also displayed on the socks.

Away Kit

Away Kit in Action (Yes, I realize that this is a photo of Beckham)

I hope you enjoy, and eagerly await feedback.

[theflakeband]

While I work on updating my Vancouver Whitecaps concept, I thought I'd show you guys my idea for the Scotland national soccer (or, as its better known over there, "fitba") team. I even whipped up some rudimentary action shots of my concept kits in action.

I absolutely love the home kit Adidas unveiled for this year, but I just can't get over the three stripes. They really clutter up an otherwise clean design. So I started out by simplifying the look, getting rid of the unnecessary piping and stripes over the shoulders. Then, I added the Saint Andrew's cross across the chest to mimic the flag. Other than that, I kept the design fairly simple, with white shorts and red socks hearkening back to the glory days of Scottish football (the '70s, when Archie Gemmill reigned supreme).

Home Kit

Home Kit in Action (Based on a photo of Gerard Piqué)

Adidas' effort on the away kit was considerably less impressive, so I thought I'd give Scotland a totally new away look. The white and light blue color scheme evokes the flag, which is also displayed on the socks.

Away Kit

Away Kit in Action (Yes, I realize that this is a photo of Beckham)

I hope you enjoy, and eagerly await feedback.

[logocruncher]

According to its URL, this emoticon means "wacko". I am not sure what this refers to: me, Scotland, or the concept. The first (me) may indeed be wacko (I think I read somewhere that insane people don't know they're crazy), the second (Scotland) definitely is (they eat haggis there), but I'm afraid that I'm not sure what makes the concept "wacko" enough to make your eyes wiggle and your mouth wobble. I would appreciate further clarification, and, if I may go so far, suggestions to improve the concept.

[theflakeband]

According to its URL, this emoticon means "wacko". I am not sure what this refers to: me, Scotland, or the concept. The first (me) may indeed be wacko (I think I read somewhere that insane people don't know they're crazy), the second (Scotland) definitely is (they eat haggis there), but I'm afraid that I'm not sure what makes the concept "wacko" enough to make your eyes wiggle and your mouth wobble. I would appreciate further clarification, and, if I may go so far, suggestions to improve the concept.

Oh sorry I meant it to be a bit of hit and miss. That's all, try some of my templates in the Paint User's Paradise.

[Saintsfan]

It seems odd to complain that the current Scotland jersey is a cluttered design and the come up with a more cluttered design.

[curswine]

It seems odd to complain that the current Scotland jersey is a cluttered design and the come up with a more cluttered design.

Totally agree with this.

The Scotland kit as it is, is quite neat and tidy already. The saltire makes it look more like a shirt you'd get at an Edinburgh souvenir shop rather than a serious soccer shirt. Also I think you've over played it with the Scottish crest too, one on the front of the shirt is fine, try and use different iconography elsewhere.

[9erssteve]

Scotland kits are always gonna be hard to do. I mean we've worn navy blue for all our sports teams since the year dot, but about six years ago we spent over a quarter of a million pounds on some multi party political group to decide that our flag should be pantone 300, so now NOTHING matches! Freaking genius honestly if you want something loused up get politicians involved! I dont know if that's something you were aware of and that's why the blues of the home and away kits dont match but I think having two blues, is kinda confusing.

I'll be honest I dont mind the St Andrews cross being added but I feel that the white flashes on the shoulders dont sit very well with the cross. But when adding the cross you have to be careful because it begins to look very much like the Scottish Cricket teams world cup kit for a few years back which was very popular.

Another thing I have an issue with is the inclusion of Gaelic. Why does everyone think that all Scots spoke Gaelic? We didn't! It was only spoken by Highlanders while the majority of the population lives and lived in the central belt and lowlands where Gaelic was never spoken, if I remember rightly I read somewhere that in Edinburgh more people spoke LATIN (due to it being a hub for lawyers) than ever spoke Gaelic.

Dont get me wrong it's a decent start and it's certainly not worse than a great many strips that Scotland have actually played in over the years, but there's still room for improvement.

9erssteve

[logocruncher]

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

I suppose that what I meant by de-cluttering the kits mainly revolved around switching the manufacturer, because as a rule I don't like the Adidas three stripes look. With the cross, I thought I'd evoke a national symbol that also works as part of the jersey design. Maybe it's just a personal bias, as the Serbia 2010 World Cup home kit is my favorite of all time.

As for the colors, I was indeed aware of the debate over royal blue vs. navy blue. It seems to me that the important thing on the home kit is to preserve tradition, as Scotland has never worn anything other than navy (the roseberry kit notwithstanding). As for the away kit, I thought I'd pick up on the color of the flag. It's sort of similar to how the Dutch wear orange at home due to tradition and (at least in the last two World Cups) have their away kit based on the flag.

The rationale behind the ALBA on the socks and collar is as follows: although Scottish Gaelic is largely only a Highland phenomenon (it was actually spoken throughout Scotland at what point, but died out in most of the Lowlands by the end of the Middle Ages- I read a book about the history of Gaelic in Scotland while bored out of my mind on winter break), it (and more significantly, the word "Alba") has come to represent the nation as a whole. We can debate the appropriateness of this at length, but most people identify Gaelic with Scotland, and vice versa. It strikes me as an effective brand that, while it may not reflect the cultural identity of the majority of Scots, does fit in with the stereotypical view of Scotland as a land of kilted warriors shouting "Alba gu bráth!" that many people (and, more importantly in the eyes of the Scottish FA and Umbro, potential customers) so love. Sorry for my miniature essay- I happen to speak a good bit of Scottish Gaelic, and its a topic that strikes quite a chord with me. This sort of gets caught up in the debate over the disparity between the image and the reality of Scotland which has become so politicized as a result of the independence movement. But that's another matter.

I appreciate the feedback, and will come out with an update soon. I think I'm planning on switching up the logos as curswine suggested and eliminating the shoulder stripes. Anything else I should do?

[TrueYankee26]

Yup Alba is the gaelic name for Scotland, like Eire for Ireland.

BTW nice work.