2011-12 NBA Logo & Uniform changes

[RedSox44]

I think it'd look great if they put a blue outline on the numbers for home and road. One-color numbers in the NBA look cheap to me, especially on "new" uniforms.

Which is why the Cavaliers also look bad.

IMO, the Cavs look better than the Sixers do.

Maybe it's because of the colorscheme.

[Fox]

I don't mind teams with numbers that aren't outlines, probably because I'm used to watching the Celtics, though.

The Cavaliers uniforms look fine, but they are almost too simple, in contrast to the LeBron era set which was a bit too busy. They need to find a middle ground, and they could look great.

As for the Sixers, I love their home set. It's one of the top ten home looks in the NBA in my opinion. But their road uni (and leaked blue alternate for future use) annoy me because the lack of uniformity with the script and numbers being the same color. I understand why they did it though, because the blue wouldn't show up great on red.

[andrewharrington]

I don't mind teams with numbers that aren't outlines, probably because I'm used to watching the Celtics, though.

The Cavaliers uniforms look fine, but they are almost too simple, in contrast to the LeBron era set which was a bit too busy. They need to find a middle ground, and they could look great.

As for the Sixers, I love their home set. It's one of the top ten home looks in the NBA in my opinion. But their road uni (and leaked blue alternate for future use) annoy me because the lack of uniformity with the script and numbers being the same color. I understand why they did it though, because the blue wouldn't show up great on red.

Couldn't agree more. One-color numbers Don't look cheap to me. They look crisp. I used lo hate one color numerals, back when I was jaded by late 1990s/early 2000s-style design that gave us many very busy, cluttered yet colorful uniforms. There were many novel ideas from that time period, but most of them weren't very good.

[WSU151]

I don't mind teams with numbers that aren't outlines, probably because I'm used to watching the Celtics, though.

The Cavaliers uniforms look fine, but they are almost too simple, in contrast to the LeBron era set which was a bit too busy. They need to find a middle ground, and they could look great.

As for the Sixers, I love their home set. It's one of the top ten home looks in the NBA in my opinion. But their road uni (and leaked blue alternate for future use) annoy me because the lack of uniformity with the script and numbers being the same color. I understand why they did it though, because the blue wouldn't show up great on red.

Couldn't agree more. One-color numbers Don't look cheap to me. They look crisp. I used lo hate one color numerals, back when I was jaded by late 1990s/early 2000s-style design that gave us many very busy, cluttered yet colorful uniforms. There were many novel ideas from that time period, but most of them weren't very good.

I'd rather have a team that looked NBA caliber than looking like they just stepped out of the Y. The Sixers look like they custom ordered their unis through Eastbay, but didn't have enough money to get two-color numbers, so they went cheap. The Sixers' late 80's uniforms, in retrospect, are far better.

The Celtics look fine - they've had that look for a long time and the number font is far superior than the cheap font the Sixers and the Jazz use.

[mania]

I think on teams that are white and (color), they look a lot better sticking to those two colors than trying to force things, like Boston's third jersey.

By contrast, a red and blue team like the Sixers looks really off-balanced when they only use one color numbers.

[Billy B]

The Sixers road jersey looks cheap to me because there isn't an outline. The home jersey doesn't bother me though, probably because they use both red and blue.

The Cavs, on the other hand, don't look cheap at all to me. Since they're just a two-color team, it looks right that their numbers don't have an outline.

[MidnightSun]

The Sixers road jersey looks cheap to me because there isn't an outline.

There are tons of teams across all 4 leagues who don't have outlines around their numbers, including some of the most well received uniforms of all time.

Do the Yankees, Celtics, Packers or Red Wings jerseys look cheap?

[Enio125]

In my opinion these are the best Cavs unis since these:

and as for the Sixers,nothing beats these:

[shaydre1019]

I guess i'm the minority here, but i tend to like single color numbers. I think in the sixers case it helps give them a more classic look while differentiating them from the clippers.

I guess it just depends on the identity the team is going for. The magic for example would not look good with a single color block font, While the sixers with their throwback logo pull it off fine, imo.

[Billy B]

The Sixers road jersey looks cheap to me because there isn't an outline.

There are tons of teams across all 4 leagues who don't have outlines around their numbers, including some of the most well received uniforms of all time.

Do the Yankees, Celtics, Packers or Red Wings jerseys look cheap?

As I said in the part of my post that you didn't quote, it doesn't bother me at all when a two-color team doesn't use outlines around their numbers. The Yankees, Celtics, Red Wings, and Cavs as I mentioned in my post are all two-color teams. The numbers on the Packers jerseys do kind of look cheap to me, but not nearly to the degree of the Sixers. And a yellow outline just wouldn't look that good on either of their jerseys so I still prefer single layer numbers for them.

[loogodude90]

Maybe this is old news, but I just noticed the Knicks center court logo is now the black-less one. I could have sworn that earlier this season, they still had the logo with black in it.

[zpqmaowl]

Maybe this is old news, but I just noticed the Knicks center court logo is now the black-less one. I could have sworn that earlier this season, they still had the logo with black in it.

Yes. Very old news.

[andrewharrington]

I don't mind teams with numbers that aren't outlines, probably because I'm used to watching the Celtics, though.

The Cavaliers uniforms look fine, but they are almost too simple, in contrast to the LeBron era set which was a bit too busy. They need to find a middle ground, and they could look great.

As for the Sixers, I love their home set. It's one of the top ten home looks in the NBA in my opinion. But their road uni (and leaked blue alternate for future use) annoy me because the lack of uniformity with the script and numbers being the same color. I understand why they did it though, because the blue wouldn't show up great on red.

Couldn't agree more. One-color numbers Don't look cheap to me. They look crisp. I used lo hate one color numerals, back when I was jaded by late 1990s/early 2000s-style design that gave us many very busy, cluttered yet colorful uniforms. There were many novel ideas from that time period, but most of them weren't very good.

I'd rather have a team that looked NBA caliber than looking like they just stepped out of the Y. The Sixers look like they custom ordered their unis through Eastbay, but didn't have enough money to get two-color numbers, so they went cheap. The Sixers' late 80's uniforms, in retrospect, are far better.

The Celtics look fine - they've had that look for a long time and the number font is far superior than the cheap font the Sixers and the Jazz use.

I would argue that the late 80s uniforms look more like they came from Eastbay. People think of one-color lettering and numerals as cheap, high school-caliber, having that catalog look, but in reality, very few high schools use one-color lettering and numerals. Most of them use two color, at least nowadays. I think it's a bit of an outdated stereotype. Couple the standard block type with the two color screenprint and stock trim pattern, and these look far more like they came from the Eastbay catalog. I still like them, but I think even these would be better with one-color lettering and numerals. I love those Lakers uniforms, though.

[BBTV]

There's nothing wrong with single-color lettering or numbering as long as it makes sense. In the Sixers' case, I think it looks "cheap" because they used a modern jersey design (based on the side gusset things and collar) and then went with ultra-old-school single-color serif-block lettering and the number font used in heat-pressed fashion by every youth team in the history of ever. It's like they ordered "cool" jerseys from Eastbay, then went to the local guy around the corner that the high school JV team uses to get them lettered.

Single-colored numbers/letters can really enhance a design, and I do believe that more teams should go this route. However, the Sixers screwed it up. They could have made it work had they used a more modern font to go with their jersey template. On the other hand, they could also have made it work with the fonts they chose had they gone with a more traditional template.

Either way, when you are a red-white-blue team who really uses the colors equally, it's tough to go with single-color unless you handle the jersey trim perfectly. That's how you end up with things like a blue wordmark and red numbers (which while it works for the Dodgers, does not for the Sixers IMO.) I really think they could achieve a better color balance had they gone with a style closer to the '80s set, or preferably, a Cavs-esque update with a more contemporary font.

[andrewharrington]

There's nothing wrong with single-color lettering or numbering as long as it makes sense. In the Sixers' case, I think it looks "cheap" because they used a modern jersey design (based on the side gusset things and collar) and then went with ultra-old-school single-color serif-block lettering and the number font used in heat-pressed fashion by every youth team in the history of ever. It's like they ordered "cool" jerseys from Eastbay, then went to the local guy around the corner that the high school JV team uses to get them lettered.

Single-colored numbers/letters can really enhance a design, and I do believe that more teams should go this route. However, the Sixers screwed it up. They could have made it work had they used a more modern font to go with their jersey template. On the other hand, they could also have made it work with the fonts they chose had they gone with a more traditional template.

Either way, when you are a red-white-blue team who really uses the colors equally, it's tough to go with single-color unless you handle the jersey trim perfectly. That's how you end up with things like a blue wordmark and red numbers (which while it works for the Dodgers, does not for the Sixers IMO.) I really think they could achieve a better color balance had they gone with a style closer to the '80s set, or preferably, a Cavs-esque update with a more contemporary font.

I agree that the Sixers screwed up the trim on their uniforms, but I love the lettering and numerals, and I especially love the use of the blue/red on the white jersey. If only that could be effectively incorporated into the road design. Still doesn't bother me to have red/blue on the home and all-white lettering on the road, but I can see how that could potentially be seen as a detriment to the whole of the set, depending on your philosophy and priorities when it comes to uniform design. You could probably get the best of both worlds by going with one-color lettering (say blue on the white and white on the red) and two-color numerals (red/blue trim on the white, blue/white trim on the red).

[BBTV]

There's nothing wrong with single-color lettering or numbering as long as it makes sense. In the Sixers' case, I think it looks "cheap" because they used a modern jersey design (based on the side gusset things and collar) and then went with ultra-old-school single-color serif-block lettering and the number font used in heat-pressed fashion by every youth team in the history of ever. It's like they ordered "cool" jerseys from Eastbay, then went to the local guy around the corner that the high school JV team uses to get them lettered.

Single-colored numbers/letters can really enhance a design, and I do believe that more teams should go this route. However, the Sixers screwed it up. They could have made it work had they used a more modern font to go with their jersey template. On the other hand, they could also have made it work with the fonts they chose had they gone with a more traditional template.

Either way, when you are a red-white-blue team who really uses the colors equally, it's tough to go with single-color unless you handle the jersey trim perfectly. That's how you end up with things like a blue wordmark and red numbers (which while it works for the Dodgers, does not for the Sixers IMO.) I really think they could achieve a better color balance had they gone with a style closer to the '80s set, or preferably, a Cavs-esque update with a more contemporary font.

I agree that the Sixers screwed up the trim on their uniforms, but I love the lettering and numerals, and I especially love the use of the blue/red on the white jersey. If only that could be effectively incorporated into the road design. Still doesn't bother me to have red/blue on the home and all-white lettering on the road, but I can see how that could potentially be seen as a detriment to the whole of the set, depending on your philosophy and priorities when it comes to uniform design. You could probably get the best of both worlds by going with one-color lettering (say blue on the white and white on the red) and two-color numerals (red/blue trim on the white, blue/white trim on the red).

I really think going blue/blue on the white would make a huge improvement (but they'd still need to fix the jersey trim to make it look like both jersey and letters are from the same era.)

I disagree with you on the single-color letters and double-color numbers though. Strongly. I think that the exact opposite would be preferable. I look at it like the most important element of the uniform is the team name (or the script in baseball). That's where your eye's attention should go, and if anything is going to be "fancy", that's what it should be. I am a believer in using block number fonts and single-color numbers in cases where it can enhance the main wordmark by not attracting any attention away from it - this is why I loathe custom number fonts on the front of baseball jerseys under the scripts, and why I prefer single-color plain block NOBs over custom number fonts - on the back of the jersey, the number should be the focus. Once you get all fancy with the name, it just doesn't work IMO.

I think that the single color thing works better in football and baseball than basketball, except in the case where you only have one color, like the Celtics. I wish more football teams would resist the urge to add outlines and shadows to their numbers, and let the simplistic elegance of a single color number (even if custom font) stand on its own. I think Buffalo could have used single color in their latest re-design, and I think there are a few other teams that use custom fonts that would look better with single color. It just makes you appreciate all of the other details on the uniform, and has sort of a "no nonsense" toughness about it.

[andrewharrington]

I disagree with you on the single-color letters and double-color numbers though. Strongly. I think that the exact opposite would be preferable. I look at it like the most important element of the uniform is the team name (or the script in baseball). That's where your eye's attention should go, and if anything is going to be "fancy", that's what it should be....

I tend to think the number is the most important element because that is how the players are identified, in addition to the body color of the jersey (for example, a referee will relay information to the scorers table as 'personal foul, 15 white'), and I think it's also the reason why the number is the largest design element on nearly every sports jersey there is. That's not to say it wouldn't work your way, though, because I don't think making the team name two-color and the numeral one-color is any more or less desirable from a visual standpoint, and I don't find it really makes one or the other dominate more. The scale does that well enough on its own.

From a design standpoint, though, I think it's smart to have a numeral with an outline, and then one color lettering because the thickness of the lettering is generally very similar to that of the outline, and it creates a nice relationship between the scales of the two elements.

[tBBP]

I'm with Vet here in one way: when it comes to football uniforms. Next to thr helmets, those are the single most identifiable feature of a football uniform; henceforth, one reason I believe more teams go the proprietary route with number fonts. Buffalo and San Francisco are notable exceptions, of course, but one of those teams does illustrate just how well single-color numbers can work within the right design. I also do wish the Bills would've gone the single-color route (instead of adding one.)

Far as baseball and basketball uniforms go, the chest scripts may well be the key identifying feature, so in that vein I'd think more attention should be paid to those?especially bearing on mind many if not most baseball jerseys have no front number. To that end, if one element was to have two colors, or an outline, or be more decorative, I'd think it should be the chest script.

(Of course, that's just my two rusted Lincolns on the matter.)

[BBTV]

Right, I tend to think of front numbers on basketball and baseball uniforms as "add-on" elements that can be used to enhance the brand. I get that numbers are mandatory in basketball, but we've seen small numbers up on the shoulders just to satisfy this rule before, so I don't look at them at all as the most important part. Maybe to a ref, but not to the guy buying the replica jersey or the fan in the stands.

As for football, I'll use the Steelers as an example. I HATE their outdated sleeve striping pattern that doesn't fit on the modern template, however, the fact that it's so busy and has so many stripes and so much contrast (yellow on black, white on black) makes the single-color number the absolute perfect complement to it. The single-color "custom" (not really) number is what makes that whole thing work. That design would be a lot worse if they were to add an outline to it.

[andrewharrington]

Maybe to a ref, but not to the guy buying the replica jersey or the fan in the stands.

I guess it depends on who you're actually designing for (and to that end, which of these people you should be designing for when designing a uniform). Also, keep in mind that even if the front number isn't a dominant element, the back number certainly is.

I agree with everything you brought up about the Steelers, though. The problem for me is that the cluttered jersey design doesn't work well with the bold, simple helmet and pant designs. I'd love the Steelers to go back to the gold Northwestern stripes that they've been wearing on their throwbacks.

Buc brings up a good point about the 49ers as well. That uniform is serviced so well by the one color elements. It might seem weird philosophically for the jersey to be completely devoid of gold, but visually it works perfectly. The only problem I have with this uniform is the overly complicated helmet logo. A solid red oval with a white SF is all it needs, but it's full of black outlining instead.