brandIDENTITY: Overhaul of Titanic Proportions

[tBBP]

Sometimes, you just never know. Never know when an idea will formulate in your head, never know if the idea will last in your head...never know when you'll actually get to put the idea down on paper, and worst of all, you never really can know just how that idea will translate to digital media once it's said and done...or when you'll ever even get the chance to do it.

Well...yet the latest round of mechanical issues with my rig gave me a whole free day and a half, during which I sought to finally get this idea I've long had brewing for the Tennessee Titans out of my head, onto paper, and then onto my computer screen. And before I go any further, let me preface this by saying that for the longest time, I've been trying to figure out just what I can do to produce a look for the Titans unlike any that's come before it...who knew I'd end up getting that inspiration from a megathread discussion and a hockey team? Well, it happened, and then I got to brainstorming...this concept is the working result of all that. And I think that I can safely say that y'all probably ain't never seen a Titans concept like this before.

Somewhere buried in the pages of that Buffalo Bills New Uniforms thread over in the Sports Logos forum is a mini-discussion pertaining to the late-'60s Houston Oilers uniforms, specifically the 1967-1970 sets, seen here and here. What you'll notice are metallic silver helmets and pants...with the columbia and red bounced off it, which actually created a mighty interesting color mix and overall mighty appealing on-field look. Someone in there stated that he thought it'd be a good idea for the Titans to use that as a basis for a new look...which is actually what set my mental wheels in motion. Around that same time, the Nashville Predators, who, it should be noted, play in the same city as the Titans, unveiled their revamped identity, which did a heckuva job of cleaning up what they already had, while adding in some more local flavor...and scrapping the silver they had been using previously.

And that's when it hit me.

Now, some of you might have surmised by now where I'm going with this...if you haven't, read on. I'll also say that I don't expect this to go over all that well with too many people...it'll be a love/hate thing, I'm pretty sure. Here's my whole thing with the Titans' current look: it's a hodgepodged mess. Their road look is their best by default. Ever since they switched to the columbia jerseys as their primary home tops, it seems as if they've never been quite sure just what it is they wanna do with their on-field look. All we know is that the Titans, for all practical purposes, pretty much own columbia (or "luv ya blue") in football. It's the color they're most commonly identified by. It's also a carryover from their days as the Houston Oilers. It's become the most trendy color in sports over the past few years, as many teams in other leagues have taken to adding the color to their own palettes--even shoehorning it in however they could get it. So what'd I do for this concept? I went the complete...and total..opposite way. That's right...this concept is completely devoid of columbia. (I know--shock to the senses, right?) So what'd I do? Well, as I alluded to earlier, the team does play in Nashville, so...while keeping the idea of the late '60s Oilers sets in mind, I looked to the Predators for some inspiration. In short, I've redone the Titans' identity in the Predators' color scheme the colors of Nashville's civic flag.

Wait...what??

Yep--that's what I done went and did.

In my mind, it adds even more of a local flavor for the Titans--I understand they're supposed to be "Tennessee's Team", but, still. Remember those late-60s Oilers sets? That's kinda what I based the whole look on...a mesh-up of that look, the current Titans' look, and the civic/Predators' colors. The result is a color scheme and a (hypothetial) on-field look unlike any the NFL, nor these parts, has ever seen, and save for the Preds, also unseen in major pro sports today...which is exactly what I was going for. It's time to push the envelope in new directions, and I'd like to believe that this is just the start, a harbinger of things to come later. This also allows the Titans, Bud Adams be damned, to completely split from their ties to Houston, which now has a new team, and have an identity all their own. At any rate, you'll notice some changes to the identity package, most notably the 86ing of the "flaming thumbtack". In its place is a sorta new primary logo (basically the old one without the flames). I kept the upside-down-sword-that-makes-a-clever-little-T logo, and contemplated making that the primary...but in my mind, it came down to which looked better on a helmet, so in that vein, the roundel "T" won out. I also made a few slight tweaks to both the wordmark and the number set--in the case of the latter, so slight that most probably won't even notice. With the uniforms, I decided to bounce both the blue and the yellow off the silver, just like the Oilers did with the columbia and red back in the day. I also came up with a new stripe idea that actually happened completely by accident...it's my little spin on the current helmet striping.

Alright, enough yakking about this, onto the concept. Have at it....

I didn't feel like rendering the player models this time around...but, since we know Nike's taking over the on-field uniform contract next fall, here's the photo-realistic version of this concept set...

(Some of y'alls monitors might pick that silver up either really dark or really light. I've already noticed that here.)

Anyhow, here's my latest little brainchild of an idea. Have at it!

~Buc

[JamieRose]

You can definitely add me to the love category. I really love the color scheme, and it is amazing how you used the same basic uniform style they have now but the colors make it look so much better. It feels like a much stronger team identity that would stand its ground among the most iconic logos in the NFL.

[ColeJ]

as a titans fan that started out as an oilers fan, and is absolutely obsessed with my team being THE columbia blue team in football history........ i really like this. somehow.

that said, i'd like to see another version of this exact same concept using columbia blue and red (or maybe columbia blue and navy, since the contrast has to be there). if for no other reason than curiosity. i'm in love with the helmet more than anything. losing the flames and slapping it on metallic silver helmet is just stunningly perfect. and i'm in awe.

i love the colors you used, but the nostalgic "luv ya blue" voice in my head is clamoring to see this concept in traditional oilers colors. any way in a million years you'd humor me?

-edit- is that red i still see in the sleeve logo? accident, or intentional? -/edit-

[tBBP]

I'll see if I can humor your request in the morning, Cole...provided I have some time to do so. You lucky I know you.

And, upon closer inspection..egad, it appears I turned off the wrong layer when I exported that NPC image. Good eyeball. Imma have to go back and fix that at some point. (It has been a while since I've done one those these...)

[bigmike]

I love the helmet and pants stripe! Great concept as usual, can't really find anything I dislike about it.

[jaha32]

I cant say I read all of what you typed, but I like this. The colors work and losing the flames makes this better. I never understood the flames on their logo. This simpler logo looks better on the helmet. Although I understand the real colors are linked to the old Oilers days, I like these colors here since they no longer look like the smurfs.

[BrandMooreArt]

well im a sucker for blue and yellow, so you got me hooked. adding the silver makes it really strong and unique to the NFL. it would be interesting to see how it would work in the real world being so close to the Predators. i wonder how accepted it would be by Nashville?

personally, i would replace the yellow on the white jersey with blue.

i cant get over how fantastic the whole helmet looks. you might think "another blue and silver helmet, c'mon!" but the yellow separates it totally from the Cowboys, Lions, and Panthers and the silver just makes you forget all about the Chargers. very well done my man

[kurpit]

i'm in favor of teams of the same city using the same color scheme. i'm not from or a fan of pittsburgh's teams but i think it's pretty damned cool that all their teams have the same color scheme.

[chestnutz]

Interesting look. I love blue and yellow together, not sure how silver would look (THAT much silver) on the field though. Very interesting...It does look a lot more, Titan-y? though. Just badass in your face Greek godliness of an identity. Kudos buc.

[Brave-Bird 08]

The Predators color scheme is a great idea! Still unique to the NFL, and really an improvement in my book. I absolutely love this.

[drdougfresh]

Love this look. I'm also a sucker for the blue and yellow color combo-- not such a big fan of the bright baby blue. This is a huge upgrade IMO, cool idea!

[mbannon92]

I'm really liking this. I must say that I am a fan of the columbia blue, but this color scheme looks pretty darn good as well. And the logos and jerseys are HUGE improvements. The logo looks much better sans-flames, and the consistent jersey striping looks good. I also like that you added trim to the jersey yoke. My one complaint, the same as BrandMoore, is that I don't like the yellow yoke. I would make it blue.

[tBBP]

Wow...I really wasn't expecting this to go over as well as it did. But that's what happens when one assumes, I suppose. Thanks, folks, for all the feedback thus far. To answer one point re: the yokes...two of y'all mentioned you'd rather see it blue on the road jersey. I only briefly thought about that, but didn't because a/ I'd rather them match on both sets and b/ that've been the predicable route to take. Plus, I really wanted the yellow to shine a little bit more.

Oh and Cole..I ain't forgot about you, I just ain't got a round tuit yet. But Imma see about hooking that up for you when I get a chance.

In the meantime, suppose I'll solicit for any more C&C out there. I'm actually quite surprised at the way this one turned out...probably one of my favorites of the ones I've churned out recently.

[Funkatron101]

Top Notch. No complaints.

[pianoknight]

Getting rid of the flames was genius. The primary "TriStar-T" logo pops more and is much more balanced than the previous one. This looks like a sturdy, stable logo that immediately signifies the team.

Honestly, I can't get over the color scheme and simplification of the logo enough. It's a minimalist beauty, like the Cowboys' star or the Packers' G.

[The Impaler]

Let me start off by saying I generally don't like silver in color schemes and I also don't have any problem what-so-ever with the Titans flaming logo. Also, love the light blue, but more-so when they were the Oilers. With all that being said, I can't believe how much I like this concept. I think it is a vast improvement on what they currently wear. I would make a request that you do an alternate jersey (since that's the trend) reversing the yoke and jersey color.

[missouri tigers]

Great looking set of logos, and uniforms. I've always thought that the Titan's logo would look better without the multicolored flames, and It looks much better on a helmet that way too.

Usually I would not be a fan of mixing gold/yellow in a color scheme that also includes grey, but I think you made it work here.

Although a blue/yellow/silver or grey color scheme would be unique in the NFL, its not like any other team shares their current color scheme. Even though quite a few teams' colors are red and blue, none of them include a lighter blue like the titans do.

The only thing I'm not a fan of in this concept, and it's just a little thing, is the grey numbers on the home jersey. I would have made them white, because there is almost too much silver on the uniform, and the only contrast is the blue on the jersey that doesn't even take up the whole jersey because of the yellow shoulders.

[neo_prankster]

Nice work, and nice color scheme too.

[sparkychewbarky]

Sorry to hear about yer rig.

Didn't realize you were a truck driver...and a wordsmith to boot.

This is almost perfect, but having everyone going ga-ga over it, is...well... boring.

So-

-the silver numbers look 'muddy'. Would they look better in white?

-ditto for the silver pants. I'm not a big fan of head-to-toe same-colouredness, so how about white pants on the darks?

-your helmet is sweet

-how are you inspired by a team whose logo is a cat coughing-up a furball?

So...many...questions...Spock...

I wrote that in my best William Shatner accent.

All us Canadians can do that.

It's in our DNA. (Shatner's Canadian)

It's like, when we go public skating, at the halfway point in time, we all start skating in the other direction; without any instruction!

Weird, eh?

Really good stuff, Buc.

[YessSir32]

I love this! My jaw dropped when I saw this. Nothing I dislike.