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knnhrvy Gives Pro Combat a Try


knnhrvy16

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Taking a small break from my USU rebrand, I was inspired by the unveiling of this season's Pro Combat series (as I always am year after year) to take a crack at a small series of my own. What I would like to eventually do is select one team that has not been featured yet in any of the real series from each conference, but may try my hand at a couple of rivalries, as well. Please, no requests. I have the teams I'd like to tackle in mind, and want to keep to that list.

Along with the unveiling of each team, I will also add a few words regarding each of these subjects: The inspiration, the design, and concerns I as a designer may have had. This is all to show you what my mind may have been thinking while designing and presenting each concept, so you all can see where I am at.

There is no particular order to my presenting of teams, also.

Anyways, first up, is the team I selected from the ACC - the Virginia Cavaliers.

Inspiration: The 1989 Cavalier football team. Previously honored in 2008 vs. Richmond with a set of throwbacks (as seen later on in the post), the 1989 team enjoyed thier greatest season in school history as they went 10-3 and won thier first ACC Championship. Despite losing in the Citrus Bowl, it was the first New Year's Day bowl in Cavalier history.

The 1989 team wore predominantly orange, and featured a unique double-stripe design of Orange-Navy on both the helmet and pants. The uniform was simple, but sharp, featuring block "V"'s on the sleeves.

1989:

1989_UVA_Illinois_pic12.jpg

2008 Honoring vs. Richmond:

087b.jpg

After coming across pictures of the 2008 game and falling in love with how sharp the design looked, I decided that this was going to be the inspiration behind the Cavaliers' pro combat.

Design:

2011ProCombatVirginia.png

I had two objectives in designing the uniform - 1) Capture the simplicity and essence of the 1989 set, while 2) adding modern elements to "sleek out" the set. I tried to do this by, first, subliminating a "V" into the helmet, first and foremost, so that while the helmet would be adorned with a logo, the helmet could still appear to be simple. Second, inspired by the double-stripe pattern, I tried to incorporate it modernly to the numbers to connect the design together. Thirdly, the stripes on the helmet and pants are intended to be shaped like saber blades. Fourth, the design on the sleeves and gloves is meant to imply a sort of "hidden loudness" - being that the uniform is inspired by an 80's team (a "loud" era of sorts), I wanted to incorporate some sort of homage to that era. Thus, the "V" on the sleeves is "loudly" bordered by a subliminated pattern of sorts.

The theme and collar insert is the Virginia chant, "WA-HOO-WAH". "HOOS" is found on the back of the pants, which is a nickname of the team.

Concerns: My initial concern is that the uniform may be taken as "too plain". My hope is that the modern touches on the sleeves, stripes, and numbers are enough to make up for any "plainness", but that of course will be left up to you, the viewers.

I will announce and present the next team possibly later on in the day.

Tell me what you guys think! Enjoy, thanks for viewing, and C&C is much appreciated as always!

Jazzretirednumbers.jpg

The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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This is really good. I really dig the numbers. Simple yet conceptual with that throwback flair, I love the orange/blue stripe consistently carried out throughout he uni.

Plus Illinois gets a shout-out...

good job

"Classic" does not mean it gets a free pass for being bad design.

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This is great man! You did a great job of combining the simple throwback look with modern elements. The tapered stripes look really good, and I love the numbers. It's a nice touch without making the numbers unreadable. However, I would suggest moving the number stripes down a little bit...think about how a "3" or an "8" would look with stripes down the middle. Lastly, I really like the sleeves. It's a nice modern touch, and I like how it continues onto the undershirt, but the pattern would still look fine without the undershirt.

Can't wait to see some more!

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I love that throwback. Solid white numerals or a thicker outline on them would have made it perfect. Or navy jerseys with orange or white numerals. Anyway, there's no such thing as too plain. These are actually pretty good. The only things I don't love are the triangle designs on the sleeves around the Vs and the truncated stripes. The V on the helmet is redundant if you keep in on the sleeve, unless it's super subtle white on white on the helmet.

I still don't have a website, but I have a dribbble now! http://dribbble.com/andyharry

[The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the position, strategy or opinions of adidas and/or its brands.]

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Thanks fellas! I appreciate the comments very much, and will take all of your suggestions into good consideration. It's great to hear such good feedback.

Now, I'd like to present for your viewing pleasure, team number two. From the Big Ten conference, I have chosen...the Purdue Boilermakers.

Inspiration: There wasn't any one specific inspiration, necessarily, but more of a general one. I wanted to really look into old steam engines and how they looked. One particular one I looked at was the Boilermaker Special, the mascot miniature locomotive car of Purdue athletics. I liked the sleek, dark look it had about it - primarily all-black, with gold trim. Other pictures of steam engines I looked at were of the 1880's and 1890's, and tried to find some who looked similar to the Special to inspire the look. I really wanted to give this uniform an old-time, Gilded-Age sort of feel to it with a particular aspect of the design, which you'll see right now.

Design:

2011ProCombatPurdue.png

For whatever reason, I have always wanted to see Purdue try out a carbon helmet. Crazy, I know, considering I usually oppose Oregon wearing it, but I've always liked the idea of Purdue giving it a shot. I darkened the shade on the helmet to make it a more charcoal-y color, and used that particular color on the sleeves, pant stripe, socks, and shoes. The uniform, again, inspired by the sleek dark look of old locomotives, is primarily black along with this dark charcoal color.

The design on the sleeves and pants is inspired by patterns reminiscent of the 1880's-1890's, a sort of flowy gold design that I also thought mimicked abstract steam coming from the engine.

The dots on the undershirt sleeves are supposed to be rivets.

Concerns: Particularly, the 1880's design on the sleeves and pants. As I mentioned, I look at it as being both an homage to the 1880's and looking like abstract steam, but I would like to know for sure if this was excecuted well or not. I thought of it as being a bit of a risk, and would like to know all of your thoughts on it. It looks great in my head, at least, but translating it onto a template was tougher than I thought it'd be.

C&C Please! :)

Jazzretirednumbers.jpg

The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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I'm really enjoying the creativity and research done. These look believable and acceptable. Fans from each team would likely embrace them. They're not too over the top, but they're different enough from a standard design or the school's established aesthetic so that we know they are something special. Very good job, keep 'em coming.

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Purdue looks really good too. I like the black and anthracite together, especially for Purdue, and the gold designs look pretty good as well. Some might say they're a little old-timey for a modern uniform, but I think it would work.

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I like that you're providing a back story to these, something that I feel a lot of people fail to do with Pro Combat concepts. I'm also glad that you're sticking to the idea of what made last year's set so successful (and amazing, IMO): reasoning. I see a lot of "cuz it looks cool" concepts for PC stuff, and I think that's just what Nike did (and failed at) this year. Nice work.

As for Purdue's sleeves, I get the idea behind it, but they just seem a little too delicate for a football uni, IMO. It reminds me of lace, but I may be a minority on this.

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I love that Virginia design. I'm usually not a fan of the "faded logo on helmet" look, but considering that the uniform used for inspiration had a blank helmet it's a fantastic idea. The V pattern on the shoulders is fantastic.

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Really appreciate the good feedback and kind words guys! I'm glad too see that you guys are liking the stuff so far. I'm trying to treat this as a real series and am trying to really put some decent effort into each uniform, so I'm thrilled to see that it's turning out well for you guys.

Doug, I totally get what you mean about the Purdue sleeves. That was part of the concern I had for them. I chose between that design and a sort of riveted stripe, but I remembered someone else (can't remember who unfortunately) trying something similar with thier own Purdue concept, so I wanted to try something new. I'll maybe tinker with some other ideas and see what comes up.

Any other feedback on Virginia or Purdue from anyone?

Before I head off to bed, I wanted to let you guys know that there's a chance I could be gone for the weekend, so I may not have new concepts for you over the next few days. With that in mind, I wanted to get one more done to post tonight and hold you guys over! :P

Presenting the Big East selection...the Syracuse Orange.

Inspiration: This one was easy. 50 years ago, Ernie Davis became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. A standout star at Syracuse, Davis remains one of the game's greatest legends even years after his untimely 1963 death. It being the 50th anniversary year since his winning of the Heisman, I wanted this Pro Combat to honor Davis. Seen here, just to get an idea across of what I went for, are some pictures of the uniforms worn during the 1961 season by Syracuse:

medium_ernie%20davis1.jpg

davis.jpg

And from the movie The Express, about Ernie Davis:

express2shot250.jpg

Design:

2011ProCombatSyracuse.png

Pretty simple, I tried to replicate the 1961 uniforms as best I could, similar in fashion to how Oregon State paid homage to thier "Giant Killers" of the late 60's with thier Pro Combats of last season. I took the opportunity to feature stripes on the undersleeves to better replicate a longer sleeved football uniform reminiscent of the era, and despite my initial reluctance, placed the numbers at about the same odd place in which they were featured on the 1961 helmets, towards the back. I decided it was best to aim for authenticity (although I left the other side of the helmet blank, to avoid crowding the back with double-numbers). "44" is featured on both the collar and gloves as a direct homage to Davis himself. "THE EXPRESS" is found inside the collar, the theme of the set and nickname of Davis.

Concerns: Because it is a straight tribute throwback-inspired uniform, I do assume (and expect) that this will appear "too safe". I hope that it doesn't come across that way, as I feel that the 50th anniversary of Davis' Heisman is a valid reason to go the route I have. That said, I completely understand if you all were to have that opinion, and would still gladly take any suggestions you have.

Alrighty, this may be it for a few days, so get in all the feedback you want! In fact, please do! :D

Jazzretirednumbers.jpg

The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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The only thing I would be worried about in the Syracuse PC. Not all players wear the sleeves and without it, it looks like a practice jersey. If you did move the stripes up to the jersey I think it would go better. I know you wanted to mimick the long sleeves but this day and age players don't all wear the compression sleeves and some wear the tighter fit completely making the sleeve smaller. So that's the only thing I'd think about but besides, great series so far.

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The only thing I would be worried about in the Syracuse PC. Not all players wear the sleeves and without it, it looks like a practice jersey. If you did move the stripes up to the jersey I think it would go better. I know you wanted to mimick the long sleeves but this day and age players don't all wear the compression sleeves and some wear the tighter fit completely making the sleeve smaller. So that's the only thing I'd think about but besides, great series so far.

I completely understand. I was torn between putting the stripes on the undershirt (a la Oregon State), or the sleeves (a la Ohio State of 2009), but I really loved how they looked on the Beavers last year, so I decided to run with it. I do see your point though, as with some players for the Beavers, it did turn out to be a problem. I only have an iPod with me for now for the next few days, so I can throw out another sleeves version when my computer is avaliable, just to see what all of you think (as well as a few new teams!). Anyways, thanks for the feedback!

Any other comments, suggestions, or feedback anyone? I'll be able check in throughout the weekend, but I won't be able to make any concepts or updates.

Jazzretirednumbers.jpg

The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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Do AZ ST i think it might look awesome

From the OP:

"Taking a small break from my USU rebrand, I was inspired by the unveiling of this season's Pro Combat series (as I always am year after year) to take a crack at a small series of my own. What I would like to eventually do is select one team that has not been featured yet in any of the real series from each conference, but may try my hand at a couple of rivalries, as well. Please, no requests. I have the teams I'd like to tackle in mind, and want to keep to that list."

Why is it so hard to read? :rolleyes:

I like the 'Cuse look, man. The only issue I'd have with it has already been stated-- the sleeves. Other than that, nice work, and an even better back story.

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The 'cuse set is AMAZING. this is exactly what they should do if they had PC uniforms! absolutely fantastic. Such a nostalgic effect.

Just playing devils advocate...my only gripe with it would be that maybe the concept should focus on that era of syracuse dominance rather than Ernie davis... most PCs are usually about team rather than individual.

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Thanks all! Again, I very much appreciate all of your comments.

Just a quick friendly bump, if you all don't mind me doing so.

Jazzretirednumbers.jpg

The opinions I express are mine, and mine only. If I am to express them, it is not to say you or anyone else is wrong, and certainly not to say that I am right.

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