drdougfresh's Arizona Cardinals Concept

[drdougfresh]

Well, due to some unfortunate placement, I have been knocked out of the NFL Concept Championships. I am a firm believer that I will make it through the first cut on one of these, some day.

Anyway, I thought a lot through on this concept, and I felt that one image wouldn't do it justice-- nor did I want to just leave this entire concept to collect dust, so I figured I'd share everything I came up with for the entire project thus far.

Here are the logos for everyone to see once again:

I decided to move the uniforms back to an era of simplicity-- as the promo text states. The Cards had some solid (though a little plain) uniforms back in the day, and I wanted to go back to that. One thing that I have always missed about the old ones was the flag on the shoulder. I do not, however, miss the clash that the flag patch created. I wasn't too fond of the addition of blue to the color palette, either, as it wasn't universally used on all uniforms, just the away.

I also felt it proper to pay respect to Pat Tillman. Most people are aware that ASU currently has his initials and numbers on their collar crests, but I think a lot of people forget how good a player Tillman was for the Cards (and loyal, too). Regardless of on-field heroics, his decision to forgo a large contract to serve in the military after 9/11 is commendable. I felt it proper to give him an alternate uniform for the team. You will notice his initials and numbers on the insides of all the collars, as well.

Taking all of this into account, I created this uniform set (you can read the fancy wording on the details page). The home and away bring back the flag on the shoulders, but in a new, more modern way. I thought this was the cleanest way to replicate the look, while keeping it looking "fresh". No more grey facemask, they are now white. The rest of the uniform is generally simple, as I intended them to be. This brings back that nostalgia in a new way for the Cards.

The PT40 alternates are a little more out-there. I figured in a lot of elements into this. First, I wanted the sunburst to really be featured, both as a representation of the team and of Pat-- who played college and pro for this state. I added his rank to the shoulders (Corporal), as well as an American flag above the name plate area. You may also notice that the names are missing on the alternates. I did this intentionally to represent a feeling of team, and an exit from individuality-- a value of the US military as well. Tillman's initials and number are on the back of the pants, as well.

Now, the graphics:

Thanks for checking this out, let me know what you think!

EDIT: Yes, I realize 'reference' is missing an 'e'.

[Somppi]

Really looks great, not to mention how profession it looks (your whole presentation). I'm surprised it got knocked out, but I'm glad you're not trashing it. Keep up the good work.

[AHcreative]

Very nice. I love the thought process throughout the whole design. The secondary logo, I feel, is a little more superior than the primary. The primary has a little too much blank space IMO. I love the secondary though, very cool. The Pat Tillman homage is really cool, great idea.

[tj4eck]

I love this...What does the tramp stamp say?

[drdougfresh]

Very nice. I love the thought process throughout the whole design. The secondary logo, I feel, is a little more superior than the primary. The primary has a little too much blank space IMO. I love the secondary though, very cool. The Pat Tillman homage is really cool, great idea.

Thanks. I really wanted to feature the primary because of the tie to the city logo. I didn't want to make it too literal, so I kept the same general shape, but making a circle out of an outstretched bird is a bit difficult. The City of Phoenix logo was really the first thing that I had in my mind for the design, so I wanted to keep that as the primary, if that makes sense.

I love this...What does the tramp stamp say?

Thank you. Home- Cardinals, Away- Arizona, PT Alt- PT40.

[piratesfan16]

Absolutely love the logo and how it looks on the helmet. Trust me, it killed me having to make a decision on your concept or the Giants one. If it weren't for the Giants concept, I would say your concept was the best of the bunch. Great job.

[sparkychewbarky]

Hi dr...This is really good, so I'm being nit-picky.

Your presentation and ideas (the homage) are top notch.

I like the tone of your narrative, but if you're including text in your presentation,

make sure you get spelling and grammar right. ('referenc' needs an 'e' at the end)

Get someone to proofread this for you.

Visually, it's excellent, except for the wanky bits at the corners of the bird's tail.

How would the eyes look if you rotated the whites and moved them back a tad?

It would take away the slightly cross-eyed look, if the bird was looking through its 'eyebrows ' at you.

The unis are great.

[hailstateunis]

It looks good. My only comment would be that it links to much like the old ravens logos.

[drdougfresh]

Hi dr...This is really good, so I'm being nit-picky.

Your presentation and ideas (the homage) are top notch.

I like the tone of your narrative, but if you're including text in your presentation,

make sure you get spelling and grammar right. ('referenc' needs an 'e' at the end)

Get someone to proofread this for you.

Visually, it's excellent, except for the wanky bits at the corners of the bird's tail.

How would the eyes look if you rotated the whites and moved them back a tad?

It would take away the slightly cross-eyed look, if the bird was looking through its 'eyebrows ' at you.

The unis are great.

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, I realized right after I posted that I was missing an 'e' (hence the edit comment). I'm a stickler for that kind of stuff, so it usually doesn't get by me.

I'll look in to the eye thing, and cleaning up the tail. Those were the two things I struggled most with.

[missouri tigers]

This was one of my favorites from the NFL concept championship. I'm sad to see it eliminated so early.

There's only a couple things that I think you should take another look at:

-Try adding some definition to the right side of the birds body, so that you can tell where the body ends and the wing begins.

-Clean up the points of the logo, mainly around the tail. You may have to re-trace the black of the logo.

-Make the spaces between the elements of the face more even(look at the difference in spaces between the eyebrow and forehead area compared to the areas between the eyebrow and beak, and the eyebrow and white part of the eye.

-Get rid of the pterodactyl claws, or at least change the red to yellow on the feet.

as always your uniforms look great.

You're well on your way to having an awesome logo set, I can't wait to see the final design.

[sparkychewbarky]

dr, the eyes are the hardest things to get 'right' on a human or animal logo.

There's another cardinal concept now on the boards where the member is struggling with the look of the eyes.

I only mentioned the proofreading thing, because if you ever 'pitch' this concept (and I'm thinking that you should);

it's amazing how a few bloopers (like using 'dawn' instead of 'don'), can derail an otherwise solid presentation.

People tend to focus on the few things that might be 'off', rather than the many things that are right.

...And I speak from experience. I MAY have lost a medal (although I doubt it...there were some solid entries) in the second round of the Logolympiad

because I slapped down the wrong year on the court graphics (duh), and was DQ'd.

[Zachary15]

Very sad to see you knocked out. Honestly, you and the Giants were my favorite two logos from the NFC...tough matchup.

[CoasterLine]

I love the concept... The bird, though, instantly reminds me of the IUP Crimson Hawks logo...

[DeFrank]

It's a lateral move in my opinion. The current Cardinal head is much more suited for Primary Status than the concept primary. I do like it as a secondary however.

I would also add more white. It needs some balance, considering how much white is part of the Cardinal identity.

[Sapphire]

Looks good but Pat Tillman is known for wearing #42

[drdougfresh]

Looks good but Pat Tillman is known for wearing #42

...at ASU. Not for the Cardinals. He wore #40.

[jaha32]

The black around the claws is different than the black everywhere else, so that should be addressed. The head reminds me of the head of Ravens straight-on logo, not that that is bad. It's probably because the hair/feathers on the head flow in a similar way. I think the body needs some work in the middle section. The core of the body looks awkward. It's just a lot of plain boring space. The legs also looks really short as if they are tucked inward in an unnatural way. The tail also needs some fixing, particularly the outline.

I know this may have sounded kind of harsh, because the majority of those who have posted earlier seemed to like it. The style and presentation is good, it's just the anatomy that needs work yet in my opinion.

[drdougfresh]

The black around the claws is different than the black everywhere else, so that should be addressed. The head reminds me of the head of Ravens straight-on logo, not that that is bad. It's probably because the hair/feathers on the head flow in a similar way. I think the body needs some work in the middle section. The core of the body looks awkward. It's just a lot of plain boring space. The legs also looks really short as if they are tucked inward in an unnatural way. The tail also needs some fixing, particularly the outline.

I know this may have sounded kind of harsh, because the majority of those who have posted earlier seemed to like it. The style and presentation is good, it's just the anatomy that needs work yet in my opinion.

I appreciate the feedback. I do a lot of corporate and desktop design, so animals and anatomy are not my strong points. It's good to hear what should be fixed, because I'm still pretty green when it comes to the kind of design.

I'm not sure that I'll have a ton of time to update this stuff, but I'll keep your comments in mind, thank you.