.

[lancealot]

Can stripes (Like the old collars) be put on the fly wire collar? Or other patterns, like how oregon's feather overlap onto the collar

[Krona]

Regarding the flywire collar: does it need to be on the outside? Couldn't style and substance both be achieved by putting it on the underside?

[gordie_delini]

Chawls: Not sure I can reveal that info.

lancealot: I think the flywire itself prevents any kind of graphic from being printed or sublimated onto that panel, but I'm not 100% sure.

grubstreet: I have no clue about the actual garment construction or what the technical reasons for having that on the exterior are. That's an entirely different department from us.

[guest23]

Chawls: Not sure I can reveal that info.

lancealot: I think the flywire itself prevents any kind of graphic from being printed or sublimated onto that panel, but I'm not 100% sure.

grubstreet: I have no clue about the actual garment construction or what the technical reasons for having that on the exterior are. That's an entirely different department from us.

pure speculation here but some of the nfl and college have opted to go without flywire collars so I'm assuming the flywire is an added feature to the collar...with that being said unless the fabric cannot be sublimated I would think you could sublimate any pattern or striping, then add the flywire...not sure how it would look though.

also doesn't the flywire have to be stitched into both sides of the garment to act as a reinforcement?

[TheOldRoman]

the point of the flywire is to make sure that the pads stay underneath the collar while playing

No, the point is to have a feature that people will talk about (as we're doing right now), and have every high school and d3 college team... in other words, the clients who pay for uniforms, believe that Nike is on the cutting edge of... something... and if they don't get on board they'll be left behind.

And I'm sure it works... that's why they do it. Look how many posters on this very board who have never worn a Nike game jersey over pads (or any other company's) will swear that Nike's tech is head and shoulders above anybody else's. Like they'd even know! It's not about tech... its about marketing.

Yep. Also, how would it help to keep pads under the collar? I have heard that it is to keep the neckline tight so the jersey can't be grabbed, but I doubt guys sneaking their fingers into the jersey neck and holding was a huge issues before. Also, they made the problem much worse. Since they made the neck hole gigantic, it exposes the shoulder pads all around. You couldn't get fingers under the shoulder pads with respectable jersey cuts, but since the flywire collars have such big opening, you can easily get under a guy's pads.

[Davidson]

Maybe this isn't something you know about, but I see a lot of new logos at all levels that are good, and some that are just awful. Usually second and third-tier leagues/schools. Do they use agencies to find their designers, or just ask the receptionist's nephew, in a manner of speaking?

I know they use designers for all levels from D1 Colleges all the way down to local Oregon based High School rebrands.

Hopefully Ill be able to say more about the former in the not too distant future, but here is a recent high school case in point:

[rtrich11]

Maybe this isn't something you know about, but I see a lot of new logos at all levels that are good, and some that are just awful. Usually second and third-tier leagues/schools. Do they use agencies to find their designers, or just ask the receptionist's nephew, in a manner of speaking?

I know they use designers for all levels from D1 Colleges all the way down to local Oregon based High School rebrands.

Hopefully Ill be able to say more about the former in the not too distant future, but here is a recent high school case in point:

Fraser, this is cool to see a high school getting a great, UNIQUE logo. Coincidentally, I did a Rams logo for a school, too, and got my work printed on a hockey mask and jerseys. Not a big deal, but fun. I don't necessarily have the cache to work with someone like Nike, but would love to do some of the lower tier projects just for side cash. For someone who's not a designer by profession, it would be tough for people to even find me, though.

Anyway, I am digressing. Look forward to your D1 release.

Brian, I do have likely one last question. Many teams are getting special helmets and uniforms used for a couple games here and there and not seen again. Maryland has several of them. Is there a ballpark range for what these types of events (for lack of a better word) cost? You can give us a vague low-end if you want to preserve any proprietary info. I would think these would blow the athletics budget in a hurry, and they are so common now.

[gordie_delini]

The special uniforms are certainly more costly than a regular seasonal uniform. I can't speak to the actual cost, because it varies based on materials and the design.

[deFasselle]

I've been lurking here for a while, and have a question that I hope Brian, Fraser or someone else could offer their insight into.

I'm a graphic designer and my company consists of myself and my business partner; we do mostly corporate web and graphic design work. I've always been passionate about sports and I'm looking for a way to do some design work for sports teams.

Can you recommend a good place to start? Approach small colleges? High schools? Something else entirely?

[spottedbadger]

I know they use designers for all levels from D1 Colleges all the way down to local Oregon based High School rebrands.

Hopefully Ill be able to say more about the former in the not too distant future, but here is a recent high school case in point:

Totally off topic but it's crazy that it's hard to pick out Galen Rupp, who is 26, in a room full of 14-18 year olds. In terms of this rebrand it's not all that out of the blue considering Nike's heavy influence in the high school cross country scene.

[Drew22]

Drew22: No Nike has no "minimum drink policy" where did you hear that? It's pretty much like any regular office environment. And it is a fantastic place to work, lots of really great people.

Shoot miswording on my part. Someone I work with told me you could have up to two drinks at lunch. I find that hard to believe, but I thought I'd ask. Thanks for answering all these questions.

[gordie_delini]

deFasselle: It's *extremely* difficult to break into the sports design market. A lot of relationships develop from people you know, just like everything else in this industry. I'd start with the teams that are local to you; this includes local rec leagues and youth leagues in addition to high schools. Develop personal relationships and network with the folks around the high school circuit, especially coaches and ADs. Those people tend to have connections higher up the chain and then you can slowly break your way into the higher level sports. That'd be how I'd go about it if it were me.

spottedbadger: Not only that, but Central Catholic is one of the premier athletic high schools in the Portland area, and Nike has been cultivating a lot of relationships with high schools in the metro region of late.

Drew22: I've heard nothing about a drink minimum or maximum. I've had a beer or two here during social events, and I've seen people drink a beer at lunch. However, that's rare. For the most part, it's a professional environment, and there's a huge emphasis on health and fitness (go figure). Most people tend to go for water during lunch

[ESTONES6]

This whole flywire is still bothering me. If it is such a great material, if it does what it is advertised to do... then why is it only on the 1 section, of 1 part of the uniform... that being the front collar? This happens to be the same location that is nearly ALWAYS visible on TV and contains the NFL logo smack dab in the middle (In college, its right where the school logo or name shows up). It just doesn't make sense. It seems like more propoganda.

[oldschoolvikings]

This whole flywire is still bothering me. If it is such a great material, if it does what it is advertised to do... then why is it only on the 1 section, of 1 part of the uniform... that being the front collar? This happens to be the same location that is nearly ALWAYS visible on TV and contains the NFL logo smack dab in the middle (In college, its right where the school logo or name shows up). It just doesn't make sense. It seems like more propoganda.

This season, I've still seen plenty of instances in which a player has to stuff his pads back in place, post play. I'd be interested to see some data on how often this happens with flywire jerseys vs. non flywire. If there's a significant drop off, I might shut up about it.

[gordie_delini]

ESTONES6: Really dude? I've answered this question several times already. Hold on, let me turn my sarcasm filter on. [sarcasm]Yes Nike is just a giant propaganda machine. We just throw out there for marketing's sake that doesn't do what we say it does so we can make more money! It's not like we work with current and former athletes, many of whom are actually employed at Nike, to make sure we continue to improve upon garment design from head to toe to make athletes more comfortable and perform better, nope, all we care about are the benjamins!!! consumers and what they know, it's really all a giant conspiracy so that we can get a swoosh ON EVERYTHING EVARRRRR!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA[/sarcasm]

Honestly this is getting ridiculous. I can't tell you about future innovation or even the reasons behind why the tech people do what they do, but be assured there's massive amounts of research, design, and testing that goes on. WE DO NOT INCLUDE FEATURES ON OUR GARMENTS FOR NO REASON. Alright? Enough of this. Any further discussion about the damn flywire will result in this thread being shut down.

[deFasselle]

Brian, thanks for answering my question. That's about what I was thinking, but I try to be careful about assuming too much.

Additional thanks for the insight on so many of the questions posted here; it's made for some really interesting reading.

[gordie_delini]

deFasselle: certainly - if you work at it long enough you can make those clients and projects happen, it's all about cultivating relationships.

[GriffinM6]

Is Nike working on developing a new football template?

[gordie_delini]

Griffinmarlins: I can't talk about any possible future developments.

[ESTONES6]

ESTONES6: Really dude? I've answered this question several times already. Hold on, let me turn my sarcasm filter on. [sarcasm]Yes Nike is just a giant propaganda machine. We just throw out there for marketing's sake that doesn't do what we say it does so we can make more money! It's not like we work with current and former athletes, many of whom are actually employed at Nike, to make sure we continue to improve upon garment design from head to toe to make athletes more comfortable and perform better, nope, all we care about are the benjamins!!! consumers and what they know, it's really all a giant conspiracy so that we can get a swoosh ON EVERYTHING EVARRRRR!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA[/sarcasm]

Honestly this is getting ridiculous. I can't tell you about future innovation or even the reasons behind why the tech people do what they do, but be assured there's massive amounts of research, design, and testing that goes on. WE DO NOT INCLUDE FEATURES ON OUR GARMENTS FOR NO REASON. Alright? Enough of this. Any further discussion about the damn flywire will result in this thread being shut down.

No reason to get your panties in a bunch. I, or anyone else with independent thoughts, can't be expected to believe that this flywire material is so innovative and does everything its advertised to do, when its on ONE part, of the smallest, least affected parts of the uniform. I understand science is constantly evolving, but when you go from having the flywire on the front of the shouler pads for all these Pro Combat uniforms, and then it gets reduced to the front part of the collar... I just don't see many people buying in to it, especially if no one is allowed to really say what it does. It would be one thing if it was on the entire collar, on the sleeves, at the base of the jersey, around the pants and socks, etc. Stuff that actually falls or sags or has pads coming out of... but its on the front of the collar.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that Nike strives for innovation and bettering every part of the uniform, but when it comes to this flywire, I'm just not buying in to it. That's all. I wasn't trying to call you out and say you are a phony, I just wanted some evidence/facts/reasons/logic as to the flywire.

I was making more of a rhetorical comment than asking a sincere question. I'm not trying to ruin the fun for everyone.