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The Big Ten Project - (PENN STATE added, West Div Complete!)


pianoknight

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Next up is Wisconsin.

One of the biggest problems I've had with Wisconsin's looks is that they wind up looking very similar to Nebraska - and now even Indiana with their new red helmets. I've tried to keep a classic look for the Badgers, but I feel like they have the ability to get a little more modern look than some of the other teams in the conference.

The Home and Away sets maintain the simple Red-White color scheme and all elements are swappable (full Red at home, full White on the road, etc).

The font is still a block look, but I felt that the italicized sweeping motion played nicely with the Motion W logo. I've further distanced the Badgers from Nebraska/Indiana by using a Jets-esque shoulder pattern which keeps white sleeves on both home and away sets. This also preserves the "thin stripe" look that Wisconsin has on their sleeves.

In keeping with the theme of simple - yet modern - the pants aren't anything crazy. The classic stripe pattern has an angled bottom to help the sense of motion. Also, the socks are intentionally simple and uncluttered.

Finally, a fauxback is created with a simple cardinal helmet and Bucky on the sides. The giant "W" on the front has a decidedly retro feel to it and the pants have "On Wisconsin" blazoned on the sides. Wisconsin's not a flashy team by any stretch, so I could see this alternate coming out once or maybe twice a year - probably against Minnesota or Iowa.

Wisconsin_zps4c38cd2d.png

-UPDATED-

I changed the number font on the regular set. I had no idea DePaul used that font as I don't follow other college sports too closely. I've also made the angle of the pant stripes less severe to soften the look.

Good catch by Discrimihater on the alternate. I meant to go cream all around, but guess I missed the white. I felt the "ON WISCONSIN" pant stripe was a bit much, so it's been moved to the helmet bumper. I've replaced it with a block W, matching the jersey and hopefully unifying the look more. The sleeve stripes were doubled as well to match the pants and also the other Wisconsin uniforms.

Home: I'd rather rather the sleeves stay red. If the two primarie are not going to match, I'd rather see the white jersey with red sleeves.

Road: I like the use of red pants

Alt: I like the placement of the old-school W on the pants and feel that a nice alt could include that "W" on the helmet and a more standard numbered front of the jersey...I happen to not be fond of mascots on helmets. I'd be curious to see what you'd do with a single-digit number (i.e. over the middle of the "W" vs. over the right-side). I like the cream trim.

Overall: NOB font should be bigger. I really like the sleeve stripes; a change that most fans owul not motice but it compliments the helmet better.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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i see what you did there, on NU's cuffs. Maybe it coulda stood to be white on the home purples, but that's the only peep outta me as far as that goes. Love the idea of making the sleeve numbers on the alternate look like negative space. Granted, it makes the helmet numbers somewhat redundant, but still.

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A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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Here's Illinois!

Almost every Illini concept I've seen involves the sawtooth stripe pattern. It's immediately associated with the university, but I also tend to think that a lot of times it's obnoxiously overused. I've tried to incorporate that pattern in a way that still gives Illinois a unique identity, yet doesn't go crazy with spike strips everywhere.

First, like Minnesota, there's really no true "alternate" here as the entire set is interchangeable. The stripe pattern is echoed across the helmet, shoulder and pants striping which makes things easy to swap out. However, I envision that the typical looks would involve a predominant blue/white combo, while the Orange Krush look would probably be reserved for big home games like Indiana or Northwestern.

The rear helmet bumpers get the classic "ILLINOIS" script as a mod to the classic logo, but the helmets themselves have the much simpler - and cleaner - block I. The NOB uses a font very similar to the ILLINOIS script, although it's not italicized. The number font also has an angular-yet-smooth look that helps tie back into the striping patterns.

I kept the roundel on the collar from past Illinois looks because it's interesting and provides a touch of character to the front of the uniform. I did notice that while keeping the theme of contrasting collars, the away jersey has a bit of a Denver Broncos vibe to it - probably because I paired it with the blue helmet. In either case, I don't think it's a bad look for Illinois, however. In keeping with the theme of this set, the socks are simple, but not too simple. Subtle stripes keeps things interesting, but they don't immediately draw your eye.

Originally, I tried to incorporate the Chief Illiwek logo into the set, but doing some research showed that his presence is somewhat divisive in the Illini alumni base, so I thought it better to skip it altogether and avoid controversy. In retrospect, I don't think the set lacks because of his omission.

Illinois_zpsbe5eadd9.png

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5th in NAT. TITLES  |  2nd in CONF. TITLES  |  5th in HEISMAN |  7th in DRAFTS |  8th in ALL-AMER  |  7th in WINS  |  4th in BOWLS |  1st in SELLOUTS  |  1st GAMEDAY SIGN

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Hopefully everyone enjoyed the holidays. I took some time off from this project but have now completed Purdue and the Big Ten West.

I really had fun with Purdue, but they were also a challenge to design in many ways. I absolutely fell in love with the black railroad track helmet they wore but wanted to help unify that look into their full-time set.

The jerseys have a very unique pattern that I designed to look like the grandiose wrought iron that you'd see on old time steam engines. The railroad imagery for the Boilers is simply too original to pass up so I coupled (train pun intended) the wrought iron look with a serif number font that evokes the old west and the golden age of steam.

The track pattern continues down the pant stripe to tie in with the helmet and the old alternate logo - IMO, the "real" Purdue alternate - makes an appearance on the pants. Never was a big fan of the Nike modernization of that logo.

The away set gets the same treatment with swapped colors, but largely the same look. The inside of the collars has "Boiler Up" stitched into them.

Finally, the alt. I wanted to avoid just adding a gold 3rd like many teams would do and so I opted for an iron look that departs slightly from the train theme and ditches the track stripe for the classic Purdue pattern. However, in the spirit of "boilers," the stripe pattern on the helmet and pants gets rivets, just like a cast iron boiler tank would have. The wrought iron striping is subdued from the brighter gold to give this grey set a more galvanized, metallic look. Same goes for helmet - I intentionally avoided a white helmet for that reason.

Purdue_zpsafd8e072.png

Hopefully with the holidays over, I can get this project back on track (sorry, 2nd train pun).

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5th in NAT. TITLES  |  2nd in CONF. TITLES  |  5th in HEISMAN |  7th in DRAFTS |  8th in ALL-AMER  |  7th in WINS  |  4th in BOWLS |  1st in SELLOUTS  |  1st GAMEDAY SIGN

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It's the Big Ten East! We'll start things off with the team who made Big TEN obsolete when they became #11 - Penn State.

Like many, I believe that PSU has a timeless look. But that doesn't mean we can't update it a bit and keep things fresh while still holding onto tradition and the past.

First, the home set. The helmets remain classic Penn State, with minor tweaks to the back - adding player numbers and the block "PENN STATE" onto the rear bumper. I look the clean look of the plain white helmet, but it can be a little too plain honestly, so this feels like a nice way to update it slightly.

The white cuffs and collar make their return. When PSU dumped them a season or two ago for the all-blue jerseys they just looked boring honestly. The home jersey gets a second cuff stripe, just to keep things interesting and the shoulder sides get the fantastic alternate Keystone "S" logo. IIRC, that logo was designed by one of the posters here and for the life of me I can't remember who it was. It's not really my intent to just "steal" that logo, but in all honesty it's freaking amazing and should be part of PSU's full time look. I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so my inclusion is really an homage more than anything.

The pants also pick up a thin stripe to tie into the set a little more and the socks have a simple pattern as well. If you look closely, you'll notice the inclusion of a gray/sand tone in the B1G logo and socks stripes. More on that later.

The away set is even more plain than the homes - basically just a white color swap, although we lose the double cuff stripe on the away jersey.

Finally, the alternates.

Penn State is so damn traditional that I figured the only thing to do with an alternate was swing for the fences. You can't really give PSU a throwback look since they basically have worn throwbacks since Nineteen-Dickety-Two when JoePa was hatched from an egg. So, the only other option was to surge forward and hopefully keep my bearings on PSU tradition.

The helmet is blue and has the Nittany Lion logo but I've eliminated the pseudo-roundel portion of the logo to blend in with the helmet background. Some people hate mascots/logos on helmets, but I think this just works. The front and rear bumpers get the classic "WE ARE" and "PENN STATE" chant.

Why in the world did I add a sand/gray color?! Look closely at the jersey and you'll see it's actually a brick pattern. Yes, I stole of bit of inspiration from Virginia Tech's Hokie Stone helmets and applied a pattern based off PSU's Old Main on the jersey. Like literally applied - just copied a photo of Old Main and sampled the actual brick. Before you go accusing me of getting too "hokie," hear me out. VaTech's big problem IMO was trying to put a brick pattern onto a plastic helmet. Square rocks on round plastic will look stupid every single time. But a jersey is fabric and has much more natural deviation in lighting than a big old glossed up dome does. Also, the pattern is continuous -- no grout lines to break up the pattern -- so at a distance, it merely appears to be a sandy/gray color.

TL;DR - the pattern is from Old Main and intended to be sublimated since fabric isn't glossy like a VaTech helmet.

PennState_zpsaa4fa30d.png

I briefly thought about using PSU's original colors - Black and Pink, but just couldn't find a way to make a concept that looked anything like it was serious.

UyDgMWP.jpg

5th in NAT. TITLES  |  2nd in CONF. TITLES  |  5th in HEISMAN |  7th in DRAFTS |  8th in ALL-AMER  |  7th in WINS  |  4th in BOWLS |  1st in SELLOUTS  |  1st GAMEDAY SIGN

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I briefly thought about using PSU's original colors - Black and Pink, but just couldn't find a way to make a concept that looked anything like it was serious.

That tells you something.

I suppose that could be a comment on their original colors, or an indictment of my design skills. ;)

Either way, it seems like you're one of the few actually posting in this thread, which gives me a little hope that at least some people are viewing it and enjoying the series.

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5th in NAT. TITLES  |  2nd in CONF. TITLES  |  5th in HEISMAN |  7th in DRAFTS |  8th in ALL-AMER  |  7th in WINS  |  4th in BOWLS |  1st in SELLOUTS  |  1st GAMEDAY SIGN

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  • 2 weeks later...

PennState_zpsaa4fa30d.pngOK. I am giving my opinion as a Penn State alum and lifelong fan. I personally have 2 polar feelings with the football uniforms --> The university should forbid any changes and everything stays the same (plain jerseys, no names, no "chipmunk head" logo on the collar, etc.) and numbers may or may not be returned to the helmet (but navy facemask... forget the gray). My other opinion is completely forget the old and start with a new look; the bolder the better. Personally, I think your concepts are too "respectful".

Now, one thing to be aware of is the PSU Licensing Guide (http://www.licensing.psu.edu/Licensing/upload/PENNST-Graphic-ART-Sheet.pdf)... I know these are your concepts, but be aware that Penn State will not deviate much from their color schemes... We might be able to accept drastic changes, but you better not mess with the colors. That said, gray is not a problem, maybe the shade needs changed, per the link above. Another personal opinion is that sleeve stripes are not necessary as many jerseys are cut differently, so for a cleaner team look, the sleeve should not have striping. The collar... I do not like different color collars as many of them aren't terribly visible around the shoulder pad.

Personally, I would like to see some people get creative without being respectful of the current uniforms. So I will challenge you to try again.

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