Before We dive in…
I wanted to give a glimpse of how I want to approach certain topics and a sneak peek into some topics I will be covering.
Let’s focus on design first. Some of the main things I look for to classify a jersey as a “good design” are:
How well the team uses contrast?
How unified the colors and logos are?
Does it stand alone by itself? Or with a full jersey kit?
These along with a couple smaller aspects really bring a good jersey together. But with any rule or concept, there are exceptions so forgive me if you find yourself saying “But you said ______” cause design doesn’t follow strict rules, rather, they build on solid foundations to make something interesting and pleasing. It can be confusing sometimes, but that’s why, I’m here!
Topics to come
With that out of the way, here are some of the topics I would like to cover to not only educate, but open up a discussion to determine if these are smart designs!
Are Diagonal Text Jerseys Good or Bad?
This I think will be a fun one to talk about. From fans and beer league players alike, there are some polarizing opinions on these type of jerseys. The most famous one is the New York Rangers Home and Away kit.
Were The 90s Jersey Good?
Now, I know that there were some crazy jerseys to come out of the 90s. A lot of experimentation with pipping and gradients were used to come up with some…interesting designs. I’ll take a look at some notable ones to see just how “bad” they were.
Logos Vs. Wordmarks
This is a fun one because I’ll be looking at teams branding and not only comparing a team’s logo gallery, but also looking at what is the correct use for each. In football and baseball, a wordmark is essential for the jersey, seeing as the jersey number is the most prominent element. For others like hockey or basketball, there is more leniency on what is appropriate.
These are Just some of the topics I’m excited to talk about with all of you. I’m going to try to in corporate more interactive discussions and hopefully have polls for people to vote on… more of that to come later. For now, I hope you get excited on what is to come and how we can all Design Smarter.
— Jackson