Introducing Two Great Uni Designers

[Editor’s Note: Paul is on his annual August break from site. Deputy editor Phil Hecken is in charge from now through Aug. 25, although Paul is still on the clock over at ESPN and may be popping up here occasionally.]

By Phil Hecken
Follow @PhilHecken

Even before I began my weekday August run, I had set up several columns in advance — ostensibly enough to have for the entire month, with several “blank” days I hoped to fill in as the month progressed. Then the NikeBA happened, and all those best laid plans went by the wayside, leaving me with a few folks who’ve already contributed (for future columns) that I simply won’t be able to get to this month. They know who they are and to them I apologize, but I will still get to their pieces when I return to Weekend duty next month.

I had actually planned to have a placeholder today, as Paul was scheduled to run his massive (and my second favorite article he does every year, after MLB) ESPN College Football Preview, but that got bumped to Thursday. That will be ‘featured’ on here tomorrow, but today, I have some amazing designers to whom I’d like to introduce you.

I combined the two artists today into one large piece; I had hoped to give each a full feature, but I’m combining their efforts into one mega-post today. The two designers are named Brian Begley (NBA) and Tyson Kehler (NHL) and I’ve asked them to show off some of their design work. Before the month even began, I had interacted with both gentlemen on Twitter, and noticed each had a nice portfolio of concepts. Both reimagined an entire league (Brian the NBA and Tyson the NHL) and I asked each of them to pick their “top” 10 designs — you can see their entire design work in the links which accompany the short Q&A I posed to each. You guys should definitely check out all their work, but for today, we’ll have 10 designs (with short descriptions) from each.

OK, this intro is way too long as it is, and we’ve got a lot to get to. So I’ll begin in alpha order with Brian and conclude with Tyson.

• • • • •

Brian Begley

Uni Watch: Are you a Uni Watch reader and if so, how long have you been following?

Brian Begley: Yes! Oh man, it seems like forever! I was going through my follow list on Twitter and I followed Uni Watch just after I followed the NYGiants. I love the Giants if that says anything about how long I’ve been following UW :)

UW: How old are you and where do you live?

BB: I just turned 36 and currently living in Boonton, NJ.

UW: These are some amazing concepts — did you come up with these before the Nike uniforms were revealed?

BB: Thank you! Yeah, I made it my goal to release my designs before Nike. I started brainstorming this project a couple years ago when I first heard that Nike was taking over the NBA. I physically didn’t start designing the uniforms until March of this year.

UW: Are you a graphic artist or designer by trade or is this just a hobby?

BB: I’ve been drawing since I was 3yrs. old and got into graphic design at the end of high school and it’s what I studied in college. I have been a freelance designer since Jan. 1, 2011. Illustration & Graphic Design is my life!

UW: What program did you use to create these?

BB: The programs I used to create these uniforms were Adobe Illustrator (for designing the logos/wordmarks) and Adobe Photoshop (for creating the final concept designs)

UW: How long (approximately) does each individual uniform take? How long for an entire team?

BB: It’s tough to narrow down an exact time per uniform/team. Some teams that I felt were not getting new uniform designs took a lot less than the teams that I created a new identity for. I do know that, in total, it took me 162 hours to create all 160 uniforms.

UW: Do you have a website or blog or social media presence?

BB: My Twitter is @iambrianbegley and Instagram handle is @iambrianbegley. To see most of my work with case studies and to check out my shop, visit IAMBRIANBEGLEY.COM.

UW: Do you have any other concepts besides the NBA?

BB: I know I’m a little ahead of the game, but I’m working on some MLB uniforms in anticipation of the Under Armour takeover. I also created a few NFL uniforms last season that I may need to update with the new Nike uniform template and rerelease, so stay tuned!

UW: Anything else you think our readers would like to know about you?

BB: I’m always open to a wide range of freelance design projects. You can email me at brian@iambrianbegley.com. Also, Phil Hecken rules!

UW: OK, that last part totally wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it. Now, can we see your top 10 designs?

BB: I give you my top ten uniform design concepts (in no particular order)!

• • •

Boston Celtics

I didn’t want to change much as these uni’s are full of history and tradition. I wanted to add a vintage home & away look as well as a minimalistic all black uniform that speaks for itself.

• • •

Atlanta Hawks

Paying homage to the days of the, “Human Highlight Reel,” and Spud Webb, these colors are Atlanta Hawks colors. My all black uniform is inspired by the early 70’s Hawks uniform.

• • •

Orlando Magic

I designed a new wordmark and logo for the Magic. Instead of replacing the “A” with a star, I felt that a little taste of a “star” over the “A” would bridge the gap of history and today. My all black is very simple and clean with a tribute to the Orlando shooting at Pulse Night Club.

• • •

Dallas Mavericks

I only touched on the “Dallas” wordmark just a little around the “L’s” and I used “Mavs” from the shorts of their city skyline uniforms from last year. This brings me to my all black updated city skyline uniform. Showing just a silhouette is cleaner and adds more depth to a jersey.

• • •

Memphis Grizzlies

I loved the Vancouver wordmark & logo, so I created just a minimalistic version of that while using the current Memphis color palette. The all black uni uses some art from their MLK uniform combined with a Memphis version of the old Vancouver Grizzlies logo.

• • •

New Orleans Pelicans

The purple Mardi Gras is just NOLA awesomeness. The red top and navy bottoms are a representation of the NOLA flag. The new color palette of black & gold is to show city likeness. Being from the NJ/NY area, a lot of our sports teams use a similar color palette. i.e. Knicks, Islanders & Mets.

• • •

San Antonio Spurs

I love black & white. Updating the Spurs wordmark and a secondary logo was risky, but it felt right, especially after seeing the new logo. The all grey “Fiesta” uniform is one of my favorites with giving subtle nods to the teams history.

• • •

Denver Nuggets

These are probably my favorite set of all 30 teams. I went back to using my favorite Nuggets word marks on these. Also, a new version of their “White Gold” uniform which then inspired my “Black Diamond” uniform.

• • •

OKC Thunder

I designed an all new logo and wordmark for the Thunder while still using their current color palette. Their “throwback” was inspired by the Sonics uniform. The all black is very simple, but very on brand.

• • •

LA Clippers

Another team where I designed a new logo and wordmarks. The LA logo is to represent a sail. The wordmarks give a sense of moving forward. Adjusting the “i” to sit in the “L” was to close that awkward kerning and it also pays homage to the Stars wordmark.

• • •

Great stuff — thanks Brian! Be sure to check out more of Brian’s work in the links above.

• • • • •

Tyson Kehler

Uni Watch: Are you a Uni Watch reader and if so, how long have you been following?

Tyson Kehler: I haven’t actually read many articles on Uni Watch, but I follow the updates on Twitter. Maybe for the last year or so.

UW: How old are you and where do you live?

TK: I am 20 years old and I’m from Manitoba (Canada)

UW: These are some amazing concepts — did you come up with these before the adidas uniforms were revealed?

TK: I did indeed. I actually redesigned them about a year and a half ago now. The exceptions to that are Las Vegas and Winnipeg. I added Las Vegas after Adidas revealed everything, and I updated Winnipeg sometime before the reveal, but with the look they used in the Heritage Classic.

UW: Are you a graphic artist or designer by trade or is this just a hobby?

TK: I don’t have any schooling in graphic design, besides one high school class. It could be defined as a hobby, but for me it’s a little more. I have a “business” name and logo. I act as an independent contractor for a business where I live, and do some work for him. So I’m not a full time graphic designer, nor would I fully call it a hobby. This redesign I did was just for my enjoyment, so that would be the hobby part of what I do. I’m hoping one day I can take my work into being a full time graphic designer.

UW: What program did you use to create these?

TK: I use a program called Graphic. (Previously called iDraw) I am familiar with Adobe Illustrator, and I prefer that, but Graphic was a one time payment app on my Mac, and it has just about all the same features as Illustrator. It works well for the purposes I need it for.

UW: How long (approximately) does each individual uniform take? How long for an entire team?

TK: It’s tough to say how long each one takes, because each team is different. For some teams, like Chicago, the uniforms remained almost unchanged. Those teams may have taken around an hour or less. Others, such as the Buffalo Sabres, or the San Jose Sharks where I tweaked the logos and uniforms, those would’ve taken around 1-2 hours. Las Vegas was unique and took me maybe 3-4 hours, because I created the primary logo from scratch. The uniforms don’t actually take too much time. It’s the thinking of ideas that takes the longest.

UW: Do you have a website or blog or social media presence?

TK: I do have a website: dynamiclightsdesign.weebly.com I also have quite a large social media presence. Large in the sense that I’m using a lot of platforms. I don’t like to self promote, but I’m on Twitter @dynamiclights97, Instagram @dynamiclightsdesign, Pinterest (Dynamic Lights Design), and I also have a Facebook page.

UW: Do you have any other concepts besides the NHL?

TK: I am 2 concepts into an AHL redesign. (Rochester and Manitoba) I have redesigned every logo in the MJHL (Manitoba Junior Hockey League), to go with a couple team’s uniform sets. I don’t just design uniform concepts. I have made sports wallpapers, other wallpapers, I redesigned my local minor baseball team logo and uniform set, and I also design tournament and business logos.

UW: Anything else you think our readers would like to know about you?

TK: I have a huge passion for uniform and logo design. I actually got my start on Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos forums. The support and comments were pretty good with my first concepts, even though they were awful. I haven’t done much on that forum since my NHL redesign though. I managed to get my NHL redesign featured on TSN’s Bardown, as well as a branch of Sports Illustrated. I also have a Quebec Nordiques concept that got shared by Huffington Post in Quebec as well as TVA Sports in Quebec.

UW: Thanks Tyson! Now, let’s take a look at your top 10!

TK: Here are the descriptions for my top ten. I’ll try to not ramble on about each one, but I’m pretty passionate about my designs.

• • •

Nashville Predators

With Nashville, there were so many routes I could go with. I created this before the new Adidas reveal, but even with that jersey, there was plenty of room for improvement. I like simple and classic, but I wanted to change things up a bit for Nashville. I took away the piping from their uniforms, but kept a line around the shoulders. I took a small creative route with the arm stripes. But my favourite part is the stars (from the alternate and the Tennessee flag) on the sleeves. Just a small detail that brings it all together. For the alternate uniform, I wanted to bring back the blue. But my favourite part about the alternate is the striping. I added some diamond shapes to the stripes. I was inspired by the All Star Game logos in Nashville and also, those shapes appear on some guitars. So it kind of pays homage to Nashville’s music scene.

• • •

Columbus Blue Jackets

Like I mentioned before, I love classic and simple. I stuck with that for Columbus, but again, I added stars to the sleeves. Just a small touch to make it really fit Columbus and the Blue Jacket name. I promoted the alternate logo to the primary, and recoloured it with navy blue, red, and a beige accent colour. Just the cannon became the alternate. I kept it pretty simple with the alternate as well, with some angled stripes to make it a little different.

• • •

Las Vegas Golden Knights

This would’ve been my top design, if I hadn’t had done so well with Nashville and Columbus. When Vegas released their logos and uniforms, I was left wanting more. I really don’t like what the designed. I used their current alternate logo, but completely changed the primary logo. (I also added the ”˜Las’ back to the name) I liked the idea of the shield and the front facing knight helmet. I just changed the helmet and added some small touches to the shield. Mainly, making the border look like an ”˜L’ and a ”˜V’, combined to make the outline of the shield. I love small touches like that. For the home and away, I almost went with a Coyotes style of striping. I added more gold because it is in the team name. It only makes sense. With the alternate, I added the chest stripes, but made it different enough from Florida and Montreal. As another small touch, I also added an Inaugural Season patch onto the uniforms.

• • •

Buffalo Sabres

Either people will love this design, or hate that I chose the buffalo logo from their red and black days. I updated the logo, and added the royal blue and gold. I’ve heard Sabres fans love the royal blue, so I just had to go with that. I kept it very classic for Buffalo, even with a gold alternate. This one is pretty self explanatory.

• • •

Winnipeg Jets

My home town team. I can’t take much credit for this one. The away uniform is simply the Heritage Classic uniform. The home is just a blue version of that. The alternate uniform is a throwback to their days in the WHA and early time in the NHL. I originally designed Winnipeg before the Heritage Classic, but when they released those uniforms, I instantly loved it. I have another design using their current logos, but the Heritage Classic colours, but I just love the classic logos way more.

• • •

Colorado Avalanche

Once again, the home and away uniforms have pretty classic striping. When Adidas released Colorado’s new uniforms, I actually loved those more than mine. But I like classic, clean striping. While the mountain stripes on their new uniforms look great, it’s not a part of my ideal NHL look. I promoted the alternate logo to the primary and the stadium series logo to the alternate logo. The alternate uniform is simply the stadium series uniform, but just a blue version of it.

• • •

Anaheim Ducks

I switched the primary and alternate logos. I love the old Mighty Ducks look, but I love the orange and copper colour scheme. So, obviously, I just mashed them up together. What came from it is a simple, sharp looking uniform set. It is almost what they currently have, but with a sharper striping pattern on the home and away.

• • •

San Jose Sharks

I think people will be happy with what I did here. As much as I loved the orange accent colour, I eliminated it and brought back the grey. I touched up the primary logo and took away the stick the shark bit through. I never thought it was necessary and didn’t look great either. The home and away have the classic striping, with the added grey. The alternate is a modern touch on the classic colours. Once again, a relatively simple striping pattern, but it is still clearly San Jose. It is their own and distinguishable from other teams.

• • •

Washington Capitals

I went a different path then most people take. Many people like to use the “weagle” logo as the primary. While it is a great logo, I actually loved the diving eagle logo. I recoloured Washington with their Winter Classic colours, which almost make everything sharper. The uniforms are pretty classic, and make sense with what Washington has done in recent history. The alternate is inspired by the Winter Classic uniforms, with a blue uniform instead of red, stars added to the sleeves, and a slightly redesigned ”˜W’ logo.

• • •

Carolina Hurricanes

I did some finishing touches and that vaulted Carolina into my top 10. switched the alternate and primary logos, and brought back the hurricane warning sign squares back into the uniform. Adidas brought them back as well, but it wasn’t enough for me. I also brought black back into the uniforms, just like Adidas did as well. I just beat them to it. The alternate is pretty self explanatory. Just a black version of the home. The only difference is the hurricane warning square is a dark grey. Not too obvious, but it’s still there.

• • •

And thank you, Tyson! Make sure to also check out Tyson’s work in the links above.

How about a nice hand for these two talented gentlemen!

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Too Good…

for the Ticker

He’s back (again)!

This past month, we had a couple amazing treats from Gene Sanny, who shared with us some amazing electronic football figurines he had customized for the 1920 Duluth Eskimos and Ron Mix of the 1960 Los Angeles Chargers.

He’s not back with more figurines, but with a terrific NFL=>USFL catalog cover he’s recreated. Dig:

“Something I worked on over the weekend. Took lots of work actually… ugh. But worth it…. I always wanted to do this.

Imagine getting the Christmas catalog and seeing these…. my folks would have been broke :)

I attached the original as well, so you can see what I needed to do to it to get it to that point.

Gene Sanny

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Thanks Gene! Another stellar job!

OK. Now, on to the ticker…

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The Ticker
By Alex Hider

Baseball News:  Reds P Homer Bailey hasn’t had a New Era logo on his cap all season. That trend continued during his start last night (from Adam Foxman). … The Marlins and Phils went color-on-color in the first game of a doubleheader yesterday (from Michael MPH). … Rays SS Brad Miller broke out some new cleats yesterday (from Ryan Delgado). …  A’s rookie Boog Powell was wearing his belt  backwards  on Monday night (from  Chris Flinn). … The Winnipeg Goldeneyes have some nice tequila sunrise jerseys (from  American Association). … Youngstown State players have the school’s logo emblazoned on their gloves (from Robert Hayes). …  Ray Hund found this awesome  baseball postcard, taken some time in the early 1900s. Lots of sweaters, sun collars and straw hats. … According to ‘70s Logos,  Cal football’s old pride stickers    were modeled to look like the adult version of the Cubs’ old alternate logo. … This piece discusses the lack of active politics practiced by baseball players. Though it discusses the tie between baseball and the military, it doesn’t address the rise of camo and stars-and-stripes unis (from  Ryan Burns).

NFL News:  The Dolphins will wear their throwback uniforms  during their last two home games this season. …  Man Cave Photos  colorized this 1925 photo of the Bears’ Red Grange. …  The Calgary Stampeders will wear their alternate helmets on Labor Day (from  Jacob Staley).

College Football News:  Georgia Tech has signed an apparel deal with Adidas  that will take effect next year. I believe that will leave Western Kentucky (correction) Southern Miss as the last DI football school to be sponsored by Russell Athletic. … UNLV will wear  ’80s helmet decals during their season opener on Sept. 2 (from  John Nissan). … This piece takes a deep dive into the Michigan State equipment team (from JT). …  Cal will wear these white unis week one against North Carolina (from Phil). … Mike VII will take over as LSU’s live tiger mascot this year, and the school came up with a cool logo to commemorate the occasion (from Victory Cheeseballs). …  ICYMI from the baseball section: According to ‘70s Logos,  Cal’s old pride stickers  were modeled to look like the adult version of the Chicago Cubs’ old alternate logo. … A comic book graphic on Michigan football’s Facebook page puts a Wolverine in a uni that the team hasn’t worn since 2012 (from  Chad).

Hockey News:  If this clip from NHL 18 is any indication, it appears that the Golden Knights will wear black gloves instead of white on the ice this year (from Phil). …  Good video on how the Vegas Golden Knights’  logo and unis  came together (from  Bill Stewart). … The  Trois-Rivieres Blizzard of the  Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey (a low-level pro league in Quebec) have change their nickname to the  Draveurs, and have lifted the Dallas Stars logo (from  Wade Heidt). … The Dells Ducks of the  United States Premier Hockey League sport a logo that is a ’90s mashup of SoCal’s two pro hockey clubs (from  Radio Guy).

Basketball News:  With Kyrie Irving being traded to the Celtics, it looks like the folks at NBA 2K18 have some photoshop work to do (from  Michael Golec”). …  New floor for Minot State University in North Dakota (from  Greg Enkers). … New floor design for Cincinnati’s Moeller High School.

Soccer News:  Indy Eleven of the NASL are having a college night coming up, and they put together a  promotional poster modeled after the Animal House movie poster (from  Grand Moff Barkin). … The Portland Timbers have updated their locker room to reflect their team color changes (from Phil).

Grab Bag:  Wasps, an English rugby club, will wear special  150th anniversary unis this season (from  Eric Bangeman). … Got enough fonts? (From  Tom). … WWE wrestler Kassius Ohno likes to sport a logo inspired by the 1992 US Olympic basketball Dream Team (from  Joe).

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That’s it for today — thanks again to Brian and Tyson.

Tomorrow we’ll be linking to (and hopefully discussing) Paul’s ESPN College Football Preview and I’ll also have your 12 finalists for the Griffins Fauxback Jersey Design contest, so you won’t want to miss that.

Peace.

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