Kit Design Research.

I have collated some research for kit designs for Ice Hockey, mainly looking at the professional jerseys they wear and some mock-ups by designers on www.dribbble.com. What I have found is that there is very little originality in the designs as most of the design’s main themes are sports stripes. For example the New Jersey Devils:

Found via Google: http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.414124!/img/httpImage/image.jpg

The only design techniques I can find involving these shirts are the use of colour, which relate to their logo and concept – Devils. In addition to this I have found that a lot of the teams use the traditional sports stripes wrapped around the waist area and forearm areas. I think they do this simply to pay respect to sports history.

I have also noticed how the kit designs always try and involve every colour used in the logo, so for example the Devils picture above show a red, black and white logo and the rest of the kit carries on with that same theme. I think this is used as a way to make the public identify the team very easily as the logo is used everywhere, the fans will become very familiar with it and with the same colours used on the kit it is a way to instantly tell the public who they are even without the logo in plain sight.

The logo is placed in the centre of the jersey, as it’s the most spacious part of the design and body structure so therefore it can be blown up big for people to see it easily from a distance (this is important for when seeing a game live as the players are far away from the seats further away).

Additionally what is seen on most jerseys is the team’s logo (or an additional logo) scaled down on either shoulders:

My own photography

I think what is important about this aspect is how the shoulders are one of the key most ‘stood out’ parts of the body in Ice Hockey because of the big body armour that the players wear, making it a good design space for an image. Also when the player is stood to the side that logo will act as the identifier (to someone not familiar with the team).

Found via Google: http://www.sportfansky.com/images/Mike%20Ribeiro%20Jersey%20Reebok%20Black%20Dallas%20Stars%20Premier%20Jersey.jpg

One shirt design, which stood out to me, was the Dallas Stars most recent top which doesn’t appear to have the logo on the front but only has the name ‘DALLAS’. I found this really interesting because it’s a good technique to use. Sometimes some teams can get a little confusing as to what team they are because a lot of teams have numerous colour palettes for both home and away and so it can sometimes be disorientating. With ‘DALLAS’ written clearly on the front of the shirt it is obvious which team it is. In addition to this their logo has a small design space for ‘Dallas’ but ‘Stars’ is blown up a lot bigger:

Found via Google: http://images.wikia.com/icehockey/images/e/ea/Dallas_Stars.gif

So I think they made that text on the above jersey more obvious to make up for the lettering in the logo.

Another aspect to this design which I found interesting, similar to the sports stripes, is that a lot of the old style jerseys have only text written on the front only reading diagonally downwards like so:

Found via Google: http://cdn.nhl.com/rangers/images/upload/2009/09/History_0904_combo1.jpg

This design as you can see is still sometimes used today out of respect of the old designs. I personally don’t like it however because it’s not particularly modern and doesn’t read that well. The Dallas design above though however I do like because it’s more obvious and stands out.

Again using the Dallas Stars jersey picture as a reference I’ve noticed the consistency in design on the name and number on the back, the white text and yellow stroke is used on the front and back and on the stripes to make it all one design and more like a team. The name and number is very important that it stands out because obviously people need to know who is who and what they’re doing, not only for the public though but the commentators as well.

Moving on to sponsor logos I have found that they are placed strategically on the kit in a subtle way that doesn’t distract from anything else on the design but when you see it you know who are the teams sponsors or who made/printed the kit. (This is only on the NHL shirts however, not the UK ELITE League shirts who have sponsors covering the whole design).

Both my own photography

I found that the back on the neck is a blank and large canvas and so the brands logo sits in there quite well, also the bottom of the sleeve always seem to stand out quite well because the circular shape stands out amongst the stripes making it more noticeable.

I have found some good inspiration from existing shirts that I think could help me to create a nice and functional design. I’ll start with the Anaheim Ducks most recent shirt:

Found via Google: http://www.propatchesusa.com/images/ANAHEIM%203.jpg

These designs are a bit more original than the others simply because of the shape of the stripes that appear on the shirt. You can see that the curve could symbolise the movement of players on the ice. When they turn they have to curve around in order to maintain balance and turn effectively and I think the shape on this jersey is a reflection of that. Also it’s possible that the stripes symbolise something flying through the air - say a puck. The gradual size difference makes it seem like the object flying through the air is moving forward at a very fast pace. This gives the connotation of speed and agility, which are key factors of the game.

The colours used are the original home and away colours, black and white. But I think they are dominantly used as neutral colours for both the orange and gold. The reason for orange is because of the city’s location in the Orange County, United States. The logo is in gold and so therefore they needed to introduce a gold colour into the kit design also. I think the colours used work really well and they stand out. I prefer the black version as the other colours are quite bright and therefore jump out at you a lot easier.

Found via Google: http://www.propatchesusa.com/images/wc%20blackhawks.jpg

The Chicago Blackhawks ‘Winter Classic’ (special annual match between 2 teams chosen at random) jersey I found quite interesting because it uses the same classic sports stripes but only in the centre it is enlarged fitting around the logo. With the centre of the stripe a creamy brown colour it gives the logo a chance to really stand out. I think it works really effectively and makes it easily recognisable.

Found via Google: http://www.propatchesusa.com/images/AVALANCHE%203.jpg

The Colorado Avalanche’s shirt appears to show the home and away kit without the sports stripes, which is sitting outside the design consistency of every other team’s design which I like. But the shirt shape is also a little different as they have the seams going from the armpit to the inner neck area. I couldn’t find any logical explanation for this design but I think it could potentially give a more original look instead of having a set template that I quite like. Again the colours stand out and are consistent with the logo. I prefer the away version as the logo appears more obvious and in your face.

Found via www.dribbble.com: http://dribbble.com/shots/480159-Grand-Rapids-Griffins-Jersey-Shot-2

The Grand Rapids Griffins team is not in the NHL but rather in the AHL (American Hockey League), which is a league down from the NHL. What I found interesting about this design was the armband around the elbow area. It appears to have the logo there instead of having it on the shoulder. Also it shows the number on the side of the shirt too which I really liked. I much prefer the logo on the shoulder though because it has more space to sit on and doesn’t cramp too much when bending their arm. I think the logo and number sits too closely together and seem cramped when the rest of his arm is empty. Still a nice idea.

Found via www.dribbble.com: http://dribbble.com/shots/409885-Las-Vegas-Kings-shirts

I found this one again on www.dribbble.com designed by Andy Hall. I thought I could have some relevance to this design because the colours and theme are the same as mine. We have both adopted the regal look but I find his other design elements interesting. It appears he has stayed true to the sports stripes but instead he has involved the hearts, clubs and diamonds into the design. I like this concept but I think it makes the design really complicated and claustrophobic. The placement of colours though is different to those in the NHL. I feel it looks a little more original and stands out amongst the rest, which I really like.

Found via www.dribbble.com: http://dribbble.com/shots/379523-Steamrollers-Shirt-Designs

Another Andy Hall design which I really like. I think the shapes are a lot more intimidating here as he has incorporated a downward triangle (signifying offensive strategy in sport). I think the pointed look is quite scary and make you feel a little uneasy which is what you want your opponent to feel. Also he has made these shapes to stay consistent with the shape of the logos concept – steamrollers.

My own photography.

Another original jersey design is for the Dallas Stars old jersey (my old one!) You can see that the design reflects the shape of the logo making it easily identifiable and interesting. One thing I don’t like about this however is the design space for the logo in between the two points on the centre of the big star, I think it looks too cramped and forced.

I feel a lot more confident now I have some research for the jersey designs and I feel I can get to the drawing board and come up with some nice designs for my shirt. Although there have been a lot of unoriginal examples provided by the NHL I still feel like I can take it up a notch and design something that stays original to the game but looks a little different whilst staying functional.

However I still need to confirm something with my tutors about what aspects of the kit I need to provide. Because the NHL provides the kit for them who have big funds I feel that because my team is only a local team they would realistically only be able to afford the jersey and socks as a custom design, everything else will be very expensive to customise, such as the gloves, stick, shorts, body armour, shin pads, helmet, skates etc. Saying this though the NHL team’s skates, sticks, shin pads, elbow pads, body armour and gloves aren’t branded but only have a similar colour scheme, which doesn’t require customisation.

Lastly I wanted to talk about the article I found about the new GB Olympic games kit. As I read it I found some tips that will help me boost the morale of the players.

Stella McCartney, designer of the kits said that "You have to make the athletes feel like they are in the height of their performance. That they are wearing technical gear that is absolutely going to shave off the tiniest part of a second.” And that "Something that came across early on was that they want to feel and look like they are a team and there is such power in that.” 

Stella goes on to say that "When I talked to the athletes I asked them: 'Do you feel different when you look good, do you think it enhances your performance?' and they all said 'yes'.”

Article and picture from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17457729

The next step for me now is to get to the drawing board and design!