Rebranding the New England Patriots

In past posts, I presented different examples of uniform and logo design that have actively been used in the real world. Today, I wanted to divert from that and present a concept design of my own. This concept is a rebrand of my hometown team, the New England Patriots.


It's not that I think there is anything wrong with what the Patriots currently wear. In fact, I like the look (which puts me in the minority) but there are things that I believe could make it better. 


First, I brought back Pat Patriot, the primary logo the team wore in previous seasons. However, Pat Patriot is too detailed to be a quality logo in modern days, so I created a modernized version of the logo. The new Pat Patriot has a sleeker look, with cleaner shadowing and a simplified coat. Pat's sleeves have been rolled up as a representation of the "roll up your sleeves and get to work" attitude of New Englanders. His face has been changed from a happy grin, to an aggressive scowl to better reflect the game of football in the modern era. Other aspects of the logo remain the same, but are rendered in a more simplistic fashion, similar to many designs currently used.


Next, I redesigned the team's wordmark. I'm not a fan of the team's current wordmark. It isn't the worst I've seen, and there is nothing technically wrong with it, the wordmark just isn't my cup of tea. My version of the wordmark uses a custom font with block style letters that are stylized to portray motion and swiftness. The letters are colored with a red (or silver) strip to further enhance the sense of motion.

Helmet, Primary logo, and Wordmark

For the secondary logo, I wanted to create something that would not only represent the team, but also the entire population of New England as a whole.

The logo is a tattered red flag, adorned with six stars, each representing a New England state and a green pine tree in a similar style to current the flag of New England. The tattering of the flag represents the perseverance and grit of Patriots as well as of New Englanders, who struggle struggle through even the most difficult hardships and succeed.

Secondary Logo

Finally, I created a uniform set that represents the simplicity of the Patriot Way. The primary home uniform is navy blue, with sublimated stripes on the torso, similar to the Patriots uniforms during the 1990s. The numbers are two-toned, featuring white with a silver strip similar to the design of the wordmark. The pants are silver and contain a blue stripe outlined in red. The stripe design represents the speed and fluidity of the Patriots signature style of offense, which features quick passing strikes. The away uniform is the same design with a white uniform and blue pants.

There you have it. In all, this design took me between 3 to 5 weeks to think up and design. Feel free to leave your comments and criticisms on any of the designs.

But Everyone is Doing It! Black For Black's Sake Edition

Last week, we discussed three trends in sports uniforms over the years, the powder blue craze, the bright-color phase, and the teal and purple years. This week, I will present another trend that has recently taken hold in sports...

 Black for Black's Sake (BFBS) 

Image from uni-watch.com

Black for Black's sake is a trend that describes, according to Uni Watch, "teams that gratuitously add black to their uniform design even though black was never one of their team colors." This trend really peaked during the 1990's and 2000's when it seemed like every team from all levels of sports began wearing black in their uniforms.


In the MLB, numerous teams have added black to their color schemes. However, the five that stand out the most are the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics. Amazingly, only the Mets still wear a black uniforms, and even that is being phased out of use.




The most notable case in the NFL are the Detroit Lions, who traditionally wore Honolulu Blue and Silver, but added black in 2003. The Lions still include black trim, but phased out the black uniform in 2009.


The Arizona Cardinals, one of the most historic teams in the NFL, sported Cardinal and white uniforms for most of its history, but added black trim in 2005. In 2010, the Cardinals also added a black uniform to their set.




In the NBA, the two most notable teams to use BFBS are the New York Knicks, and the Boston Celtics. While the Celtics only use black in their alternate uniforms, the Knicks have black incorporated into their uniforms full time, something they did not do in the past.



The NHL currently has one offender. The Calgary Flames have historically worn Red and Yellow, but in 1995, the Flames added black trim. Black has been a part of Flames uniforms ever since.


Black for Black's Sake is mostly seen at the college and high school lever, where teams do not have to follow as strict uniform rules (when it comes to changing uniforms) and can add black to their uniforms more freely. 


In college, Oregon is the most obvious offender. In fact, some uniforms the Ducks wear don't even include the school's official colors (Green and Yellow). Of course, look anywhere and you will probably be able to find a team that has worn a black uniform at some point in time. At this level, it is very common.


One common explanation for the craze for wearing black is that black looks tougher than other colors. Others just believe black has become popular because "it looks cool" and can go with any other color. Whatever the explanation, black in sports uniforms (that have not historically contained black) will be around for along time.


 I personally am not a fan of the trend (this does not include teams like the Boston Bruins or Pittsburgh Steelers, who have always worn black), and am glad that many professional teams no longer take part in the trend.

But Everyone is doing it! Part 1

Earlier in the week, my Rhetoric class was discussion fashion trends that should never have existed. While this was occurring, I was coming up with numerous ideas on different sports trends, and this post was born. Basically, this post will discuss several trends that have swept sports over the years. This will be broken into two parts, with the second featuring three modern trends (late 1990s through today). This week will feature trends of the past that have mostly died out.


The Powder Blue Craze

This is particularly a baseball trend (though the use of double blue is gaining momentum in many sports) since baseball is played in the summer, and teams tend to wear light colors (grey) during away games. So, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, teams began wearing uniforms that were a baby blue color as a way to distinguish themselves from teams that wore grey road uniforms.


The two teams to begin this craze were the Seattle Pilots and the Montreal Expos. While these were not the first two teams to ever wear powder blue (The Cubs and White Sox had worn them decades earlier), these teams marked the beginning of the color's popularity. 


In 1972, two more teams, the Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies, adopted powder blue road uniforms. The Pilots also relocated to Milwaukee, becoming the Milwaukee Brewers (and continued to use powder blue). This brought the total to four teams wearing powder blue. 


In 1973, two more teams, the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals, raised the total to six and in 1975, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers joined the craze, raising the total to eight teams. In 1977 the league expanded, creating the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. Both teams wore powder blue, raising the total to nine, as the White Sox dropped their set.


In 1978, the Chicago Cubs took on pinstriped powder blue uniforms, and in 1980 the total raised to eleven teams when the Atlanta Braves joined as well.


Eleven teams was the highest number ever in regards to powder blue road uniforms. Soon, the trend grew out of style and teams began returning to grey. In fact, not a single MLB team currently wears powder blue as their everyday road uniform (though many have powder blue throwback alternates).




The Colorful Uniform Craze (And the socially awkward pants phase)


The late 1970s and early 1980s gave way to a revolutionary change in sports uniforms. Now, due to technology advancements that allowed for bright colors and designs, teams weren't forced to wear dark colors (like navy blue), they could experiment... And that's exactly what they did.


First up is probably the single most famous example, the Houston Astros. During this period, the Astros sported what is now lovingly (or loathingly) dubbed as the "Tequila Sunrise" look or the rainbow uniforms. Either way, these uniforms were bright, and had a rainbow-esque pattern. Some hate these, some love them, but they were no doubt colorful.

Then, there are the Vancouver Canucks, "Flying V" uniforms. this is widely considered one of the worst uniforms ever conceived, and consisted of a Yellow, Red, and Black color scheme with a giant V on the the front. These featured no crest, and were considerable eye sores.

Many other teams fit this list as well, including the Denver Nuggets, the Chicago White Sox, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres, and many others.

This era also featured three teams that wore their pants in extremely awkward fashions. First are the Chicago White Sox. For one game, the Sox debuted a brand new look that featured shorts... The look did not catch on, and is still considered the worst baseball uniform ever conceived. 

The other two teams played in the NHL. Both the Hartford Whalers and the Philadelphia Flyers sported long pants known as Cooperalls. Not only was the look disliked, but the pants were deemed a hazard, and promptly outlawed by the league.

The Teal and Purple Craze

During the 1990's for some horrible reason, the colors teal and purple became very popular amongst athletic teams. In every major league, at least one team sported a look featuring one of the colors.

NBA- Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets

NFL- Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens

NHL- San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks

MLB- Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies

A majority of teams who previously wore these color combinations have since moved away with many either eliminating teal and purple from their schemes, or hiding them behind the color black. In fact, the only teams who still prominently use teal and/or purple are the Sharks, Jaguars, Ravens, and Hornets.

That's all for now, next weeks post will feature the Black for Black's Sake (or BFBS) trend, the Fauxback trend, and "Are you serious?" trend.