There are two different ways jerseys are made. Outside of the basic shape or cut of a jersey, jerseys are either sublimated or cut and sew. Sublimated jerseys are jerseys where the design is printed right on the jersey. Cut and sew jerseys are more complex. With cut and sew jerseys, each piece of the design is a different part of the jersey that is sewn together to make the jersey.
There are also additional options for logos, names and numbers. With cut and sew jerseys usually the logos, names and numbers are sewn onto the jersey. With Sublimated jerseys the logos, names and numbers are usually printed on to the jerseys with the rest of the design. The heat press is a solid alternative to these two options. There are a lot of options for logos, names and numbers with a heat press. Logos, names and numbers can be basic flat vinyl (sometimes referred to as iron on), they can look like they were sewn to the jersey without being sewn, they can look chrome (like some of the NHL logos in the stadium series), they can have patterns. There are just a lot more options with heat press logo, names and numbers.
Teams are going to have advertisements on jerseys. For this concept I won’t be adding them to my designs. This is just another thing that teams are going to do. I support teams having sponsors as that helps to keep the sport alive. When it comes to advertisements on jerseys there is a scale. On the low end is the NBA. One small logo on the front of the jersey. On the other end is NASCAR. The entire uniform is full of advertisements.
Since there is a scale there are multiple options for advertisements. The NBA option is having one small logo on the front of the jersey. The minor league option has either at least two logos or has a logo anywhere but the front of the jersey. For the minor league option, logos are placed on the front, shoulders, on the back above the name or on the back below the numbers. For both the NBA and minor league options the advertisements blend in with the rest of the jersey. The next option is the soccer option. For this option the primary logo is replaced with an advertisement. The team logo then becomes the secondary logo on the jersey. This option isn’t limited to one advertisement. This option doesn’t have a limit to how many advertisements are on a jersey. For this option additional advertisements can be placed anywhere on the jersey. In some cases with the soccer option, the design of the jersey revolves around the The next option is the European option. European hockey jerseys are known for selling lots of advertising space. The European option is where there are a lot of advertisements on a jersey while still having the primary logo on the front of the jersey. The final option is the nascar option. With the NASCAR option, as much advertising space is sold as possible. There are no team logos on the jersey with this option.
The NBA and minor league options try to blend the advertisements into the overall design. The soccer, European and NASCAR options focus more on selling space than design.
There is a lot of diversity when it comes to the design of adult league logos/jerseys. It is almost like the diversity of designs seen in soccer. Each team comes up with their own logos, colors and designs. That can range from team designs looking like clipart to looking like they belong in the pros. A team could have a logo that looks like it’s from the 70’s and another could have a very modern logo. Jersey design is also another factor in the diversity of a leagues design. There are a lot of custom jersey manufacturers. I talked about that in a lot of detail. Different manufacturers means deferent templates. Different templates lead to different designs. There could also be back and fourth with the manufacturer on a design. A single design sent to two manufacturers could go through two different templates, two different specifications, multiple different changes and come out with two completely different jerseys.
A wide range of teams and designs means a wide range of artist. Thats part of the beauty of the diversity of the design of adult league. Having a wide range of artist leads to a wide range of different designs. There isn’t a lot of uniformity when there are a lot of artists. A league like the NHL has some uniformity despite having a lot of resources at it’s disposal. The reason leagues like the NHL do this is for branding. They want to look and feel modern while putting everything in a collective. They want you to know it’s the NHL. An extreme example of lack of diversity in branding is the XFL. In 2019 they released their new logos. They all looked very similar as they were all done by the same design firm. This backfired as non of the league branding didn’t really connect with the fans or locations of the teams. Diversity in branding a league is important. Without it a league can look boring or not stick out. It can make a league look like they are trying to put themselves first instead of their teams, players, and fans.
Part of why adult leagues are so diverse is that there are no guidelines nor do teams need approval from the league. Part of why a league can look uniform is because they send out guidelines. Teams have to follow those guidelines for all of their branding. Major changes such as logos or jerseys have to be approved by the league. In some cases even voted on by the teams. Thats not to say that if a team does do something wrong in adult the league won’t intervene. For instance if their are enough complaints against a teams design or a team puts something offensive in their design, I am sure the league will put a stop to it.
I can’t create this kind of diversity with this concept. I am just one person. This kind of realism in diversity is only created with multiple artist. Perhaps in the future I will be able to with different concepts. The main problem lies in that I can not create what someone else can. I don’t have someone else’s background. I don’t have someone else’s ideas. I don’t have someone else’s style. In doing this by myself I do not have as much time to dedicate to each team. For example if I work on one team for three weeks I have a lot more time to do more then if I have three weeks to work on five teams.
Zac Electrifly 