www.angelotrofa.blogspot.com

sketchbook junk

2011-07-16T16:22:00.004+01:00

Having finished university I thought it was time to go through some of the junk I have built up in sketch books and illo's over the last couple of years, and some projects which I didn't complete in time(university life making me lazy) that I now wish to finish.

This is an etching I did a couple of years ago of Edward Scissorhands, I thought him the perfect character for the scratchy effect you get with etchings.

The Aesthetic Trust Interview

2011-07-13T16:22:00.004+01:00

The Aesthetic Trust featured me on their site, for their 'show and tell' section, here is an interview with me discussing my work for the Louche F.C and just a general chit chat about design and what inspires me - click here to check it out!

New Website Coming Soon

2011-07-06T14:35:00.004+01:00

I have been working on my new improved website which will show all of my work and more, this will be up and running at the end of the month so keep a look out!

2011-05-31T14:34:00.003+01:00

University Final Major Project

2011-05-22T15:51:00.011+01:00

A selection of artwork created for my final major project at university. These are posters which Manchester based band Louche F.C's records label ‘Sways’ asked me to create, the idea was to have artwork which can be used in multiple ways, be it vinyls, merch or gig posters. The ideas for the artwork came from the bands songs, and the image they planted in my head.

As always Click to Enlarge

Football Kit Zine #2

2011-04-03T17:38:00.010+01:00

The second instalment of my football kit magazine series, this will be printed over easter and then made available to buy once my online store goes live. More to follow, and please enjoy.

Open publication - Free publishing - More angelo

Magazine #2 illustration progression

2011-04-02T12:00:00.000+01:00

Gotta Love Robbie Savage.

2011-03-20T19:15:00.002Z

The great man, Robbie Savage had a little drawing comp on twitter, sketched this up quickly to get in quick and ended up with it as his twitter pic! Pretty chuffed as he was always my only brit in my football manager Inter team! what a man!

Doctrines - Album Art Final

2011-03-19T14:21:00.002Z

The Band asked for a black and white image for their artwork as a nod to Raymond Pettibon, heres my take, with a few splashes of grey here and there.

Fort Worth Band logo

2011-03-17T21:05:00.003Z

Logo design for Manchester based-band Fort Worth, who wanted a calligraphic tattoo inspired logo.

Doctrines - Album Art

2011-02-26T19:29:00.003Z

Album artwork for Manc-based band Doctrines, for their forthcoming EP.

More to follow...

2011-02-03T00:34:00.002Z

The Sasha Postcards

2011-02-03T00:32:00.001Z

Iv had the designs I did for 'The Sasha' made into some postcards, working on getting these made into posters which will be available to buy when I sort my ETSY account out.

Illustration Magazine Cover designs.

2011-01-19T23:32:00.005Z

Having finished my finals, I wanted to see what they would look like in a “zine” style so created a series of cover designs, inspired by vintage gentlemen’s covers such as 'The Gent' and 'Esquire'. I settled on the name The Sasha, seeing as it is based on Sasha Grey.

Final Sasha Illustrations Coloured.

2011-01-18T21:12:00.003Z

Finally finished my Uni project, these are the finals along with the bottom ones, all coloured, for now I am handing them in as posters, but in the next couple of weeks will turn them into a mini magazine.

Colour.

2011-01-16T13:46:00.005Z

More Grey.

2011-01-12T00:06:00.002Z

More sketches of Sasha Grey, wether they look like her is open to debate, but its intended to be her, to make it abit more interesting, I've added a leather aviator hat and futuristic gun, these are still the roughs and will be coloured in time for next thursdays deadline.

Sasha Grey.

2011-01-06T23:35:00.004Z

These images are part of 20 that I have had to produce for University, the project was to do an illustration a day. Being someone who gets easily distracted it was hard for me to keep drawing either half-assed or on the same subject, especially when all I want to do is design football kits. I settled on drawing Sasha grey, a couple of times a week, I chose the pornstar as you can go crazy with the body positions and its good practice for anatomical drawings.

Inspired by two of my favourite illustrators James Jean, and Alberto Ruiz.

Sampdoria

2011-01-06T23:20:00.003Z

This is a re-visit from a past design I did almost 2 years ago as a Nike design. Only this time I have done it for Kappa, who currently manufacture the Samp kits. I've re-introduced the more 'aqua' blue that Samp had in the late 80s-early 90s, and given the kit abit of a twist whilst retaining the Kappa qualities.

I'm a huge fan of Kappa and love all of their kits, for me the most innovate company in the last 20 years, clearly taking the function over form approach to their designs, and as a result having such elegant and simple kits.

For the away kit I liked the grey kits of the early 2000s without the Blucerchiato, however for my design instead of getting rid altogether I decided to make it very subtle only visible when looked at closely(for illustration purposes I've made it more visible).

USA Home & Away

2010-12-08T22:10:00.004Z

Kit design for the USA, whose kits I feel are quite un-american. When you look at MLS despite the fact the are all Adidas you get the Americana flavour through the crest designs and colours etc, what I have done here is play on their pride and how they love their flag, which forms an integral part of the kit (the interruption down the left hand side is to create a feeling that the flag is flowing in the air. Having looked at the kits from the '94 world cup and Captain America's suit this is the result with the home having the stars faintly inserted with holes to ventilate the body. For more info on the triangular design, see the below post.

Pyramid Logo Concept

2010-12-08T17:30:00.005Z

I have been working on more football kit designs to create a large magazine/catalogue of my designs which I will send out to companies and possibly make them available for sale online.
These three logos above are a play on the new 'Nike Football' logo, and Illuminati symbolism, these will be used on a design for the USA national team I have been working on, which in a way is a mock over how patriotic they are. The Illuminati logo idea was born out of being told by superstitious folk about how much it appears in places all over the world, but more specifically the US. It can be found on the US Dollar note, AOLs logo, Starbucks, Nickolodean and millions more…its only right that it should adorn the nations football kit.

Hearts FC kits

2010-11-28T18:02:00.003Z

These designs were done for Chris 'Chillibean' Ciliberti, who aswell as being a good friend of mine, is a huge Hearts fan. I wanted to go for something quite quirky for the designs, I hate the current Ajax rip off kit that they currently play in. I was surprised that the side didn't have any kit like this in their history, so despite being quite outrageous I'm quite pleased with the outcome. The designs have had mixed reviews on the design forums, but is this such a crazy concept when we are seeing professional footballers wearing bright pink football boots?

Louche FC - Comic

2010-11-11T08:27:00.002Z

Louche FC - Sticker

2010-10-31T01:55:00.000+01:00

Another ‘Panini’ style sticker I have created, this time the female singer, Kyoko. Here I have also shown the inked illustration that I start off with. Pretty simple process, I draw the image, ink it up using a combination of fineliner pens and acrylic ink, import that into Adobe Illustrator and live trace, and then using the layers I apply the colour. The textured background is a hand made piece of paper I scanned in.

My other Blog: angelotrofa.tumblr.com

2010-10-30T14:25:00.005+01:00

This is another piece of work for Manchester-based band, The Louche FC. Two 'Panini' style stickers with a 1940s twist. This is also one of my first proper attempts at portraits, and glad to say it worked, as it looks like who its meant to.

I also have set up another blog for university works, this still has design work I have done some of which isnt on here, but also has works I admire. check it out here

Louche FC - Football Kit

2010-10-25T16:27:00.002+01:00

A kit idea for the Louche FC comic book I am working on, this would also double up as the band t-shirt. Inspired by college football teams in the US, with the large motif emblazoned across the chest. I have also been playing with how the number would sit on the reverse of the shirt, with the number in a speech bubble style box.

Louche FC - Poster #2

2010-10-20T00:51:00.004+01:00

The second in a series of 4 posters I am creating for Manchester based band the Louche FC. These not only promote the gigs, but will also work alongside a comic book I am creating for the band.

Poster is inspired by a Jack Vettriano painting, Monica Bellucci and pornstar Sasha Grey.

New Logo

2010-10-14T02:33:00.001+01:00

A new logo that I have begun working on, which still needs working on. Inspired by vintage hood ornaments and the Thunderbirds' 'International Rescue' logo, the focal point besides the wings is my initials 'AT' combined as one.

The Louche FC - Band Artwork

2010-10-13T20:45:00.003+01:00

This artwork is for Manchester-based band the Louche FC who have just been signed to indie record label Sways, I have been asked to produce some artwork for them which will also transform into a comic book. As they are called FC the comic book will centre around this hypothetical team, mainly dealing with what goes on behind the scenes, as you can see from the poster. Im very excited about this project as it is something I have wanted to do in a long time, these will also be on sale from next month.

For more info on the band check out their myspace here

2010-10-13T20:39:00.003+01:00

Louche FC - Logo & Demo Cover

2010-10-13T20:38:00.000+01:00

Developing the Louche FC band logo and an idea for their demo cover, which would have original comic strips behind as opposed to ones the singer likes.

Cedar School Re-Brand

2010-10-13T20:20:00.004+01:00

Another corporate project I undertook in the summer, this time a re-brand of Cedars School in Newport Pagnell. The school had a dated and very unprofessional identity and felt a modernisation was in order. I was required to design the school logo, and also illustrate the motto. After weeks of discussions it was these designs which were selected by the school. The main focal point of the school logo is the cedar tree, after what the school was named.

Krishan Ghedia Studies.

2010-10-10T13:55:00.002+01:00

Studies of my friend Krish from last year, possibly one of the coolest 'pieces' you will ever meet.

MY Greatest XI Ever

2010-10-09T13:22:00.004+01:00

This is the begining of a new personal project I have embarked on, I thought I'd give a sneak peek, the project will be for me to illustrate who I think were the best players in their positions in the history of football, there will be some shocks because what I have tried to do is create a team, that could work as a unit instead of a stellar side similar to that of Real Madrid etc.

I will be working from the front backwards, so my first(yet to be completed) player is Giuseppe Meazza, who for me is the perfect striker, and his achievements were pretty phenomenal at international and club level. Im currently in the process of developing this into a book so I'll keep you posted.

Dennis the Menace

2010-10-09T13:03:00.004+01:00

This project initially started life as a summer university breif, in which I was to design a celebratory Google logo. Initially my idea was to do 'Walter the softie's' birthday, to those of you who don't know Walter was Dennis the Menace's nemesis in the Beano comics, until a politically correct Dennis was mooted. This dissappointed me, so I ended up bringing him back to the character we all know and love, naughty, mischievous and fun...the first step was giving him back the trademark slingshot.

Theres quite a few sketches iv done, including other characters...and Dennis in the midst of mischief, these will be uploaded at some point.

DPA logo proposal.

2010-10-09T00:42:00.003+01:00

Another piece of corporate work, this time a logo proposal for DPA Compliance from Milton Keynes, despite being quite content with the outcome, Frank Scarito of Luca Design decided it wasn't corporate enough...sounds like sour grapes to me.

Headmaster Hairdressers logo

2010-10-09T00:34:00.001+01:00

Having worked alot on corporate and the more professional side of design this summer, I have alot of non-football related work, this was one of my more interesting briefs in which I was asked to redesign a logo for a hairdressers, after the owner was unhappy with what another designer had already done.

This was the logo for a new Hairdressers, the concept was concieved by the owner who told me to do it in anyway I wanted, this is what I come up with and am pleased to say he was happy with too. These were the three proposed designs with the third being chosen.

Bishop Parker School Fete

2010-10-07T00:21:00.000+01:00

Above are a couple of designs I submitted for Bishop Parker School's World Cup themed summer fete, these were used for the cover of the programme and promotional material. In keeping with the theme of the World Cup I decided to use bunting of flags using footballs on the flags giving it that 'novelty' factor, as well as choosing bright and vibrant colours emphasising fun and summer.

FC Basel FMP Re-Visit Away

2010-09-21T14:37:00.010+01:00

A re-visit of another FMP strip, same principle as the home, except this draws more from the future of kits, more particularly cycling jerseys. And to Chillibean who hates the numbering, I did this for you my friend.

Basel Change/Alternate strips

2010-09-21T07:10:00.001+01:00

With football teams constantly altering their strips to avoid colour clashes in matches it has become rarer to see teams take the field in their actual colours. Therefore I decided to play on my Basel kits, coming up with 'change shorts' & 'change socks' as they have become known, most kits now have 2 sets of shorts and socks for the home and away kit, and also flogged at a nice price. With my kits which is quite different in styles, I decided to juggle with them and see what they looked like, here are the results. I think that Basel in blue shirts and shorts look pretty smart.

FC Basel FMP Re-Visit

2010-09-20T16:13:00.001+01:00

In keeping with my re-visits here is another, the FC Basel kit I originally designed for my college final major project. Not only did I design the strip but also the club crest. The changes are minor with new longer shorts introduced, keeping with the contemporary take on the classic.

Inter Re-Visit

2010-09-20T02:38:00.003+01:00

This proposed Inter Away kit has undergone many changes from my original design, however the striped chest piece remains, and is also carried on to the shorts, which have also turned blue. I have also created a sleeve patch which celebrates the 2010 Champions League victory. Overall I like this design which has had a marmite reception from friends and also on design forums. Credit also to switchimageproject.com for the Serie A patch, which is available to download free of charge.

Brazil Re-Visit

2010-09-20T02:29:00.004+01:00

Re-Visiting two older designs, with more detail of course, and introducing a new design, an all white strip, something not seen since the 50's. The name and numbering style is one I came up with after looking over some classics numbers from the 80's/90's which is a mash up of both, with a contemporary take on them both.

www.angelotrofa.co.uk

2010-05-24T02:04:00.002+01:00

I have been working on a website for myself and my football kit designs. So here is something new, an interactive magazine with my designs in. It will be getting updated with more pages in the coming days, so feel free to check it out.

Love the Classics

2010-05-14T09:01:00.010+01:00

Part of a university project which en-taled us creating a message as part of self promotion, I chose "love the classics" in homage to the football kits of yester-year which I find inspire me. The idea behind the crest is to give it a timeless 'classic' look, something which would have donned strips when they first appeared, but also puts the message across with the royal crown, rampant lions, vintage football and three hearts in the scroll beneath.

Above are a series of postcards showcasing the message, with vintage designed football kits through the 40's to the 80's. I've started expanding on this project so hopefully I can make it bigger and better as a personal project. As always click on the images to make them bigger.

2010-05-03T09:36:00.001+01:00

New York Cosmos Kit

2010-04-13T14:52:00.006+01:00

The crest re-design prompted me into designing a kit for the Cosmos, I wanted to get away from the overly simple kits that I have been designing and work toward something more contemporary, but still maintain elements of the original classic kits from the 1970's. What I didn't intend for this kit was how different it looks from the front and reverse, the front is quite simple and plain, whereas the reverse is alot more detailed. I also maintained the look that runs in the MLS in a similar way to what I did with the crest.

Serpini Helmet Design

2010-04-07T04:00:00.004+01:00

This is an update for the helmet I was asked to design last year, having gone through the intial design with Tony this is the final design that we settled on. The main aspects of the design have been kept however how advertising and additional logos have been added, with tweaks here and there. The helmet is set to been made so keep an eye out for the photos which will be appearing soon.

New York Cosmos Crest - Designfootball.com Comp

2010-04-05T00:15:00.005+01:00

This is my entry for the designfootball.com competition, which requires entrants to redesign the New York Cosmos football crest for the modern day.

I am a huge fan of crests from the US, sure they may look cheesey, but they add an almost comic book element to the designs. I also like the history of the Cosmos, and their crest is very iconic, so i didnt see fit to completely start from scratch, I took the main elements of the crest to create something which would fit in to what we see in the MLS today . The result I feel is just as iconic and yet maintains a very contemporary look and ties with the past logo. I have also begun work on my own Cosmos kit.

Below is the original 1977 crest.

Hot Beverages Rejuvenate.

2010-04-02T00:19:00.005+01:00

This Piece is for a university project which required us to illustrate for a newspaper, this particular illustration Illustrates how hot beverages rejuvenate us. The illustration is pretty self-explanatory, the brave boxer fresh from a fight in the ring, is reflecting over the fight whilst sipping on his tea...which as can be seen is rejuvenating the brave boxer, restoring him back to the beast he is.

Italia World Cup 2010 Roster

2010-04-01T18:27:00.001+01:00

Italia World Cup 2010 'Keeper Kit

2010-04-01T17:13:00.003+01:00

This here is my design for the Goalkeeper strip for my series of re-designs for Italy's world cup kits. In my opinion it was the 'keeper kit that Puma went most wrong. For my design here I took the main template from the home and away strips in order to tie them all together, however inspiration came from different sources. The most Iconic keeper strip Italy have had was worn by Dino Zoff, how this has influenced this design is clear to see. I wanted to add a more contemporary element to the strip, especially as we see so much 'technology' in kits today, what I have done is created a 'zero distraction' for the keeper by adding multiple points of elastication allowing for free movement and never restricting the 'keeper in times of reaction saves. The ideas in where to place these points, came from looking at cyborgs in movies, particularly Robocop which gives an almost cyborg feel to the sleeves, and it is also this reason i decided to make the entire kit grey.

Italia Away World Cup 2010.

2010-03-06T05:08:00.003Z

Having taken the template from the home I transferred it to the away with the same shorts and socks, the change that I had to the away, was the 70's style collar and blue band, which was used during the 60's to 70's and briefly resurrected in the early 2000's.

Forthcoming Work

2010-03-04T03:49:00.002Z

Its been a while since I posted anything on this blog, mainly because I have either been busy with other works, and University. I have still been designing, and as you can see I have completed my 'Mannakin' design, so he now has legs. There are plenty of new designs to look out for in the coming weeks, including the Italy 2010 Away and 'Keeper kits, aswell as the St. Pauli effort I have been babbling on about for some time. Thanks, Angelo.

Italia World Cup 2010 Kit.

2010-03-04T03:38:00.006Z

The design I present here is my design for what I feel Italy should be wearing at the World Cup instead of the dreadful design Puma have come up with.

I took ideas from Italian suits and uniforms to come up with this design, in a similar style to the 'Tailored by Umbro' designs for England. The focal point for this kit is the high waist, longer length shorts, something that hasn't been used since the 1950's. It was something I wanted to use as it gives a much more 'smarter' and 'elegant' look, just how the defending champions should look. I have also gone back to a lighter blue similar to the 2000-2002 Kappa strips. To complete the design, I chose to use the 'Tricolore' just like Puma have tried and failed with for the new kits, here I have used it on the sleeves and socks, gold to emphasise the fact they are champions has also been used.

Boro Futsal Comp.

2009-11-25T18:19:00.006Z

With the winner of the competition due this week, I've decided to publish on my blog the kits which i submitted. There was no stringent rules just that the predominant colour must be blue and have red trimming, we could also take inspiration from previous Middlesborough FC kits.

I decided to create something more 'timeless', opting for simple pinstriping and also adding a little detailing with large cuffs with two stripes to add that extra detail and focal point. I also recycled one of my previous designs.

2009-11-09T17:21:00.003Z

This here, which has been on my blog for some time now, is the front cover for a comic book which I have been working on for a University Project. The comic book is based on the famous Escapologist Harry Houdini, and is a fictional tale of what would have been his most daring escape...should he have undertaken it. This is near to completion and in the not too distant future could be available to be read online.

Family Ink

2009-10-08T12:41:00.004+01:00

This is something I have been working on for some time, it is much bigger than what you see on here, but this is not only my most favourite section but the most complete...It is just a basic illustration with a vintage tattoo twist for my family. This was created using acrylic inks, and I do hope for it to be finished some time soon.

England Away

2009-09-15T17:14:00.004+01:00

This is the England away shirt I have been working on, using the Umbro template I showcased on here recently. Taking a massive influence from the current 'Tailored' designs, this is how I envisage the new away kit launched next March. It was recently announced that the design would take heavily from the classic 1966 strip, and this was were I also started.

This kit also takes all of the features seen on my Umbro template with the diamond sleeve patches and the underarm diamonds. More details designs to follow.

www.2ouche.co.uk - designs

2009-09-15T16:50:00.007+01:00

This some private work I have designed for a local band called '2ouche' a play on the famous French phrase. 2ouche are two young and very talented singers, who are coming out with some good stuff, check them out at www.2ouche.co.uk.

What I was asked to produce was the logo, which can be found above, the final chosen design was the one on top, I decided to include the bottom design as it was one I really liked. It does look very Americanised, and that is where I took influence, looking at logos from movies such as High School Musical and Fame. I was also asked to produce a few ideas for the band t-shirts, seen below.

2009-09-15T16:49:00.001+01:00

St. Pauli Kit Template

2009-08-30T01:44:00.003+01:00

I have been working away on my St. Pauli kit design, this will coincide with another template I have created, this time for UMBRO. I have been fascinated with their whole new look and feel to their 'tailored' kits, and it is from this I take my lead, from first glance the template, shown above, looks very similar to what UMBRO are already doing, which is the general idea in progressing it.

The stand out features I have added which are demonstrated on the long-sleeved version, are the elbow patches which form the shape of the iconic diamond which is the companies identity, this is built from the revolutionary movement fabric seen on the new kits to allow maximum movement, this is also built into a second set of diamonds, this time however they are placed beneath the armpits allowing the body to breath and also add that extra freedom for movement. More to follow in the coming days.

Nike Template - Club Bolivar de Bolivia - Luis Canedo edition

2009-08-14T18:10:00.007+01:00

This is now the last of my NIKE template as far as using it for teams that is, unless im asked by NIKE to actually use it, that is. Here the template has been used for Bolivia's Bolivar, one of the countries most popular sides, I chose Bolivar because of my Bolivian friend Lius Canedo, who is a student and amateur photographer, whose pictures can be found on http://www.flickr.com/people/luiscanedo/

Back to the kit, and I kept the Bolivar colours which are light blue and navy, very simple and a very nice colour combination, there is not too much info on Bolivars football kit past, however through talking to my Bolivian brother I deduced that they have never had a typical style of kit. So from this I took artistic license and came up with what you see. This V-design was something I had reserved for a Brescia kit I was designing, however felt this worked so much better, tell us what you think.

Overall the kit carries all the hallmarks for this NIKE template, with patches, pockets and socks and on display. I also used the collar patch which debuted on my Tottenham kit, something I really like and wish I had used earlier - here it displays the clubs full name and nickname. Enjoy.

St. Pauli Kit Update

2009-08-13T00:30:00.004+01:00

I was asked today whats happening with the St. Pauli kit, all I will say is that it's shaping up nicely, quite different, but I'm currently coming up with a new template to use for it. In the meantime here is another teaser, which I hope keeps you interested. Like all the pictures on this blog it enlarges should you click it. Enjoy.

Nike Template - Tottenham Hotspur Specification

2009-08-12T20:16:00.001+01:00

Full spec version of my creation for Tottenham design.

Nike Template - Tottenham Hotspur

2009-08-12T18:19:00.010+01:00

Finishing up with my Nike template(these are the penultimate designs), are Tottenham Hotspur, I took the decision to design these after PUMA released the 2009/10 kits, which have got to be the worst in the EPL this year.

The kit takes inspiration from many a past Spurs shirt, with the plain white jersey, with the focal points of colour coming from the collar and all the "Sleeve-Caps" which when turned up add blue to the kit. The collar is the main focal point for this shirt, as my "specification illustration" shows below, the main detail is a patch which bears the clubs moto "Audere est Facere", which hasn't featured since 2006. It is from this patch that two stripes add more feature to the kit, this can be seen on the shorts

As for the player names on the reverse of the shirts, no they are not new or future signings but two avid Spurs fans I know.

Update-If Marlboro sponsored AS Monaco? Away Kit

2009-08-12T01:44:00.002+01:00

In keeping with the home kit which took the design from the Marlboro pack, the away takes inspiration from the Marlboro Gold packet. Enjoy.

If Marlboro sponsored AS Monaco?

2009-08-11T17:25:00.000+01:00

Whilst designing my St. Pauli kit, I have been looking into how sponsorship effects football in the modern day, we've seen football stadiums and stands dedicated to sponsorship, now we have entered the age of sponsorships taking over the team identities, with Red Bull responsible for Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls. With that in mind, I took to designing AS Monaco's kit, with Marlboro as a sponsor (which will not happen due to advertising laws) but I couldn't resist giving the Monaco colours a Marlboro twist, after all they do employ a similar colour scheme. Enjoy.

Nike Template - Referees Kit

2009-08-10T22:18:00.003+01:00

Coming to the end of this cycle for my NIKE template with just a few request kits to complete, here is my effort at a Ref's kit, given how poor the EPL's officials gear has been I chose to design for them. Is this also the first ever pink referee's kit? The florescent colours have been a favourite with the officials of late, however many clubs have now adopted these, so I dared to use the pink idea.

Up Coming Works

2009-08-07T01:30:00.011+01:00

Just thought I'd keep you updated on what I'm working on to upload here, firstly I'm looking to complete my NIKE template kits, with maybe one or two or designs and give the 'Mannequin' template an opportunity to get some action.

Secondly, I'm working on a new kit design which I must say is quite daring and elaborate compared to what i have done in the past. Naturally the design is for St. Pauli who have a very colourful history, on and off the field. The design is unlike anything I've seen teams walk out onto the field with, so I hope it goes down well, I have set myself a challenge with this as its quite 'out-there'. In the meantime I've left a little taster of what's to come with my image on the left. Enjoy.

Serpini Helmet Design

2009-08-05T22:57:00.005+01:00

This is a design for a helmet I was asked to design, the specification was that It had to be based on Jean Alesi's 1995 classic design, which is quite simple compared to the modern day designs. The stripes however had to be turned into the 'Tricolore' of Italy, due to the client being an avid fan/collector of ALFA ROMEO's i felt it fitting to encorporate the ALFA symbols instead of Alesi's FERRARI logo.

Therefore the Biscone logo, symbol of Milan and ALFA plays a part as does the Quadrifoglio, which features on every ALFA car also features here. Enjoy.

'Mannequin' Template - First Kits

2009-08-05T17:54:00.001+01:00

'Mannequin' Template

2009-08-05T17:46:00.003+01:00

Having been designing kits on a 2D template for some time, I have started to get bored, places I have looked for inspiration has been of course Switchimageproject, and new England football kit designer Aitor Throup, the latter got my mind racing and full of ideas, I love the way he put his designs down and showed them develop. Presenting the kits in my opinion is just as important as the design, you see many great kits let down by poor presentation quality. This is where my new 'Torso' or 'Mannequin' template comes into it, now not only can I display how the kits should look like, but also how they would look like being worn. As I said Aitor Throup was an inspiration, but I also looked to people such as Tim Burton to aid with the execution, I guess thats where the surrealism element comes from.

Here we see the 'Mannequin' modelling the recent NIKE template I have designed.

Nike Template - USA Fans Wear

2009-08-05T15:10:00.000+01:00

Over the past few years we have seen a number of manufacturers bringing out a high grade strip for the field and lower-grade more durable shirts to the fans. As a result many of the kits on the field appear different to those on the terraces. This is something I have been fascinated with, and have created here, the visual difference is the inclusion of the pocket and obviously the fabric would be somewhat different.

The fans t-shirt is something I am very pleased with, this would be a t-shirt that NIKE would distribute for this kit and captures the essence of the USA's patriotism with their large flag, and also shows NIKE's pleasure in supplying the nation.

Also on display is the updated USA crest I created.

Nike Template - USA

2009-08-05T14:58:00.001+01:00

The latest team to get my NIKE template make-over is the USA, whose current shirt is one I hate! When you think of the US, you think of a country rich in patriotism, and of course the amazing stars and stripes flag. The current crest is something I like, however don't feel that the colours show it to be the US, this is something I changed, and feel very pleased with the result, I also changed the blue and red colours to concur with the flag.

The kit itself was inspired by the shirts used in the 1950's with the diagonal red sashe, overall I feel this represents the USA more than the current strip.

NIke Template - Gremio Away

2009-08-05T12:56:00.001+01:00

This is the Gremio away kit, the most striking element about the design is the fact that it makes a striking departure from the traditional white, to the off-white colour used on the home kits' stripes, to finish off the kit is a slanted sashe, bearing the clubs other colours.

What is different from this template to the others is the new collar I have used, this is a classic collar used buy many clubs in the 60's & 70's, many had lace to fasten it or buttons, I chose to leave it open something which has been done many times before.

On the sponsorship front [as S. American sides use numerous sponsors] I did make a little change by adding COCA-COLA as a sponsorship instead of re-using the BANRISUL on the reverse, which has been the case for the last 10 years.

Nike Template - Gremio Home

2009-08-05T12:36:00.000+01:00

Gremio's kits is something I have always loved and it is possibly my favourite footballing colours. For my design however I added a little twist, within the stripes I chose to use a 'dirty white' colour which looks a little cream this came from seeing a photo of a vintage jersey, in which the colours had faded, this is something i jumped upon and used here. The colour also follows through to the socks.

I'll speak more about the template on the away kit. Here however saw the introduction of my 'sleeve cap' illustration, which shows how the sleeve works, the idea is that the flap can be left down or rolled up and stay in position should the wearer wish. Although it appears pointless I like its place on the template, its idea came from looking at flaps on planes and that's the ideology i want to carry through here.

Nike Template - Sampdoria Home & Away

2009-08-05T12:29:00.003+01:00

Here is the latest offering from my NIKE template, designs for Sampdoria, I am a huge fan of KAPPA's efforts for the club, however it does feel they have had the same kits for 5 years. The two kits that stuck out for me when designing these kits were the shirts from the 1950's in which the shield broke free from the chest stripes, something I used here. And also the shirts from the early 1990's, In which a lighter blue was used, I chose to use a different template for the home and the away kits, as that's something the clubs fans haven't had in quite a while.

The Inside collar is also used to display the club's various triumphs in Italy and Europe, other features include displaying the clubs' sailor mascot on the numbering, and for the first time the 'pocket patch' also features on the shorts, displaying the logo and Nike logo.

Nike Template - Inter Away & Training shirts

2009-08-05T12:23:00.000+01:00

The away shirt takes the same form as the home kit, changing the colours, however the fishbone design remins. Here is also an example of how the training shirts in the range would be presented, simple but with all the logo's and sponsorship present.

Nike Template - Inter Home

2009-08-05T12:15:00.000+01:00

These Inter Home Shirts use the NIKE template seen on my Brazil Kits, the first thing I had in mind when designing the kit was to use a design that stands out from the previous offers from NIKE, all of the shirts have looked the same for the last 10 years bar the 2001-2002 offerings which are possibly the best ever. The main feature here is the 'fishbone' stripes on the chest, using a lighter blue, this design idea came from the UMBRO designs in the early 90's, this was something that stood out, and would no-doubt be a talking point.

New Nike Template - Brazil

2009-08-05T11:44:00.000+01:00

These next series of kits have been designed utilising a new template I designed using NIKE. The template takes quite a step back in history with all of the kits taking inspiration from kits from the past however, the technology used is very much of the future, in terms of fabrics and ventilation cooling down the athlete and not restricting movement in any way.

The templates signature is the use of the 'Pocket Patch,' which is on the right breast, this is the way I have chosen to present the NIKE logo, despite looking like a pocket, I doesn't function in that way as it is completely stitched down. The other signature is the use of the large NIKE logo on the reverse of the socks, this idea was spawned from me searching for a way to enhance the players calf muscles, making them appear more imposing, and I believe the result is very successful

Back to these kits, the Brazil shirt which I envisage used in the 2010 World Cup, takesinspiration from a classic Brazil kit which was used for 20 years, with the simple greencollar and cuffs, with light blue making a return. The commemorative crest used on the inside label is an idea used on the TOPPER 1982 kits. The 'keeper shirt takes from the shirt worn by goalkeeper Gilmar in the 50's and 60's. Overall I think the kits are very distinctive and work very well. Enjoy.

Maradona Classics - Switchimageproject Comp.

2009-08-03T22:54:00.000+01:00

These Maradona inspired special editions came about for a competition set up by www.switchimageproject.com, a designer who has inspired me greatly and whose work is universally admired.

The idea was to create any kit, using his own PUMA template, taking on board the fact that PUMA was a brand that was worn by Diego Maradona I utilised the templates and designed an updated version of two of the most iconic kits he ever wore, the Napoli and Boca Juniors kits, however neither of these kits were designed by PUMA. Therefore I set about designing the same shirts should they be made today, with updated sponsors logos etc. What I also did was replicate the original brand logos, however using PUMA, therefore there NR logo and ADIDAS trefoil logo get a PUMA twist. Its the PUMA trefoil logo that I am quite pleased about here and feel that they work quite well. Enjoy

FC Basel Re-Design.

2009-07-29T18:23:00.000+01:00

The Basel Re-Brand come about because of a college final major project. This entailed me re-designing the Basel crest and creating a new kit, for what I felt was a club which needed a bit of a lift, given that NIKE have been giving them standard templates.

The Badge design wasn't to improve it, but make it look more like a traditional European design which is seen on Europe's premier clubs, I alsoadded some historical value with the '1893' motif.

The kits is where I put most of my energy however, I wanted to createsomething completely different, bearing in mind this was march 2008, I felt I had, until the England shirt was released that is.

For the home strip I looked to the footballing past, looking at Englands 1950's 'Shirt' shirt in which a real shirt was used instead of the now common t-shirt. I also Rid Basel of the halves in favour of a red panel, giving them a completely new facelift. The away shirt went in the complete opposite direction, looking at what is possibly the future of football shirts, taking inspiration from cycling jerseys, for ultra light fabrics. The futuristic feel also continues through to the numbering which I allowed myself to go completely overboard with...after all PUMA used lower case type. Anyhow I set myself the task of keeping it realistic by using the countless sponsors they actually use.

PePe le Bon Fashion Works

2009-07-29T16:50:00.001+01:00

PePe le Bon Fashion

2009-07-29T16:50:00.000+01:00

PePe le Bon™ is a cartoon character I have created that I still need to get grooving on. So far all I have is the main characters and a breif storyline which has barely begun (however this post focuses on me turning him into a brand). The basic Story - Set on a french steam ship 'Le S.S Amor', in an era which I can only claim to be "Timeless" due to it being a bit of a mash up of centuries and era's, PePe is the ships resident cleaner and tattooist. The story centres around the ships crew and various comical adventures, caused due to the crews love of Rum and Limoncello that they stole during an adventure on the Neapolitan Island of Ischia. As the story unravels we also see that PePe is quite a heart-throb and a real attraction for the ladies, however the rest of the crew [Zizou, Jean Petit 'Napolean' and Eric] soon notice much of this is shunned, raising many a question...hopefully the story ca be unravelled on this blog. Back to the post, this University project saw me create a brand based around 'PePe le Bon,' due to my love of sailors attire, i had alot of fun creating many of the t-shirts from sailor inspired clothing. The Brand is called 'PePe le Bon,' and can be found in 'S.S Amor' stores, at the moment there is a design concept for the store front which will arrive in due course. What I designed are three 'signature tee's' kinda like Fred Perry's famous polo, the staff/crew uniform (which are unisex) and the store carrier bags, which take inspiration from the traditional sailors duffle bag, a ship bag and a large carrier bag which takes the form of the ship itself. Enjoy.

University Project - Magazine Project

2009-07-29T16:23:00.000+01:00

As a university student naturally we get a lot of interesting projects, some I take a lot of interest in, others I regretfully do not.
One of the Projects that really caught my imagination was a magazine project in which I had to create 2 DPS' (double page spreads) on two of my influences. I chose to lay the pages out to reflect the artists' works and their mood. I chose Saul Bass(who up till now has been my favorite 'Graphic Designer') and rock band The Strokes(of which I am more an obsessed disciple, than an avid fan). Overall the I focused more on how the spreads were presented, therefore features such as the "Anatomy of a Murder" sequence, inspired from an exhibition poster form an important part of the page, aswell as the banner and pin-badge which make up the title for the second spread, each adopting part of the subjects personality. The articles talk about why I like them and how they have influenced me.

Welcome

2009-07-27T15:57:00.000+01:00

Welcome to my Blog, this is my first post. Over time I will add personal works, University projects and paid works. As my title states I am a (freelance) Graphic Designer and Illustrator, I am currently studying BA Hons Graphic Design at Salford University. My main passion is to design football kits, and it is possible that these will form a large part of this blog. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my work.