The 2014 Illini Nike Uniforms and Rebrand

mossimo142 · Aug 7, 2014

I don't think the rebrand is a failure necessarily, but it definitely has some ups and downs. Not replacing the logo at Mid-Field of the football stadium is a pretty big snafu, along with not having $$ for blue uniforms etc.

I don't see it as a knock on MT by any means, as he seems more than competent at what he's doing. Just some of the limitations placed on him at Illinois maybe, I really don't know.

People have a right to be upset/question the replacing of logo's at other locations over the mid-field football stadium though.

It's not make or break for me, and I still think the overall rebrand is a success. I'm not a fan of the silver/gray uniforms at all though.

classof2016 · Aug 7, 2014

chief illiniweg said:
I love the immediate leap by some folks that the rebrand is a total failure because one logo hasn't been updated, albeit an important one. Has anybody considered how much it costs to replace that logo? Or you can cover the end zones much more easily and effectively than midfield where it could cause the surface to become too slick, or look worse because of some lines still showing than just keeping the old one? Or we are getting an all new field next year and this keeps us from being able to afford it? Or the money was poured into recruiting budget or keeping Bill Cubit? Or a donor promised the money to pay for it and then had to pull back? Or maybe it's actually going to happen and they want to surprise you grumpy asses.

Give MT and team some credit. They appear to me at least to be thinking through all the marketing and branding much more so than the previous regime.

And before you tell me that I have no idea what I'm talking about, I work in sports/event marketing and branding so I see this stuff all the time. As a proud alum, I actually hold MT & crew to a high standard and I voice my opinion/disappointment to my contacts within the department. But these blanket statements that the entire re-brand is a half-assed failure needs to go away now.

As for all of you blaming UI for the retail product -- STOP. That's all on Nike or on retailers. Many retailers ordered product 6 months ago or were rightfully conservative on what they bought until the final product came out and they could see it and see how sales were trending. These aren't books that Amazon can print overnight. Maybe retailers are waiting until closer to Labor Day to roll out new stuff.

Yes, the shirts without the columns is a miss IMO as well. BUT maybe they tried to produce it and it looked worse with them. And do you like everything Nike produces? I guarantee that answer is no.

Good God people, the sun is going to come up tomorrow. And realize -- just like recruiting where you're not in the living room or on field performance where you are not in the locker room -- maybe there's a LOT more to it than you don't like the way they handled a logo or a t-shirt design.

I pretty clearly said that I'm not going to fully judge the re-brand until a few years from now. I really like most of what's been done and I'm a big fan of MT. He's made more positive and noticeable changes in his 2.5 years or whatever than I can ever remember from Guenther.

I'm not someone who whines for the sake of whining, I just think that a Big Ten program should be able to pull off the midfield logo and a set of football jerseys when you knew about the re-brand 18 months prior to its unveiling.

I understand what you're getting at, and working on campus everyday I understand the magnitude of an effort like this when you're gradually replacing all the old logos out there. I just think the largest logo on campus (one that will be seen by millions of people) needs to be priority #1 when you're making all the changes.

chief illiniweg · Aug 8, 2014

classof2016 said:
I pretty clearly said that I'm not going to fully judge the re-brand until a few years from now. I really like most of what's been done and I'm a big fan of MT. He's made more positive and noticeable changes in his 2.5 years or whatever than I can ever remember from Guenther.

I'm not someone who whines for the sake of whining, I just think that a Big Ten program should be able to pull off the midfield logo and a set of football jerseys when you knew about the re-brand 18 months prior to its unveiling.

I understand what you're getting at, and working on campus everyday I understand the magnitude of an effort like this when you're gradually replacing all the old logos out there. I just think the largest logo on campus (one that will be seen by millions of people) needs to be priority #1 when you're making all the changes.

:thumb:

I hear you. It's just never as simple as we want it to be. Too many wildcards and often too many people who don't get it have some say in the matter, mucking it all up.

mattcoldagelli · Aug 8, 2014

chief illiniweg said:
It's just never as simple as we want it to be.

When it comes to the logo at midfield, I'm gonna disagree. It is as simple as "not doing that is a huge, embarrassing flub, no matter what the cause."

Kams Bathroom · Aug 8, 2014

mattcoldagelli said:
When it comes to the logo at midfield, I'm gonna disagree. It is as simple as "not doing that is a huge, embarrassing flub, no matter what the cause."

+1

ijustkrushalot · Aug 8, 2014

mattcoldagelli said:
When it comes to the logo at midfield, I'm gonna disagree. It is as simple as "not doing that is a huge, embarrassing flub, no matter what the cause."

the problem here is communication failure.

if they never said anything about it... nobody would notice.... the difference from further away is practically none...

Instead, they had to go advertise what they weren't going to do so that everyone had talking points about what to $#^$ about.

mattcoldagelli · Aug 8, 2014

ijustkrushalot said:
if they never said anything about it... nobody would notice.... the difference from further away is practically none...

Disagree again. Our logo changes are subtle, but likely noticeable by even casual Illinois fans. And definitely noticeable when it is at the center of a football field.

Franklin Delano Bluth · Aug 8, 2014

My main problem with the midfield logo, is that we changed the field LAST YEAR. We knew there was a rebrand coming, with a new logo and a new wordmark. Why would we put the old logo at midfield for one season, just to run into this problem and have it stuck there after we rolled out the new logo? I would have much rather had a plain midfield last season and the fresh new logo there this year, as opposed to having the old logo there for the season after your big rebrand.

BJayBall · Aug 8, 2014

Franklin Delano Bluth said:
My main problem with the midfield logo, is that we changed the field LAST YEAR. We knew there was a rebrand coming, with a new logo and a new wordmark. Why would we put the old logo at midfield for one season, just to run into this problem and have it stuck there after we rolled out the new logo? I would have much rather had a plain midfield last season and the fresh new logo there this year, as opposed to having the old logo there for the season after your big rebrand.

Agree. I wonder if there was a point in time before the new field was installed where the DIA had decided that the state outline logo would be a new mark, only to be swayed away from it (maybe by the shield?) later.

HsvIllini · Aug 8, 2014

BJayBall said:
Agree. I wonder if there was a point in time before the new field was installed where the DIA had decided that the state outline logo would be a new mark, only to be swayed away from it (maybe by the shield?) later.

So maybe the football field, basketball and volleyball courts all change to the shield at some point? They sure seem to be pushing the shield a lot for being a secondary logo.

Illinnoying Orange · Aug 8, 2014

HsvIllini said:
So maybe the football field, basketball and volleyball courts all change to the shield at some point? They sure seem to be pushing the shield a lot for being a secondary logo.

The

logo has good symmatry and can be viewed as looking the same no matter where someone sits at a football game, bball game or vball match.

The :shield:

really would not look right as a midfield/midcourt logo. And I'm not too sure it will be a long-term secondary logo anyways.

HsvIllini · Aug 8, 2014

Illinnoying Orange said:
The logo has good symmatry and can be viewed as looking the same no matter where someone sits at a football game, bball game or vball match.

The really would not look right as a midfield/midcourt logo. And I'm not too sure it will be a long-term secondary logo anyways.

Sure the

can be viewed the same, but the state outline can't. :noidea:

DrewD007 · Aug 8, 2014

HsvIllini said:
So maybe the football field, basketball and volleyball courts all change to the shield at some point? They sure seem to be pushing the shield a lot for being a secondary logo.

State outline is here to stay. Volleyball just redid the court and while the shield is there, the block I with the state outline is there as well.

And the court at Ubben which usually is close to the same design as the Assembly Hall floor got redone with the state outline there as well.

And they were thinking ahead because they didn't put ILLINOIS in the end zones permanently. My guess is they knew the block I was going to stay close to the same, so didn't worry about making it permanent at midfield as opposed to the end zone script which they knew would change.

Kams Bathroom · Aug 8, 2014

HsvIllini said:
So maybe the football field, basketball and volleyball courts all change to the shield at some point? They sure seem to be pushing the shield a lot for being a secondary logo.

SOMEDAY #TS

HsvIllini · Aug 8, 2014

DrewD007 said:
State outline is here to stay. Volleyball just redid the court and while the shield is there, the block I with the state outline is there as well.

Probably, but it is much easier to sand and repaint volleyball and basketball courts than it is to replace the mid-field logo in the middle of a giant carpet.

mattcoldagelli · Aug 8, 2014

Kams Bathroom said:
SOMEDAY #TS

Dream the impossible dream, my friends.

Kams Bathroom · Aug 10, 2014

Possible explanation for the missing blue uniforms: They have been changed since the unveiling.

This is a picture taken of the models at the football building today:

Notice the orange outline around the white numbers. Compare that with the blue jersey from the unveiling:

A last-minute change before the jerseys were produced, perhaps?

DrewD007 · Aug 10, 2014

I understand why they originally went with the blue outline, but it just pops more and looks better with the orange outline.

Groundhogday · Aug 10, 2014

DrewD007 said:
I understand why they originally went with the blue outline, but it just pops more and looks better with the orange outline.

I agree. And the orange outline on the white numbers also helps make connections with various mix-and-match options.

NnannasBananas11 · Aug 10, 2014

I think I'm in love.

thatguy92 · Aug 10, 2014

I still believe orange on navy on orange should be our standard home uniform. It's what it was for much of recent history and it's a combo that looks really good and classic IMO. All the other combos are fun to play with too like the all orange but you need one classic look for at home and IMO the white pants are a little boring and common amongst other schools.

HsvIllini · Aug 10, 2014

thatguy92 said:
I still believe orange on navy on orange should be our standard home uniform. It's what it was for much of recent history and it's a combo that looks really good and classic IMO. All the other combos are fun to play with too like the all orange but you need one classic look for at home and IMO the white pants are a little boring and common amongst other schools.

Agreed!

Illinnoying Orange · Aug 11, 2014

The orange outline on the numbers looks much better.

Is it just me or does the orange neck stripe look awkwardly large?

JSpence · Aug 11, 2014

Illinnoying Orange said:
The orange outline on the numbers looks much better.

Is it just me or does the orange neck stripe look awkwardly large?

Yes - loving the orange outline!

The stripe probably matches a helmet better than a little mannequin head.

Kams Bathroom · Aug 11, 2014

thatguy92 said:
I still believe orange on navy on orange should be our standard home uniform. It's what it was for much of recent history and it's a combo that looks really good and classic IMO. All the other combos are fun to play with too like the all orange but you need one classic look for at home and IMO the white pants are a little boring and common amongst other schools.

That, or orange/orange/white

The 2014 Illini Nike Uniforms and Rebrand

mossimo142

classof2016

Guest

chief illiniweg

mattcoldagelli

Kams Bathroom

Guest

ijustkrushalot

mattcoldagelli

Franklin Delano Bluth

BJayBall

HsvIllini

Illinnoying Orange

HsvIllini

DrewD007

Kams Bathroom

Guest

HsvIllini

mattcoldagelli

Kams Bathroom

Guest

DrewD007

Groundhogday

Guest

NnannasBananas11

thatguy92

HsvIllini

Illinnoying Orange

JSpence

Kams Bathroom

Guest