I have said on numerous occasions that SP Authentic is my favorite set of the year, as long as there is a license attached to it. Hell, last year, even without an NFL license, the rookie patches still owned the gridiron in a lot of ways. Very rarely do you get cards that consistently look as classy as SPA’s do each and every year. If you go back to 2001, the first year of the rookie content as we know it today, there has really not been any disappointments over the run. Im sorry, but that never happens in this industry. NEVER.
This year, SPA is a different story.
Unfortunately, we have very little to look forward to with this year’s patch cards, as they look more like an upscale Press Pass rookie auto from previous years, than one that fits within the normal confines of the SP Authentic brand.
Well, as if on cue, resident genius and graphic designer Sergio of Busting Packs.com steps in with some of the best looking SP Authentic fan designs I have EVER seen. The cards, produced as if UD still had the NFL license look ridiculously amazing. Not only do they fit within the normal brand recognition that has built thousands of loyal customers to the product, but they improve upon it as well.
The bottom line is that these cards look better than what we are getting, and for the most part, what we will be getting for the rest of the year from Panini and possibly Topps. With as bad as Panini’s designs are right now, we have seen numerous people that are present on Twitter and the boards that know better than the actual professionals who do it for a living. If someone can be 100 times better, and not even be on any payroll for their work, there is something majorly wrong.
Check out what I mean:
UPDATE: Looks like Sergio is not the only one doing SPA mockups today, as another user on FCB has thrown his hat into the ring. I dont like them as much as the ones above, but they are still awesome looking. Check them out here.
Amazing that one of the card companies hasn’t scooped Sergio up by now. Holy crap.
Although I enjoy SPA to a certain degree, the lack of licensing with the NFL was not the only problem with last year’s design. The swatch window was inexcusably small. I’ve only seen windows that small on cards with multi-pieces. As far as this year’s design, I’d have to agree on the downgrade in classiness on the cards, even their ultra high-end All-Time Greats for basketball looked like Press Pass cards with premium players.
I hate that people site a barely connected piece of player material as a reason to not like the design of last year’s SPA. Relic size on event used crap means less than nothing to me, as the design of the RAPs was great. If the swatches actually were worn in a game or made any bit of difference in terms of player connection, I would care.
Somewhere, in a boardroom of clueless design team morons, one bellows: ‘damn, those fan designed cards look like shit’ as they go back to pasting rectangles, squares and played out stickers upon thier next issue that will serve to destroy the hobby…
It’s pretty sad that fans can design beautiful pieces like this but all the idiots on the payroll of these companies churn out the same shit over and over, year after year.
Though I too would rather see game used material, the marketplace does dictate that bigger is better, especially when it comes to patches event-worn or not. It’s not as if I don’t like the actual design of last year’s release, but there is definitely too much extra white space where there should be more patch. If they would have gone with a more horizontal rectangular swatch window filling some of that negative void, the design would have been perfect. I do like your alternate design for this year’s release though.
Product is still months away….you are using card design mock ups to base your decision off? come on, let the product hit the street at least then decide….not sure I see the point of this post Gellman but no worries…maybe I will do a thread of “what I wish this blog was like” 🙂
Gregg, I am going to bring up the lipstick on a pig argument, because it definitely applies.
Regardless, you arent going to be able to compete with these patch designs either way. I dont care how much the mockups change. Sorry dude, haha!
they dont need to change much I know as well as anyone you can’t please everyone and…..we aren’t competing with anyone. The product will stand on its own merit. There will also be legendary players on the checklist…..
I for one don’t dislike the 2011 version. Is it perfect? no. I especially don’t like the ‘AUTO PATCH’ block letters at the top. But its still a solid design. Its also a mock, so minor tweaks can be expected. Overall though, I look forward to breaking some.
I am not sure how you improve on the ’09 design; as the smokey flavor of that card forced me to put the whole set together.
That is until I saw these designs from Sergio. That is one special design. From the crisp white, to the team colors, all the way to the larger photo of the player. It really is sharp.
My question to Gregg is simply what is his opinion of this design? Not in terms of competing with UD’s current one, but in terms of just pure design.