JakeH28’s Uniform Hour: Designing the AFL

Designing the AFL

Shady Sports Network is home to something you won’t find anywhere else:A local writer who doubles as a jersey designer. Here, you’ll find an article where I designed old USFL teams uniforms if the league would bring them back. A major section of the site is dedicated to showing off the work done on my uniforms. Now, we look at my concept designs for the relaunched AFL.

Albany Firebirds

For the Albany Firebirds, one of arena football’s most iconic teams, I wanted to do something interesting and unique. This meant that I was taking heavy inspiration from the Oregon Ducks who have their incredibly popular winged helmets. Albany’s unique color scheme was something I wanted to take full advantage of, and this meant balancing the amount of blue and orange with the design. The design is meant to be similar to previous Albany arena teams, but also be an interesting football uniform at the same time.

Minnesota Myth

The Minnesota Myth have a very interesting brand, which made their uniforms a blast to make. The side stripe comes up on the shoulders, making the jersey design have a hidden “M” if you think hard enough. The simpler primary logo fits neatly on the helmet, which also has a black and white alternate version. With all these different options, including a slick blackout, the Myth could be one of the most interesting looking teams in the AFL.

Nashville Kats

The Nashville Kats are one of the AFL’s most notable brands, and I decided to bring their unique design back for their new iteration- but it’s toned down somewhat. Just a single thick side stripe adorns the set, simplifying the overall look for the team. I chose to use the older, more recognizable logo on the helmet, since it’s just so iconic in the Arena scene. As well, I couldn’t make these without their old red color. While it seems they are phasing out red in favor of yellow, I can’t imagine the Kats without at least a little red.

Philadelphia Soul

The Philadelphia Soul are back, and that means one of the best looking AFL teams in history will be taking the field once again. I didn’t want to make anything too crazy, and based my look on their early years. Back then, they wore a simple design that fit right into the AFL. In my redesign, the Soul have both a black and blue helmet, both of which have been used in Soul history, and I also blend black and blue uniform elements throughout to really mix the eras of Soul football.

Georgia Force

The Georgia Force are a team I found to be interesting to make. Their classic helmet is instantly recognizable in the arena football world, so I started with making a black and blue version for their new uniforms. The next element I included was a full shoulder yolk, similar to the original Force. However, I simplified their original design, so it becomes less busy and less chaotic. The pants retain their short stripe from their original iteration, which is another element tying the whole look together, making something I’m proud of.

Louisiana VooDoo

One of the AFL’s more iconic teams in the VooDoo will be returning to the field, so I made uniforms inspired by their iconic looks. The helmet features only the letter from their new logo, as it fits much better on the helmet. The jersey takes on a similar look to the original iteration of the team, but I moved the shoulder numbers and removed the logo to clean it up. The pants have a simple thick stripe outlined in red, and there is a blue and white version of both the jersey and pants to give multiple different combinations a chance to shine in the arena.

Orlando Predators

The AFL has another great team returning in the Orlando Predators, so with my concepts for them, I returned to something similar to their old design from the glory days of the 2000’s. Keeping with the nostalgia theme, the red helmet features the team’s original logo. A red, black and white version of the jersey and pants were created and designed to be interchangeable. This was one of my favorite AFL teams to design for this series, they have so much potential as a brand.

West Texas Desert Hawks

A new brand to arena football, the West Texas Desert Hawks were a team I was designing without anything to go off of. I ultimately went with a more safe approach, choosing more classic stripes for the arms and pants. The biggest challenge throughout this team’s design was the color balance. I had to keep the amount of red in check without letting the blue take over. I think I finished with this challenge tackled, making the Desert Hawks a nice down to earth look anyone can get behind.

Iowa Rampage

The Iowa Rampage were an interesting team to design. With a simple color scheme and brand, I was working to try and find an identity these could work with. I eventually found one with simple shoulder stripes and drop shadow numbers, and once I figured out that it worked, I was set. Everything fell into place from there, and the Rampage were complete. I really do think these turned out well in the end.

Salina Liberty

The Liberty may be one of the AFL’s established brands, but they are also one of the craziest. With uniforms that are essentially full body American Flags, I figured it was time to step things back. Only a single star is on the helmets, and the amount of red has been drastically decreased to show the color scheme of navy and powder blue in combination with each other. Sometimes, simplicity is key, and dialing the Liberty back a few notches won’t hurt their AFL appearance.

The Southwest Kansas Storm have one of the craziest color schemes in all of sports, which made creating a look for them very fun. The helmet features the team logo, while the jersey itself features the multi-colored striping and numbers. Both of the sets are only in a single color, so the striping matches all the way down the jersey. Otherwise we’d have mismatched chaos. Overall, the Storm figure to look interesting on the field no matter what they wear based off color alone.

Billings Outlaws

The Outlaws are a simple yet traditional brand, a rarity in Arena Football. While many teams rush to make a loud statement with their look, the Outlaws have always been under the radar. In the AFL, they should be no different, so I created a simple look with normal design prioritized over everything else. Overall, the clean uniforms are a staple of Billings football, and this new iteration is no different.

Oregon Blackbears

The Oregon Blackbears have so much potential to be a very cool looking team. The orange contrasts very well with the black the team uses, which makes for an amazing accent color. The dark gray in the color scheme makes a killer helmet color. Combine all these elements, and you got a great look. The side design was made to fit in the arena football landscape, and was loosely based off the Arlington Renegades of the UFL. Overall, this would be one of the slickest looks in the AFL.

Rapid City Marshals

Designing the Rapid City Marshals was an interesting task, but I used it as a chance to not often seen in football, and it fits right into the arena scene. I also gave them a unique number font, and a bold stripe on the pants. With this design, the Marshals wouldn’t be too wild, but would still fit into the AFL with ease. I think the uniform combines elements like the shoulder yolk and bold pants stripes in a way that creates a solid look without going overboard.

Washington Wolfpack

When the Washington Wolfpack unveiled their logo, I was met with some mixed feelings. On one hand, the color scheme here is absolutely amazing, but on the other hand, the logo is very complex and didn’t fit onto my original helmet design. I initially wanted teal to be the main focus, but purple translated better as the primary color. The uniforms themselves are very much arena football uniforms, with side striping and multicolored shoulder stripes. The best part? The wacky number font I was able to get on these jerseys. Straight out of the wild.

Wichita Regulators

The final AFL team I designed was the Wichita Regulators. Their wild west theme is similar to the Rapid City Marshals, but I still created something different and unique, utilizing the orange and black color scheme while also adding a silver/gray. The uniform features a unique pants stripe design, and some shoulder panels and side panels fill out the jersey. Overall, the Regulators should be a solid looking squad on the field this season.

Final thoughts

Thank you for taking some time to look at my uniform designs on this edition of the Uniform Hour! This is a unique series to Shady Sports you won’t find anywhere else, so stay tuned for this and so much more! We cover everything from the AFL to the NFL and every league and sport in between.

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