Simplicity vs Boring
The difference between simple and boring in design, is that simple is effective.
Simplicity can still be unique, and unique is memorable; two qualities every good brand identity is built on. But, boring is generic and forgettable. Boring is defined as “not interesting” and “unimaginative”, which good design never is. Simplicity defined as “easily understood” which good design should be.
Which leads me to a few examples from the football world. The Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and New York Giants have simple uniform designs. The Raiders’ uniform effectiveness comes from it’s ability to age so well; the design’s simplicity has allowed it to remain constant since the 1960s as uniform and helmet design has changed drastically. Their colors are so strong and unique to the NFL, they need no more embellishment to stand out from their competitors, or even other black and silver imitators in other sports.
The Giants’ uniforms are also simple, and their effectiveness comes from their uniqueness and quirks in the design, mainly all 3 of their jerseys designed with only 2 colors for each. It is a smart, unique, and beautiful way to design a uniform using the most common color palette in American sports: red, white, and blue.
If you were to apply the colors in a more common fashion, with blue numbers on the white jersey for instance, it would only push the design towards blandness and kill what makes the uniform special. An attempt to apply order through a more balanced rhythm of color (think of how many times a color appears as you scan the uniform from top to bottom) would only remove the personality they currently have, and actually create staleness. (The addition of gray pants for the Giants also adds to their uniqueness amongst red/white/blue teams, while providing a great vintage look)
The Giants’ “Simms era” uniforms (1981–1999) in contrast were completely boring. These uniforms, along with the “Kelly era” Buffalo Bills (1990–2001) were archetypal football uniforms. The color palette, number font, number color stroking, jersey and pants striping, white pants, blue jerseys, vertical helmet stripes, all form 2 of the most generic uniforms ever designed.
The current uniforms of the Giants and Bills are better than their past iterations because of the unique qualities they now posses, styled with simplicity in mind; they don’t need to be anything more than what they are. Both teams still use a red, white, and blue color palette but the color hierarchy is different along with the color rhythm application.
These are important factors in the entire brand identity too, because it doesn’t stop on the field, you have to think of how it works in the stands, in retail shelves, and every other environment against all the other teams. If you see 32 team jerseys hanging on a wall, each team should be easily recognizable. You could very easily confuse the early 90s Giants and Bills with each other and that point alone shows they don’t work very well.
This is the difference between simplicity and boring.
