Using template-based designs is a good way to have your sports team logo made quickly without any compromise on quality. But, in the sea of sports teams and franchises, your template-based design can go unnoticed. You don’t want your design to be tagged as mainstream.
When multiple sports teams start using the same design template for their logo, jersey, and merchandise design, they tend to be too common and overrated. They don’t realize that the template has been used too many times.
People soon start identifying design templates from miles away. You might even be labeled a ‘copycat’ by others or even your most loyal fans. So, in an age where every sports team is turning to template-based design, how do you make sure that your design stands out from the rest?
Read on as we provide you six tips that will help your template-based design stand out. But, before that, let’s take a look at the tools that will help you with your designing project.
Tools That Will Help in Template-Based Designing
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud offers various software that makes the process of designing simple and straightforward. Among them, Photoshop and Illustrator are the two main tools needed by sports designers when working with templates.
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator subscriptions will cost you $20.99 per month for each software.
Outstanding Templates
If you have outstanding and kickass sports templates, to begin with, your work becomes much simpler and quicker to complete. You can even use 3D templates to add a touch of realism to your designs. Moreover, you can also complete your designs in just a few hours or even minutes with the right template.
So go ahead and design a realistic Speedflex helmet, NBA logo, premier league jersey, and the like with the right template at your fingertips. Your end designs will definitely be loved by many.
Time Management Tool
Time management tools ensure that the work gets done within the stipulated time frame. They help eliminate distractions from unwanted websites by blocking them. You can use this tool to block social media sites while you focus on your work.
Now, let’s look at six easy tips that will help your template-based design stand out.
6 Tips to Help Your Template-Based Design Stand Out
1. Try Different Fonts
The font is one of the key elements in the design. Most fonts have become iconic and are easily recognizable. Most sports-based templates have the same or similar-looking fonts. Graphic designers, in a bid to complete the project quickly, often stick to the default template fonts. This will, naturally, make your design look similar to hundreds of other teams that have used the same template in their design.
Thus, when designing creatives such as logos, jerseys, and other accessories using sports templates, make sure you play with different types of fonts. You can keep the base design, but you can choose from a variety of available fonts to add a touch of branding and uniqueness to your design.
Remember, the fonts in the sports template were not chosen specifically for your team. So, you can change them according to what you feel best.
2. Choose Your Brand Colors
Sports professional templates have default colors as well. These colors are usually inspired by professional kits, such as the premier league jerseys or the La Liga jerseys of popular teams. You wouldn’t want your team’s kit to end up like a mockup of these designs.
Therefore, you can swap the default template colors with your own team’s colors. The new template colors should resonate with your brand and be consistent across various items.
3. Use the Right Images
Sports templates use free stock images and graphics, and these have already been overused. For example, how often have you seen the Maple leaf being used on Canadian team jerseys across various sports? Similarly, designs of ferocious animals like wolves and lions have been overused by sports teams across the globe.
To make your template-based design stand out, get rid of the stock images and graphics. You should also stay away from clichéd images and designs used by various sports teams.
As much as possible, you should have customized photos for your design that will add exclusivity. If you rely on stock photos, make sure you choose photos that resonate with your team and fans.
4. Change the Elements
If possible, change all the editable elements on your template. We are not asking you to do everything from scratch. Rather, mix and match different components from various templates to create your own unique design.
For example, you can have a football t-shirt design from one template, a sports font from another, and colors from an entirely different template. Try different permutations and combinations.
You will definitely come up with something creative which assures you stand out from the crowd.
5. Experiment With Multiple Designs
Sports teams are known to have multiple kits. For instance, a home kit and an away kit. While the home kit has to follow your team’s, brand’s, and fan’s guidelines, you can get creative with your away kits.
You can come up with creative color combinations, graphic designs, and fonts that let you pop out from the competition. But, be careful not to go overboard and make sure to still stick to a central theme.
6. Learn From Others
While you can always come up with something creative and unique on your own, there is no issue in looking for inspiration elsewhere. You can always figure out what others are doing to help their design stand out.
You can analyze their work, understand their technique, and incorporate the learnings into your designs. But, make sure you still add a dash of your personal touch to the designs. You also have to make sure that it is in line with the brand recognition of the team.
Conclusion
For graphic designers, speed is of the essence. Hence, they often end up using template-based designs for their projects. Although, these often end up looking similar to designs used by other graphic designers and sports teams.
Consequently, you should always make a few changes here and there to make your design stand out. You should not forget to incorporate the team’s branding as well. We hope that the tips mentioned will help you gain recognition. Good luck designing!
