Redesigning the Worst NFL Helmets

Designer Ken Carbone laments the poor state of graphic design on NFL helmets:

Today's high-tech helmet with its wireless headset and polycarbonate visor has come a long way from the padded leather ones of yesterday. It not only serves its essential protective function but is also a gleaming sign for a team's brand. Yet in many cases the graphics are blunt and formulaic, usually involving slapping the team's primary logo on both sides of the helmet.

He's right, of course. 26 of the 32 teams did indeed just slap their logo on the side. He singles out the Patriots, Buccaneers and Redskins as the worst offenders, but they're all pretty atrocious to my eye. He does credit the Eagles, Rams and Vikings for good use of symmetry; the Bengals he praises for "embrac[ing] the whole spherical form." Personally, I also think the Chargers and Seahawks deserve credit for simple, effective helmet design. The Vikings, though, have the best helmets in the league (even if they are purple).

Carbone also takes a stab at redesigning the worst helmets. His Buccaneers redesign is on the right track, but needs work. His vision for the Patriots is just awful. As The Morning News notes, they "may take exception to looking like Evel Knievel." But his vision for the Redskins helmet is perfect. It takes advantage of the "spherical form" and borrows from an already iconic head adornment: American Indian headdress.

I'd actually like to see this treatment for all of the boring NFL helmets. They'd all be substantially improved by ditching the attach-logo-here approach and making better use of the space. It could be tough for those teams with difficult-to-illustrate mascots, like the Titans or the Packers. Though it would look pretty tough if Green Bay adorned their helmets with a guy in a bloodied apron, cleaver held aloft.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 (tags↓)
design, football