We have talked to Brazilian designer Leandro Urban who helped us design 3 player portrait badges to apply with different pieces of apparel. We asked him 3 quick questions which might help you to understand his visually appealing designs even better.
Click here to see the Golden Boy badge!
Click here to see the Lenda heroica badge!
1. What kind of design have you been working on previously and can you point to any particular source which has inspired you?
Let me talk to you about another project I have been involved in recently which was also football related. It was a personal project relating to the World Cup and was called “Flat Design Shields”. I re-drew all of the shields of the participating teams applying a flat design. I had the insight about this design technique when I got acquainted with the project of another designer here in my city, Curitiba. What he did was that he redesigned the shields of several of the more prominent Brazilian clubs in this way. I used the World Cup as an opportunity to share my vision about football in a different format than what is usually being applied.
1. Que tipo de projeto você estava envolvido anteriormente e da onde surgiu a inspiração para desenvolve-lo?
Anteriormente eu desenvolvi um projeto pessoal para a Copa do Mundo chamado Flat Design Shields, onde eu redesenhei todos os escudos das seleções participantes inspirado no flat design. Eu tive o insight de fazer após conhecer o projeto de um outro designer aqui da minha cidade, Curitiba, onde ele redesenhou os escudos de alguns clubes brasileiros, aproveitei o período da copa e o momento para botar a mão na massa e deu super certo.
2. With regard to this badge design job in particular. How did you approach the job?
I would like to start out by saying that this is one of the most interesting projects I’ve been involved in. To try to capture the essence of great star players and to try to transmit this to a visually appealing badge was indeed a great pleasure. The basic approach I took was that of being extremely conceptual and minimalist. The main challenge defining the success of the project was to create iconic portraits. In a second step I settled on the adequate shapes, and the details to integrate the whole personality of the player and the whole message. Hopefully these basic design considerations lead us to a result with perfect patterns and thus the stylish application possibilities with the jerseys.
2. Sobre o trabalho dos Brasões em particular. Qual foi sua linha de raciocínio?
Diria que foi um dos projetos mais interessantes que já me envolvi, representar grandes craques em brasões foi um grande prazer. O trabalho ficou extremamente conceitual e minimalistas. A principal preocupação foi criar retratos emblemáticos, em uma segunda etapa busquei as melhores formas, adornos e detalhes para integrar toda a personalidade do craque ao conjunto e mensagem. Com isso chegamos em padrões perfeitos e possibilidades de aplicações bem estilosas nas camisas.
3. We are now close to the kick-off at this year’s World Cup in football. Looking at the jerseys from different countries – anyone of them which you find of interest from a design standpoint ?
Overall, I really like the national team shirts developed by Adidas, the highlight being the Germany away kit with its strong visual appeal which pays homage to the most popular Brazilian club, Flamengo. With this kit the German team will surely gain the sympathy of good part of the Brazilians. Another highlight are the Mexican Home and Away kits. These kits have an incredible energy in their shapes, textures, and colors. The Mexico away kit has an intimate and cultural vibe. Another piece that I like a lot is the Brazil away kit. I am a Brazilian contrarian because I like the away kit a lot better than the traditional “Canarinho” (the yellow home kit).
3. Com a aproximação da Copa. Quais camisas tem um design diferenciado para você?
Em geral gosto muito das camisas das seleções desenvolvidas pela a Adidas, em destaque eu deixaria o kit reserva da Alemanha pela seu forte apelo visual onde faz uma homenagem ao clube de maior torcida do Brasil, o Flamengo, com isso eles vão ganhar a simpatia de boa parte dos brasileiros. Outro destaque foram as camisas mexicanas, elas tem uma energia incrível em suas formas, texturas e cores, o kit reserva tem uma vibração inimista e cultural. Outro peça que gostei bastante foi a camisa reserva do Brasil, como brasileiro sou contraditório, pois gosto muito mais do kit reserva do que a tradicional canarinho.
BEHANCE > www.behance.net/leandrourban