NFL Follow Withers & Co's Vision For Designer Apparel

Withers & Co recently blogged that their friend Ted Church at Anthem Branding has been moving merchandise away from ‘logo slapping’ for years now, and now one of the world’s largest users of merchandise and apparel the NFL are now following suit - moving away from logo slapping (of course there will always be a time and a place for a simple logo on a garment or merchandise item).

At Withers & Co they share Ted's vision that for corporate merchandise and apparel to be used more than once (wearing the polo shirt at the golf day) you need to do more than just slap your logo on the left chest. You need to design custom pieces that have a retail look and feel while at the same time being representative of your company’s brand and culture. This is exactly what the NFL have done.

The NFL’s newest product initiative, led by its director of licensing, Rhiannon Madden, has partnered with Fashion Institute of Technology students to redesign the logos of all 32 teams for use on a full range of items, from clocks and travel mugs to beanies and blankets. “We had always wanted to do something where we could look at a new way to reimagine our team logos or our graphics that support those logos. I happen to be an FIT alumni, so I was very familiar with the school and how innovative and technology-, art-, and design-focused it is, so it made perfect sense to work with FIT.”

The results are a kaleidoscopic take on each logo that can be applied to merchandise in a vast variety of ways. On some products, like stretch leggings or a cozy blanket, the graphic pattern is the centerpiece. On others, like New Era’s beanies and caps, the design functions as a flourish that accents the official team logo. “In hindsight, we realized these logos were something that represented these teams so wholly, and for the NFL to allow us to go this far and do something so ‘out there’ with them would probably not be possible if we were on a job,” said team member Ho, a junior studying graphic design.

To find out more about promotional gifts NZ, promo bags NZ and personalised mugs NZ please go to http://www.withersanco.nz .