I decided to try different shapes for each design just to explore the options. While 1963 and 1983 both had just circle inset photos, they went with a general baseball field shape for 2003 which I think works really nice as an obviously baseball identifier. On design 1, I used another common baseball shape (home plate) that works well with portraits. The rest of the design has elements of 1987 Topps (beveled top left border with team logo) as well as some double-stroke borders from various other years.
Design 2 has an inset shape that recalls Hall of Fame plaques though isn’t the exact same shape. I didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out to me on Twitter but this design is very reminiscent of the 1992-93 NBA Hoops set. I was a little embarrassed but then I remembered how awesome that design is and got over it.
I tried a diamond/base shape for design 3 but it doesn’t lend itself to mugshots too well. Perhaps if it were bigger it wouldn’t cut off as much of the photo, but then it would end up throwing everything else off balance. The little bowtie shape to the left and right of the portrait also led to some challenges. I filled one side with the team logo but the position side doesn’t work as well.
And on design 4, I went with a plain old circle because sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice. The rest of the design is pretty basic with a diagonal space for the name/position adding a little dynamism and keep it from retreading 1983’s ground. After I had the basic compositions down, I added some “effects” since Topps can’t not do that. Nothing too obnoxious, just enough to add some depth.
After sharing these with fellow card designers to get some feedback, design 1 emerged as the best of the batch. With some minor tweaks, I built a card for each team to see how the different logos/colors work with the design.
