Tailgate Designs: Blue Jays City Connect Concepts
Launched in 2021, MLB's City Connect unis break away from traditional designs, incorporating bold colours, distinctive fonts, and local symbols that resonate with fans and communities. The aim is to deepen the connection between the team and its city, bringing a fresh, vibrant look to the ballpark that captures the spirit and diversity of each locale.
There are 2 very distinct styles teams are choosing - either the City Connect unis are completely different than the traditional colourways, fonts and designs (eg. San Diego Padres) OR they compliment the team's everyday look (eg. St. Louis Cardinals).
When the Blue Jays were set to release their City Connects in May, it got my wheels turning and I wondered if I was the creative director or designer, what would I do? So I made some mock-ups!
Throwback Concept:
The first design takes significant inspiration from the history of baseball in the City of Toronto. Before the NHL Maple Leafs existed, there was the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club as a part of the International League. They had an interesting mascot named Handlebar Hank (for obvious reasons!). Hank drove a significant amount of the inspiration for my throwback concept as well as historically accurate jerseys from Ebbets Field Flannels.
In my concept, I want to bring back a pillbox style hat for on-field and integrate pinstripes which the Blue Jays have never had on any uniform designs. I couldn't fully commit to the T + Leaf logo, so I created a few variations. Check it out:
Diversity/Caribana Concept (my fav):
Toronto hosts the largest Caribbean festival each year and plays host to over a million visitors. Taking inspiration from the festival, this concept uses the colours and vibrancy to represent the diversity of the team, city and country. The Blue Jays were early adopters in developing academies in the Dominican Republic and has a rich history of latin players.
I've also taken inspiration from the San Diego Padres - I absolutely love their City Connects and the Cali/Tijuana vibes and wanted to create something with the same feeling. I've titled this design as "Diverse Roots - One Team". Check it out:
If you're interested, here's the video I shared on Instagram about this concept: