2014 Clubhouse

Here's a look at the 2014 design for Spirit's low-end product, Clubhouse. Having lived with the 2013 design for a year now, I decided to shift the tone back a little more toward "fun" this year. There are definitely some similarities between 2014 and the initial 2012 design. Obviously there's the horizontal format but also the bold names and the bold colors. This is bringing the set back to what I originally had in mind.

With the horizontal format we'll see more dynamic action shots, different from those on the vertical Spirit base design. There's a full-color action cut-out on top of a team-color shaded background. Just above the secondary color bar with the player position/team name is a big, bold last name. Tucked just above that is the player's first name in a nice script font. In the bottom right corner is a white triangle leaving just enough room for the team cap logo.

On the back are a couple of color boxes for all the pertinent player bio information. Next to a small portrait is a stat block with the player's five most-recent seasons along with their career totals, leaving room for a few sentences about them. As you can see from the numbering in the upper right, the set is a lot bigger than most non-flagship releases. A 600-card, no-foil low-end set would definitely fill a hole in the current baseball card landscape.

I'm adding a single parallel to the set, Clubhouse Gold seen here. Just like the original Topps Gold parallels, these are strictly the same cards but with gold foil embellishing a few areas. I also made the background color gold, too, to help set them off in case the foil gets overlooked.

2013 Clubhouse

With spring training and the World Baseball Classic in full swing, my mind is definitely focused on baseball again, which hopefully means more frequent design posts. It'll be interesting to see if I have any fresh ideas after a year or if I'll fall into the same patterns like Topps does on occasion. Anyway, here's a look at the 2013 Clubhouse series. This is meant to be the low-end, Topps Opening-Day-esque product in the Spirit line. Like last year's design, it's a bright and colorful, no-frills design.

The front of the cards feature an action shot cutout of the player on top of a team-colored background with an outfield grass pattern. On the bottom is a bar with the secondary team color and a wood pattern. With the player's last name big, their first name and position/team are found above and below. I always find it important to include team/position on base designs, especially for a product marketed towards those learning the game. Alternating corners from card to card, the team's primary logo is the final element of the front design.

For the back, we've got a full-color player photo to the right and the player name/bio on the left. The grass pattern from the front makes it way to the back, this time in its natural green state. The bottom portion sees a big block of team color with a big chunk of career stats on top.

Keep an eye out for a few Clubhouse inserts coming up. I'll probably do another All-Stars design but hopefully I'll find some inspiration for some new and different insert ideas.

Welcome to the Clubhouse

First off, I want to welcome all of you new readers out there. I'm sure a lot of you came here thanks to Robert over at $30 a Week Habit, so thanks again to Robert. I really enjoy your blog and marvel at your restraint to stay within your budget. You are much stronger than I.

Now onto the card design. I was looking to create a 'low-end' set for Spirit, along the lines of Collector's Choice from the 90s or Topps Total from the early 00s. I think having a product come in at $1 a pack is important to keep growing new collectors in their youth. I know we have Opening Day but I don't like the idea of a product being tied to a single day early in the season, especially since Topps Series I is still somewhat fresh at that point. The Clubhouse set would hit the shelves right around Memorial Weekend, which, to me, always signifies the start of summer.

The base set consists of 810 cards total: 25-man roster + manager + team checklist x 30. The front of the card features the player cut out and placed in front of an old wooden fence in team colors with the team logo 'painted' on. At the bottom is the player name, position and team name placed on top of a team color dirt patch. The two sections are separated by a white chalk line and the Clubhouse logo. I think this is a pretty good 'kid-targeted' design with the solid colors and player cut out. It has a bit of a 'Sandlot' feel to it.

The back of the card features the same team color sections but with the proportions flipped. A full-frame picture of the player is found on the left with the stats & info on the right. The stat lines only cover 5 seasons and a small selection of statistical categories. They're a blend of traditional and sabermetric stats, whichever floats your boat. The card numbers in the upper left hand corner, rotated 90° counterclockwise. This makes them easier for sorting when stored vertically in /ct boxes and also keeps from covering up too much of the photo.

The production is pretty no-frills, with no foil stamping, crazy shiny patterns, parallels or any other gimmicks. Just full-color printing on a coated card stock with a semi-glossy coating. There will be a few inserts coming up later and maybe even something like a relic or die-cut. This would be a simple, fun, colorful release for set-builders on a budget or kids spending their lemonade money or whatever kids do to earn money during summer break.