2015 Deluxe Duos

I've had all the base cards posted for each of the 4 Spirit releases but I was still lacking an insert design for the Deluxe set. I decided to resurrect the Deluxe Duos autograph cards after their absence in 2014. Turns out that when you design 900 individual cards in a summer, it cuts into your ability to create inserts for other releases.

Like previous Deluxe Duos designs, this one features a pair of teammates sharing the same card while featuring autographs of both players. This is the first time the orientation has been vertical. I left more room for player images than usual since sometimes they get squeezed into a corner with maybe just their faces peeking out. Since these would be "on-card" autographs, it's up to the players themselves to decide how much of their signature should overlap their pictures. Design elements from the Deluxe base cards are present, with the team color fades and the same fonts for player name, team and position.

Some nice portraits anchor the design on the back with the team logo making an appearance. I like the simplicity of the back here. Ditch the senseless writeup and stick with some nice photos and lots of empty space. It makes things a little more elegant, befitting a release called "Deluxe."

2014 Spirit Base: 381-390

#381 - Domonic Brown
Dom's starting to look like a bit of a one-season wonder, huh?

#382 - Gerrit Cole
Cole's numbers are a little bit down from last season but he's still a promising pitcher for the Pirates.

#383 - Peter Bourjos
He'd have a great wrestling name: Gorgeous Peter Bourjos

#384 - Seth Smith
Smith's been the Padres best position player by far this season. Good pick up for them.

#385 - Ryan Vogelsong
He might not be back to 2011 or 2012 levels but I'm glad to see he didn't go the full-Lincecum this year.

#386 - Robinson Cano
Cano's power numbers are down but he's still doing well in Seattle. I'm sure its the difference between SafeCo and Yankee Stadium

#387 - Alex Cobb
Looks like he's the Rays ace now that Price has left town.

#388 - Prince Fielder
Let's hope Prince is able to regain his Brewers-era game in 2015. If not, it'll make this trade sting that much more considering I p.c. Ian Kinsler.

#389 - Jose Reyes
I'm glad he can still smile after these last couple seasons.

#390 - Drew Storen
"How's it feel to clinch the NL East again, Drew?"

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.

Spirit Deluxe Duos

No, not Diamond Duos or Dueling Duos. Deluxe Duos. Two guys on the same team that are among the MLB elite. It may not be the most original concept, but I bet there are lots of people that'd be very excited to pull a Mike Trout/Albert Pujols dual auto. Every good turn deserves another or something like that.

These carry the same hallmarks as the other Spirit Deluxe cards so far. Team color textured backgrounds, sophisticated fonts, silver foil, dynamic fade photos. Hopefully the consistency isn't too boring.

The back features a candid shot of the two featured players together. I really like the Fielder/Cabrera photo. It's nice to see teammates interact with each other like little leaguers do. And for these cards, it keeps the front side from looking like arbitrary pairings of guys who just happen to wear the same uniform.

Some of the other duos in the series would probably be Harper/Strasburg, Kemp/Kershaw, Lincecum/Posey, Halladay/Lee, Pedroia/Ellsbury, Mauer/Morneau.