Rams will have a new uniform concept in 2021, so we asked you to design it

After the Rams released their new uniforms last month, they left us a little bit of a cliffhanger.

The team unveiled three new concepts for 2020, adding that there will be new designs in 2021 and 2022. So I got to thinking: What if we got a head start?

I sent out a signal on Twitter for any designers, creatives or passionate fans with Photoshop who wanted to participate in a uniform project to email me. Then I outlined the task: Design for The Athletic a 2021 Rams uniform concept.

What we came away with was delightful. We have an “idea cloud” of sorts, in both visuals and text, of what a sample size of the fan base — an especially creative sample size — believes the 2021 design should include, from tweaks to the helmet horn to alternate logos (now you’ve perked up, huh?) to input on number gradients and more.

Of course, we didn’t make it easy on this talented group. We also had a set of rules for the designers.

The rules

Designers would only get one piece each to design.
Designers would include some notes on why they chose what they did (entries below have been edited for clarity).
Designers could not collaborate with each other prior to the deadline because we wanted a variety of unique takes and a diverse set of voices showing their artwork. We can’t get an idea cloud if everyone has the same idea or template!
Because of interest, we tweaked the usual NFL uniform rules, so we have multiple helmet, jersey and logo concepts to present. We wanted everyone to feel included!

Home alternate jersey 2021 concept: Aaron Demant (@aarondemant)

Inside the design (in Demant’s words): I wanted to not only put something forward that I like, of course, but also one that I believe has stood the test of time before — with a small twist.

When the new uniforms dropped recently, there was a real mixed view of them, to say the least. You can’t please everyone when it comes to rebranding a historic sports franchise. That said, the one thing I noticed was the new “Bone” color — instead of a regular white — went over fantastically among fans and the players.

I believe Jared Goff said, during the uniform launch video, that these were his favorite of the bunch. As much as I actually love the “Rams Royal” and “Sol,” the Bone jersey is my favorite, too. In fact, I have already put an order in for one!

The Rams, in previous decades, have used white jerseys as their home go-to. So I decided to use the Bone theme as the prominent color for this jersey redesign.

One of the most popular jerseys I have seen — not only from the old-school fans but the newcomers — is the blue-and-yellow jersey that was worn by the Rams between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s, before they moved to St Louis. Let’s not forget that the jersey worn in the Rams’ very first Super Bowl win was this jersey! This is why I have decided to bring back the yellow onto the sleeves but with the new Sol color and the royal horns to complement, as they did in the past.

Like on the new Bone jersey, the numbers will be placed onto the sleeve, using the royal blue with the inset shimmer stroke, as seen on the larger numbers on the front of the jersey. This may not be a major change from the new Bone jersey, but it is a classic that is much adored by fans. I think it would fly off the shelves!

Editor’s note: Because Demant was only assigned the top, he put a creative twist on his product. You’ll notice that receiver Cooper Kupp is in board shorts and slides (also designed by Demant).

Home alternate jersey 2021 concept: Joseph Fronke (@JBroFronk)

Inside the design (in Fronke’s words): This jersey was meant to be a true nod to the classic whites the Rams wore in Los Angeles for decades, but with a modern twist — keeping similar elements to the classic but still putting a modern spin on the entire thing. Bone base color replaces white. There is the traditional blue horn on the sleeves but in the new “horns forward” style, there are traditional blue block numbers but in a different place, and the new team patch is on the front. New home Bone jerseys at the “Bone Yard” just feels right.

More details …

Bone base color: Yes, the home jersey is using the new Bone primary color. A first of its kind in the NFL, this color is unique and quite frankly … awesome. I know most teams wear colors at home, but some iconic brands like the Dallas Cowboys choose to wear lights at home. And this is Southern California where it’s always sunny, so why not have the Rams wear lights (I mean Bones) at home and force the opponent to wear their dark kits in the sun? Home-field advantage at its finest! This will quickly become the new favorite color of the Rams’ fan base.
Yellow sleeves, blue horn: Reminiscent of the old Anaheim Stadium uniforms that Jim Everett, Jack Youngblood, Flipper Anderson, etc., wore, the new home uniforms will have yellow sleeves with a blue horn. The sleeve horn is the new modern version with the twisting design but in full form, as it comes to a point on the front (just like the classics did).
Blue block style numbers: No fancy sequence or futuristic font. The numbers will be the traditional block style numbers like the team has used for decades, just in the new Rams Royal color. “TV numbers” are still a part of the look but are moved slightly from the classics. They now sit on top of the shoulder and not inside the horn. As jerseys have modernized and the big sleeves of the 80s are no more, forcing numbers onto the sides of the smaller, sleeker sleeves of today’s jerseys just doesn’t work. This allows the blue horn and the yellow sleeve to be a feature of the uniform.
Collar: Traditional Rams royal blue collar, just like the classics.
L.A. Rams patch: The team patch on the left side of the uniform will use the new Los Angeles Rams wordmark in our primary colors, Sol and Rams Royal. Like with the jerseys of the Steelers, Jets or Jaguars, a team patch on the front is a cool feature that give the front of the jerseys a little more flare. No fancy accent stitching, just a Rams Royal base patch with the Los Angeles Rams wordmark stitched in yellow.

Helmet 2021 concept: Tyler Bearde (@tbearde)

Inside the design (in Bearde’s words): The two biggest requests from Rams fans during the rebrand process were: give us our colors back (blue and yellow) and don’t touch the horns (you can improve them, but don’t mess with them too much). Well, the Rams gave us our colors back but messed with the horns, and that hasn’t gone over so well with a majority of the fanbase.

The fans love the shiny metallic blue helmet the Rams released, so I kept that. But the new horn design just strays too far from what the fans were used to. The horn they released appears broken or separated in an attempt to give it a three-dimensional look. Well, I don’t know if you know this, but a broken horn in many mystic circles is considered bad luck!

The look of the horn the Rams released also makes it appear they are sporting a crescent moon or, as some have noted, a couple of bananas on the helmet. I eliminated all of that. I took the same concept the Rams were going for and utilized shading to create the 3D effect. It also helped me introduce another shade of yellow (sunset yellow) which the Rams have used in the past on their uniforms and on the horns. The horn on the helmet now appears to pop and has dimension to it. The horn shape is also meeting the designers and fans halfway.

So now the helmet is a perfect blend of old and new. It brings it back home for the fans and respects history but still keeps it modern.

Helmet 2021 concept (plus alternate): Cayle Christian Damrow (@damcayle, website here)

Inside the design (in Damrow’s words): As an avid sports freak and uni-nerd, it’s been a bucket-list item of mine to redesign every team in professional sports! I have always treasured the classic designs rooted in tradition, and with the game of football being my favorite, I first set my sights on reworking the NFL. As an Angeleno, I couldn’t think of a better way to kick things off than with a team deeply rich in football tradition, our very own Los Angeles Rams! Hands down, the Rams have always had the most eye-catching uniforms, starting with that iconic ram horn on their lids. I mean, come on! From the classic navy- and white-horned shell donned by Deacon Jones, to the navy- and yellow-horned shell rocked by Mr. Fourth Quarter himself, Eric Dickerson, the Rams always had swagger, and their gear only added to their intimidation.

So, how best to honor such tradition? Well, by keeping it alive. Maintaining that classic aesthetic and iconic design was my No. 1 priority. I set out only to enhance what has always been so great for so long. Rather than adding detail to the horn, I opted to keep it simple and bulk up the width of the horn as a minor design adjustment, making that horn an even bigger and bolder statement on the field! With the league’s one-helmet rule still in place, I wanted to take full advantage of paying tribute to two of the Rams’ most memorable helmet colorways over the years: the white- and the yellow-horned designs. Swapping out the darker navy base color and face mask with a more vibrant metallic royal blue really allows for both colored horn options to pop and punch! To keep even more tradition alive, I’ve dubbed the blue- and yellow-horned concept “29 Special” and the blue- and white-horned concept “Headslap.” Keep those horns up, L.A.!

Away alternate jersey 2021 concept: Ron Cohen (@roncohenLA)

Inside the design: Cohen wrote an excellent, and detailed, essay about this design concept. We pulled these excerpts to capture the spirit of the creativity with which he approached the project, as well as his passion for Los Angeles history and the Rams’ legacy.

“A team’s uniform needs to rise above today’s fashion. The Rams’ blue-yellow-white has proven staying power that binds generations of players together and generations of fans to them. When the 2021 Rams are up against it, and need to summon greatness, we need decades of memories, emotions and passions to be on the field with them, living in these uniforms. When Aaron Donald lines up with the game on the line, we want to envision Youngblood beside him.”
“I also want today’s uniform design to appeal to new generations of fans, not just Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. … That (doesn’t mean) it should look like a new generation invented it, wearing blinders to the past. For a sanity check, I go to the most vocal occupant of our Coliseum seats, my 23-year-old niece, Hannah Joyce. She’s blunt: ‘People who don’t know L.A. try to dismiss us as flash with no substance. As soft. That ticks me off. Our city has deep history and its own timeless quality. Our uniforms should say that, especially on the road.'”
“In my design, the large player numbers on the front and back retain the traditional font and now get a 3D block trim. In part, this is meant to add some yellow to the jersey that compensates for the loss of yellow surface on the sleeves. The trim may not be visible from my seats, but I think it will look great in HD and on the three or four new jerseys that I am certain to buy. There is even some L.A. history behind it. In 1973, the Rams intended their new jersey design to have 2D trim around the numbers — white trim around yellow numbers at home, and yellow trim around blue numbers on the road. But 1973 NFL rules prohibited that style of trim. So the home trim only made it into preseason games and was removed before the regular season. The road trim never made the field, even for preseason.”
“In 1973, the Rams made the sleeves yellow and added the horn that curls around the number. Both design elements are immensely popular with fans. While there are rivals for the best home uniforms in history — the Packers, Raiders, Steelers — those Rams road uniforms had no peer. It was the sleeves. Whoever did that should be enshrined in Canton next to Fred Gehrke, who gave us the first painted horns on the helmet in 1948. The design challenge is, in the 20 years the Rams were away from L.A., NFL players opted for smaller shoulder pads and much shorter sleeves. The sleeves now have less than half of the old surface area. The old horn would have its bottom cut off, and we’d be left with just an arch (St. Louis again!) with no curl. The so-called ‘throwback’ jerseys faced this issue and surrendered without a fight. The horn shriveled to a splinter. Not in my house. This isn’t ‘hint of horn.’ The road jerseys will now have a fully rehydrated horn that can ram something, not just poke at it.”

Pants alternate 2021 concept: Joey Rocco (@LetsTalkRams)

Inside the design (in Rocco’s words): I wanted to focus on the history aspect while tying in a new change the Rams made — the Bone color. This color adaptation was widely accepted by Rams fans, with many stating it was their favorite of the two new jersey-top colorways.

As for the history aspect, I can’t help but tie in the design of the 1964-72 uniforms that the “Fearsome Foursome” wore on their rise to greatness. While I wasn’t around to witness these moments, it is interesting to read about what happened during this era of Rams football and how eerily similar it is to the current state of the Rams’ recent history …

Head coach George Allen, famous for his motto “The future is now,” took the Rams from a 4-10 record to 8-6 in his first year.
Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history, took the Rams from a 4-12 record to 11-5 in his first year.
Allen won Coach of the Year in his second season with the Rams (1967), coaching the team to an 11-1-2 record and a division title, eventually losing in the divisional round.
McVay won Coach of the Year in his second season with the Rams (2018), coaching the team to a 13-3 record and a division title, eventually losing in the Super Bowl.
In 1967, Allen coached the Rams to their first playoff berth since 1955, a 12-year gap, with eight consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival.
In 2017, McVay coached the Rams to their first playoff berth since 2004, a 13-year gap, with 10 consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival.

The simplicity of this look speaks volumes. It isn’t flashy but clean enough to work in any modern capacity, and the stripe down the pant leg is bold and full of volume, rather than confusing and thin with different colors. My take on the design is simple: Bring back these pants, while substituting the white for Bone, leaving the ever-classic blue stripe down the pant leg.

Alternate 2021 Rams logo concept: Chris Ramirez (@CRamirezCalif)

Inside the design (in Ramirez’s words): My logo features a profile view of a ram, contrasting the new three-quarters view ram logo, and is defined by the Rams’ golden horn, a royal blue stroke and Bone-colored accents on the ram itself. … The horn of the logo was based off the signature horn element that had defined the Rams’ helmets since halfback Fred Gehrke first painted them on in 1948, while also connecting to the 2020 logos through the incorporation of a light orange to Sol gradient and the break of the new horns.

Alternate 2021 Rams logo concept: Steve Thompson (@SThompsonArt)

Inside the design (in Thompson’s words): I should preface this by saying that I am an East Coast Rams fan. I grew up in Brooklyn and now live in New Jersey. My dad lived his entire life in Brooklyn and was a Rams fan as a child. For my first birthday, he got me an honorary contract with the Rams and a helmet. I was literally born a Rams fan.

That said, since the Rams were always the “away” team for me, whether in Los Angeles or St. Louis, they’ve always been the Rams to me. For the alternate logo, I wanted to keep the new colors in place but also look back to history a little. The word mark logo includes the ram horn on the “R” and is a nod to the St. Louis Rams word logo. For the ram, I wanted to incorporate the new horn but also include what I think are the coolest features of the Rampage (mascot) logo: the eyes and snarling mouth (it’s a pet peeve of mine that the new ram head doesn’t have a mouth).

I also included the Bone color to the design as well as the gradients — just to drive the internet critics crazy.

(Top photo: Tyler Bearde)

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