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Stuff about 2019 Topps


Every August Topps reveals its flagship design for the following year's product.

Of course, back before the internet, nobody knew what the design would be until the first packs were opened. It'd be nice if that's the way designs were revealed today. But this is reality and companies must "create buzz" every day in order to survive, so I understand why August and why six months before the cards actually show up.

And Topps has been doing this for several years now so everyone should be used to it.

I think I like the design quite a bit. In general, other collectors seem to agree, although opinions have been all over the board per usual. This design has the potential to be one of my favorites of the last 10 years. It's already the best Topps has done since 2015 and probably will surpass 2015 just because it's a cleaner design.

I know that the cards that Topps showed today are mock-ups and there is the potential for design changes down the road. I also know that images are brighter than they appear on actual cards. That said, I like the design because it is bright, bold and colorful.

This is the No. 1 way to get me to pay attention and enjoy your card set. Make the design bright and preferably quirky. I think 2019 Topps has done this.

There are going to be OCD people -- there have been plenty on Twitter already -- who don't like the "reverse name" treatment. It doesn't bother me at all. If I could get used to what Topps did with player names in 2005 Topps than this is nothing.

Here are some other thoughts about 2019 Topps:

1. Anytime there's a long, curved border, people mention 1982 Topps. But it's been used on many other sets.

I don't think this design looks like '82 Topps all that much. But maybe I need a vertical card to make a determination.


Nope. Maybe if you flip it so the color border starts on the left side like '82 Topps did. But I think this design stands on its own. And the colored swoosh nicely provides a foundation for the wording.

2. I don't mind the mosaic effect.

In a non-parallel world, there would be no need for the mosaic. But since Topps has gone without borders, it's forced itself to find ways to continue to make parallels, and mostly failed miserably. 2016 and 2017 Topps were a disaster. Ugly cards made ugly because Topps needed parallels. The 2018 set is better and treats parallels better as far as design, but I'm still not crazy about it.

The mosaic pleases me more. The part that travels over the photo is subdued and set off to the side so I barely notice it. And it continues the theme on the right side, where -- heavens -- is that an actual border????

3. Love that font.

I wish I had more knowledge of fonts than I actually do. My daughter is studying graphic design and I am hoping her knowledge will rub off on me so I can describe font differences. But I love the font used with 2019 Topps. It's fun. It's readable. It's almost kind of whimsical. Outside of the colored border, it makes the whole card. The wording on 2018 Topps is a bit small -- and you've got that waterfall traveling over the first part of the name -- so this treatment eliminates that problem. It's bold. I like it.

4. Please let the cards be at least almost as bright as they are in the mock-up.

Back in 2012, Topps released its mock-up for 2013 Topps with a Prince Fielder card and the brightness of the colored border jumped out at me. I loved it.

When the cards showed up the following winter, they weren't as bright. That was a little disappointing, but I obviously should have known that back-lit computer images are a LIE. I still like 2013 Topps and I still like it because it's colorful and fun. I think 2019 Topps has even greater potential.

5. I'm starting to feel sorry for 2016 and 2017.

The 2018 set was an improvement -- I actually don't mind going through those cards. The 2019 image is even better. If this pattern continues, the 2016-17 era will be the worst in Topps flagship history, if it isn't already.

I think the 1996-2002 period for Topps is the worst going away and perhaps you need to string a few subpar years together to match that era. But I don't like looking at my 2017 flagship cards and I almost recoil in horror when I see my 2016 cards.

6. Back to the design -- I like the horizontal cards better than the vertical ones.

In general, that's always the case. But this time, I think I like the horizontal cards (or the "landscape cards" if you're one of the cool people) because there is more room for the design to shine. I know that opens up more unused white space, but I'm OK with that. Years of newspaper design and teaching that white space can be your friend has helped me adjust. Besides, I wish that colored border could go on forever.

7. This is why Topps releases these images in August.

I already can't wait to open some 2019 packs!

Comments

GOGOSOX60 said…
Is it early February YET????
I'm hoping the cards look better in hand. Right now, I'm not there yet.
A lot depends on what those grey names look like in-hand. The design has potential, but you just never can tell until you're pulling it from a pack, and then sometimes it still needs time to set in. I was "meh" about 2016 at first, but the more I look at it the more I think "My God, this is ugly".
Paul Hadsall said…
I really like the horizontal cards, but I'm not so keen on the vertical ones. I hope that the player names will still be readable on the actual cards.
Brett Alan said…
I think it's a pretty good compromise between their desire not to have a border and the need for a border to make the parallels work, I like the small position/team name (although if the logo were not there, I wouldn't like it being so small). Optimistic that this will be pretty nice.
Commishbob said…
OK, this is weird. I like the design a lot. I can't even remember the last time I saw a Topps Flagship that made me want to buy some. This is that set. I do favor vertical cards in general and I feel the same with these. But in either case it's a big leap forward for Topps, at least in my eyes.
Corky said…
I like the design, it is fresh and after 2016 and 2017 horrible designs it is nice to see. I agree, the horizontal cards looks a lot better.
Jeremya1um said…
It kind of looks like the ‘99 Fleer Sports Illustrated set and the ‘68 or ‘90 Topps set had a child. It’s better than the past 2-3 years, but not by much.
bbcardz said…
These mock-ups do look pretty attractive despite the mosaic reminding me of the '68 Topps burlap borders (worst borders ever). Of course, I'll be building this flagship set too.
Fuji said…
The design is okay. It might grow on me more. It might not. Regardless of the design, Topps still has time to make 2019 Topps memorable, by spending a few extra minutes in the cropping department.
Matt said…
My first impression was the mosaic reminded me of a meshed screen, possibly even bathroom tile. Other than that, I really like the design! I just wish that we could get a preview of the backs as well.
GCA said…
OK, so not bad. Points off if the gray name becomes foil.

I know that there has been a similar design from Fleer or Upper Deck at some point. I don't associate it with '82 either. Just have to find which one it is close to.

The real question is going to be whether they are going to bury us in multiple 300 card insert sets and five other superstar worship inserts with useless parallels and nothing else with any originality. (Hey Topps, consult with your A&G people!)
SumoMenkoMan said…
I'm a fan of the simple design! No complaints on my end.
Doc Samson said…
Mr. Owl (as usual) and others here have made some excellent points regarding this design. But let's face it: not everyone is going to like it. To be honest with you, I don't know. My first reaction was that this looks like something Donruss put out in the 2000s. So it does have a little bit of a retro vibe (never thought I would be saying something is retro like 2000's Donruss.)

I generally like white if it's done right on a baseball card, so there's that. My biggest beef with this design is that it looks a little too "corporate". Everything feels a little too neat and tidy. That said, I reserve judgement until I actually hold the cards in my hand. I thought 2010 Topps was going to be such an awesome set because it looked bold and used team logo names. Then it ended up having unreadable foil, uninspired photography, lame subsets...