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!