City: Nea Smyrni (Athens)
League: Super League Greece
Stadium: Panionios Stadium
Fouded: 1890
Shirt sponsor: -
Kit manufacturer: Diadora
With great pleasure I present my designs for Panionios GSS, the club with a history of 120 years. These designs were made after a request from my good friend Akis, the biggest Panionios fan I know. Since I met him, I become a Panionios fan too.
The kits are without any sponsor logos, only the kit manufacturer, because the designs are based on symbols that represent the club, and me and my friend Akis wanted to have some nice and clean kits. The names used on the shirts are not player names, are our kids names and our names (Akis and me). The home kit is in the classic Panionios color scheme, red and blue with white piping.
The away kit is all white with a red-blue oblique band on the shirts.
The third kit is dark blue with red and blue feature on the chest, representing the Greek key.
A first special edition kit, a bit retro style, with red and blue halves, dark blue shorts. The socks are dark blue with red and blue hoops.
Another special edition kit is an all blue with sky blue features.
With this occasion I had an interview for the clubs magazine Panionios Kosmos and also on http://pan-ola.blogspot.com/2010/11/zoran-iovanovici.html and http://panionios-kosmos.blogspot.com/. The interview is in Greek, but will post the English version too.
"We do not have World cup only in the football grounds but also in football's design. In the manufacture and in the designing of football jerseys, mockup (or mock-up), it is a model of drawing in certain scale, that is used depending on the circumstance: previously for demonstration, previously for the evaluation of drawing or even the promotion of final drawing to application. We have the joy to present to you Zoran Iovanovici, winner of Copa Do Mundo de Mockups that was organized by the international community of designers of footballs jerseys (Mockups de Camisas de Futebol). This really beautiful and impressive community has world impression and for Zoran constitutes a pleasant activity that brings him in contact with friends from all parts of the Planet: the applications that he accepts for a creation of “fantastic kits” are innumerable. We will see certain samples from the work which is published for 1st time - exclusively drawn for the friends of Panionios, we will read certain extracts from his interview in Mockup Magazine of Brazil plus his answers in our own questions. Most remarkable? Zoran declares a fan of Panionios.
AM: What is your favorite club in Greece?
ZI: Generally I like the Greek teams (when not playing against one of my favorite team) because of their fighting spirit and their fans. Since my only friend in Greece is Panionios fan, I become one too. And I’m very glad.
AM: Have you heard anything about Panionios history? There is a certain point that impressed you?
ZI: I heard lots of thinks about Greek clubs, maybe because I have watched since little the Yugoslavian television, and media. They followed their players and coaches who activated in Greece and therefore lots of information come to us. Lately I had the possibility to read more about Panionios, and I must say I’m impressed. This must be an example for people, how important is the sport and how can the sport win all the obstacles. I was impressed about how important was the identity for people in trouble.
AM: So, a club like Panionios with 120 years of History must pester you, to find out sources & elements - the language also is a big obstacle.
ZI: When a club celebrate such a long time of existing, the most appropriate design for a kit will be based on an old style jersey. Lots of centenary shirts have collar with laces, or halved shirt, as they were in the beginning of the football history. It’s good thing to return to the roots once in while. The language is a big obstacle in getting information from Greek sites. But I got help from my friend, Akis, with lots of pictures and details about the history of the club and the kit.
AM: Panionios wore Adidas in 1979 when the club gained the Greek cup, a nice uniform. What do you think?
ZI: I saw some pictures and presentation from that period, simple and elegant kits, specific for those times.
AM: Have you ever thought to design a uniform for another sport (like basketball or even for martial arts)?
ZI: I had few attempts years ago, but only for fun, or maybe trying something different for a change. I draw some sketches for Basketball, Hockey, American Football and even Baseball. But not interested me as the Football (Soccer) kits designing.
AM: Do you believe that a nice kit in front of a child’s eyes is an important reason to support a club or to attract his attention for a club?
ZI: Yes I think so, I had and have lots of teams that I like just because they wear a nice uniform or have a nice color combination. Many of my favorite teams wear red shirts ;) Also I dislike lots of teams because of a “not so beautiful uniform” or strange color combination. The brand influence me too.
AM: Family and friendship or money and glory? ( I mean what you prefer …)
ZI: How can you enjoy money and glory if you don’t have family and friends to share with? But you can have and enjoy your family and friends without money and glory.
AM: Your work is on the net. How do you protect your ideas from people that copy them?
ZI: The only protection is not to show my work. I have hundreds of designs on paper, and only few people had the occasion to see them. Last year I decided to show my work on the internet, by participating on couple of kits design specialized sites. After my designing skills are improved, lots of people encouraged me to start my own site or blog and present there my work. This way I had the possibility to be known all over the world, I had and have requests from everywhere. There are people who are inspired by my work, also lots of my designs and even templates are copied.
AM: Are you upset from these people that you believe they took advantage of your ideas? It is possible that the well paid designers from the big branches make party every time you present your work on the net.
ZI: I don’t know that for sure. If this would be true, I’ll be very honored, because that mean my work worth something. But I think is not correct to copy just like that any work that is not yours.
AM: It’s a fact that many appreciable designers like you, are behind the scene because they don’t know the “right” persons. Finally is the lack of meritocracy characteristic of each modern society?
ZI: Am I appreciable designer? I think the fact you pointed here is applicable to any other domain. Knowing the right person in the right moment can change your way or even your life. I’m not sad, because if I had a different way in my life, then I couldn’t meet my wife, and didn’t had my precious daughter.
AM: Do you think is interesting this season Panionios kit?
ZI: I think it’s a matter of taste. I’m not in the position to criticize any other design, because I know how hard is to invent a design, to adapt to a specific club, his crest, eventually sponsors. I know this template made by Diadora, is the one used for some clubs last season. It’s a nice design but I think that’s a place for few improvements. Anyway the last year’s kit was much better than this one.
AM: You believe that a voting for a choice of a club’s jersey, between competitive designs, would be more ideal for the supporters of any club?
ZI: There are many clubs in Europe that ask their fans to vote the design for the team, but in most cases the fans can chose from two or three template made by kitmaker brand. Maybe if the fans would influence the choice of the club’s jersey, then we would see more and diversified designs and not just few templates for hundreds of clubs.
AM: Would you like to participate in such a competition? In Greece in any case no club so far has made such a process - to ask the supporters (and at extension their purchasing public) for what they would like to be worn from their beloved club.
ZI: Anytime, I already participated in such competitions for some minor clubs in Great Britain.
AM: Panionios celebrates this year his 120 years. Would you be interest to contribute with your ideas and your abilities in the creation of an album which will include all the jerseys of Panionios from Smyrna till today?
ZI: Interesting idea, I saw this kind of albums for some big clubs, and not necessarily big but old clubs. It’s nice to see the evolution of the designs. In my case when I see an old jersey I always think on what players wore that jersey, what remarkable games they played in.
AM: Would you like one day to watch with your family a game of Panionios in New Smyrna?
ZI: Why not one late evening, when the Champions League or Europa League games are played? Of course I will like it.
AM: Have you seen on the net, the trailer for the New Athletic Center that will make Panionios? (we wish as soon as possible). What’ s your opinion about this project?
ZI: Yes I saw that on the official site of Panionios. I think it will be a dream come true for every Panionios fan, such an arena can only offer more satisfaction to the players and for the fans. I think that the prestige of the club will be higher too.
AM: Zoran, we thank you for the honor that you did to our fans, to present us your creations. We wish the officials from PANIONIOS club to collaborate with you, so we will have the chance to admire again your red & blue ideas."
