Wetin dey happen for Dinamo Zagreb? Dem don finally pick winner for dia fourth kit design competition wey dem throw open to all fans. Na Luka Lončarek, one 20-year-old student from Dubrava area for Zagreb, wey carry di trophy. Him design wey dem call “History” beat almost 900 oda entries wey fans demselves vote for inside Dinamo app.
Luka yarn say di feeling na incredible. “I still no believe say my own win among all di beautiful kits wey dem submit,” him talk. Him thank all di fans wey vote. Di guy say him no even expect to win at all. Him just enter for fun sake because him like di idea say na fans go choose di fourth kit wey Dinamo go wear play match.
When dem ask am when him think say him fit win, Luka talk say na only for di final stage. “Make I yarn you true true, even reach top 32 from 900 entries na big success for me already. I think say my kit no go pass dat stage because di competition too strong. Everything just dey like dream.”
Di first people wey hear di news na him family. Dem dey with am when dem call am say him don win. Him also tell one friend wey be among di few pipo wey know say him enter di competition.
Wetin inspire di design? Na King Tomislav statue. Luka talk say him always like di graffiti of King Tomislav wey dey under di west stand for Maksimir Stadium. Whenever him pass di stadium, him dey notice am. So him carry dat motif put for kit because King Tomislav represent pride of Croatia, pride of Zagreb city, and through di graffiti, pride of Maksimir Stadium wey soon become history.
How much time him spend work on di design? No too much time. Him think for few days about wetin kind kit him fit make, den him do am for one night and submit am last minute. “I no even get time to perfect am like I imagine,” him confess.
Luka no be designer by profession. Him talk say Dinamo na special inspiration, and di competition na unique opportunity for every fan to try dia hand for design, including him.
Him friends and family see di design before him send am. Dem encourage am to send am. Dem all like both di idea and di look of di kit. Dem tell am say him own fit be di winner and say e go appeal to fans, but Luka no believe am.
Dem don already dey call am ask am to sign kit for dem once e go on sale? “Believe am or not, such calls don start dey come, ha ha ha,” Luka laugh.
Him message to di players for di match wey dem go first wear di kit wey him design? “Make dem fight and give dia all, make dem leave dia hearts for pitch for di crest on di kit and be brave like di person wey image dem go wear on di kit. And we go support dem from di stands, as always.”
Now make we hear from di expert jury wey select di top 32 kits from 858 proposals before fans vote. Di jury consist of Ivana Omazić, Ivan Kelava, Alen Szabo, Dubravko Ivaniš – Ripper and Siniša Bogdanović.
Bogdanović talk say him dey satisfied with di winning kit. “Since we participate for di selection from 858 submitted creative solutions and help supporters get ‘easier’ choice from Top 32, I believe di winning solution, even by my subjective choice, na di right combination for Dinamo. I dey extremely satisfied.”
But Szabo get mixed feelings. “Both yes and no. Di kit no bad, but I fit admit say I personally expect more – especially since we dey talk about fourth kit wey suppose leave stronger authorial and conceptual impression.”
When dem ask if di winning design carry wetin dem look for when selecting di best 32, Bogdanović talk say at beginning, him advocate say di final solution suppose be combination of something traditional but also modern, considering current trends and technical possibilities for kit production. “Luka Lončarek ‘History’ kit na exactly dat, and e also dey presented in aesthetically very good way.”
Szabo talk say more than yes. “Di kit correct and visually neat, but from fourth kit I expect certain departure from standard solutions, primarily for colour and approach. Di first two kits carry identity and tradition, while di third and fourth leave room for creative breakthrough.”
How important e be for member-owned, democratic club like Dinamo to conduct projects like design and selection of fourth kit? Bogdanović talk say realistically, anytime members and supporters get opportunity to participate for such projects, him sure say e get added value for connecting with Dinamo. “Analogously, dis na also di vision for future of di club we all love.”
Szabo explain say Dinamo na democratic club, club of its members, and whatever di choice be – na majority select am. “Dat na di essence of democracy. Of course, dis no mean di choice go please everyone, but na exactly dia wey di value of such process dey – involve di community for decision-making.”
Dem happy say dem get opportunity participate for something like dis? Bogdanović talk say absolutely. “I go repeat once more say as both supporter and expert, dis na huge honour and pride for me to participate as chairman of di jury for selecting fourth kit.”
Szabo talk say of course. “Dis still na precedent for club history and interesting experience. Participate for process wey include members and supporters give additional weight to di project and make am more relevant than classic internal selection.”
Bogdanović final message to Dinamo supporters: “My emotional side want di winning kit to be solution wey BBB go one day wear with pride. I sincerely believe dis solution na closest to dat ideal. To present di greatest king Tomislav on Dinamo kit, e hard to go higher than dat.”
Szabo own message: “Less na often more. E important to understand di difference between first, second, third, and especially fourth kit. Blue colour na di foundation of club identity and nobody touch dat, but di fourth kit provide space for exploration and bolder ideas. Not every attempt go perfect, but e important to get ambition to try something new.”
But di story no end dia. Di “History” kit don write new page for club story. For first time for history, club members and friends participate for its creation, from propose designs to select di kit wey first team go wear next season.
When dem launch di GNK Dinamo fourth kit selection project, dem know say dis no be ordinary survey. Na true design adventure – invitation to all creatives from Croatia to design kit wey go bear di blue crest. Dem receive 858 applications, and di expert jury select 32 finalists based on criteria like Dinamo identity, originality, emotional impact and technical applicability.
After fans select di winner, di design pass to Castore team for detailed technical and regulatory review. Castore no be just brand wey put logo on kit – dem dey responsible to ensure every garment comply with SuperSport HNL, UEFA and international intellectual property protection regulations, plus ensure di kit fit produce for all sizes and for all gender categories.
Di result of dis review na list of specific notes for di selected design. E important to note say dis no be about change di concept, but about technical adjustments wey be prerequisite for di kit to even reach sale and di pitch.
Wetin cause di refinement? First, foreign brand trademarks – one of di most common problems for sports equipment design na unintentional use of visual elements wey dem protect as foreign trademarks. These elements no fit appear either as decorative elements or as accidental visual motifs on equipment from anoda manufacturer. Dis no be creative decision, but legal obligation wey apply for all markets wey di kit go sell.
Second, graphic motifs and competition regulations – visual motifs on professional footballers kits no fit be arbitrary choice. Every element go through filter of SuperSport HNL and UEFA regulations. Dis particularly apply to depictions of architecture, religious symbols or real people. Specifically: depictions of cathedrals, churches or religious buildings fit reject for European competitions if di governing body assess dem as religious symbols rather than neutral architectural motifs.
E worth note say di same rules no always apply equally strictly on home ground – some graphics acceptable for SuperSport HNL appearances but go reject for matches for UEFA competitions.
Third, print tonality and visibility on di pitch – UEFA and FIFA get technical standards wey regulate contrast of graphic elements on kits. Di reason na practical: referees, TV cameramen and VAR system must fit unambiguously identify di colour of each player kit at all times. If graphic motif print with too dark tone on white or light background, di kit fit appear to get different colour for certain areas when dem film am – wey fit be grounds for rejection during technical equipment inspection before match.
Di solution Castore recommend na to lighten di print tonality – instead of full graphic printing, use nuanced tone-on-tone or watermark effects wey dey aesthetically impressive but no create contrast wey go problematic according to regulations. Dis refinement particularly important for kits wey go use for European matches, while for domestic appearances di original tonality acceptable for some cases.
Fourth, adaptation for all sizes and gender categories – every design wey GNK Dinamo place for market must work equally well for all sizes – from di smallest children kits to senior plus-size and for men and women cuts wey get different proportions and ratios. Dis particularly challenging for designs wey use motifs extending across entire surface of di kit body – like depictions of buildings, cities or abstract patterns.
For smaller cuts, graphics fit be problematic. Castore require say for every such design, dem must get technical document on motif positioning wey define exact coordinates, sizes and scaling priorities for each size and kit category. Create dis document na part of di final proposal refinement process.
Fifth, copyright and intellectual property of graphics – dis na perhaps di most sensitive point of di entire process. GNK Dinamo kit no be just sports equipment – e be commercial product wey dem sell globally wey must meet intellectual property protection standards for all distribution countries. Every graphic element on di kit must get clear and documented origin.
Castore and di club legal team check di origin of every visual element for di final proposals to exclude any legal risk before put di kit for sale. Every note from Castore team get one goal – ensure say di designer vision reach di end user for full glory, without legal, technical or regulatory obstacles.
Di refinements wey dem make no change di essence, story or identity of di winning design – dem only adapt am to di reality of professional sports industry. After make di necessary changes, di final appearance of di winning kit retain all di key design elements wey members choose am for, and dem refine am to meet di highest standards expected of am so say e fit truly be kit wey our players fit compete, win and write some new, glorious pages of Dinamo history.
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