Philip Imbriano was on a subway going to work in New York’s West Village when he noticed a red and silver metal badge inside the subway car.
It suddenly hit him.
He got off the 1 train at the Houston Street exit, raced into the Topps office where he has been a senior designer for the past 1 ½ years, and started sketching his idea.
Two months later, his design was selected after four rounds of competition, and his swoosh element is now featured through the upper left-hand corner of the Topps’ new Series 1 card set.
The celebration will begin Wednesday when Topps officially unveils the set at their New York office.
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“I guess they call it the aha moment,’’ Imbriano said. “I like to walk around and see things in the world, and if I think it relates to something that’s going to work down the line as far as the design goes, I take a quick little photo of it. So that’s kind of what happened here. I saw that little metal badge on the subway and thought maybe that little swoosh element could work. So I sketched it, and developed it.
“Beginner’s luck, I guess.’’
Pretty cool for a guy who’s a diehard Yankees fan with Aaron Judge, his favorite player, also being featured on the Topps hobby box with his design.
Who would ever have thought a simple subway ride would create the design for an iconic baseball card series?
“Everyone gets inspired,’’ said Clay Luraschi, Topps senior vice president/global development, “but it’s common to hear how much inspiration like a designer will get just on their way to work buecase New York is like sensory overload. I personally get it and I know Phil and a lot of designers do. …
“I saw it along with about 15 other designs, but this one stood out to me because the border is so different, it broke the mold of the basic border card that you see in a lot of our products. It’s just striking. It was something your eye was drawn to very quickly.’’
The Series 1 will feature an All Topps Team celebrating the 35-year anniversary of their design, autograph relic cards, while featuring current stars, Hall of Famers and promising rookies.
“The one thing I always stress is that if someone, say 25 years from now, can look at this card and remember the year it was made?’’ Luraschi said. “Does it stand the test of time? Does it speak to the current moment?
“It’s the same thing when you look at cards from the 1970’s. They look like they’re from the 1970’s. Trading cards has really become a cultural phenomenon. Not just the moments, but the design of them, too. …
“This card implements the team name in a way that I’ve never seen on a card. Usually, you see the team name at the bottom or the top. This one comes down the side and blends in with the border, which is a very cool and unique way to do it. It really stands out.’’
Imbriano can tell you all about the culture growing up collecting cards himself, with his earliest baseball card memory being the 1992 Derek Jeter draft pick card.
“I distinctly remember that one was a kid, but I also was a big WWE guy,’’ Imbriano said. “I used to buy WWE cards as a kid. I’m also a big comic book fan. So, you know, cards and comics are always married together in the same house. I would always buy a couple packs here and there when I would buy comics.
“I was very much a collector, so I definitely think I’m in the right field.’’
And now, the father of twin boys three weeks ago, Imbriano is now part of Topps history.
“This is the 74th edition of Topps baseball,’’ Luraschi said, “that’s an incredible legacy to build on. So, this is an important moment for trading cards, and obviously the company. The flagship product really sets the tone for the entire trading card season.
“This is a big day for us.’’
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