ABOUT NICO DAL POZZO

My journey with shirt designing started similar to how other people's did, drawing kits on random pieces of paper. This then evolved into drawing a full league's fulfilment of Home, Away (sometimes even third!), then 2 goalkeeper kits. It wasn't long until Match and Shoot magazines would find themselves scribbled on, or shirts covered in tipex then recoloured!

This obsession moved into FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, where you could edit your own kits. Editing the shirts on the games became just as big a part of the enjoyment and decision on which game to buy.

This moved onto Football Manager, and the inclusion of teams kits which could be edited. A spell on the original "Assistant Manager" CM/FM fan site as part of their "Graphics Team" meant making forum signatures, users avatars and requests for fantasy kits.

Using Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004, which I still use today, I learnt to cut my teeth in concept and bespoke graphic styles.

I continued to make requests long after Assistant Manager closed down, moving onto wrestling graphics sites and making backgrounds and wallpapers for people at their requests.

In 2016, whilst on a family holiday to Lanzarote, a chance meeting with a member of the UD Lanzarote staff at the Teguise market saw a jokingly made comment make a boyhood dream a reality.

Wearing the brand new Middlesbrough Premier League return away shirt, the comment was made that the Lanzarote colours would look well in that style, and so, the shirt was made, much to a lot of people's liking. A return trip to the Island of Volcanoes a few months later saw the hype from that one off throwaway mock up become an offer to help create the 2017-18 season's Lanzarote shirts.

I have now made Lanzarote's shirts for the past 6 years, and really look forward to seeing the newest instalment being released, as I feel this is one of the best yet.

Since the Lanzarote shirts, I have made concepts a lot more regularly, and have submitted shirts into competitions for Edusport Academy (now Cally Braves) that made it to final fan selections, and have also had shirts in final voting rounds for clubs in lower leagues of Europe such as Belgium and Italy.

Of those concepts, my Twitter over the past 3 years has managed to become known within the Middlesbrough fan circle as a concept page, and towards new shirt release time sees an abundance of shirts created.

2021 saw a move over to using Affinity to create my concept shirts, and this helped to bring in offers to supply designs for 2 Cricket teams, helping bring a little "Touch of Middlesbrough" to Fairfield Foxes and Easybeats Cricket Clubs. I also helped with Kader FC's new shirt launch when moving from their old Nike sponsored kit, to their new Avec deal. And following my "Month of Concepts" in February 2022, I helped to create Redcar Athletic's 2022-24 away shirt.

I have most recently had some artwork featured in the brilliantly put together "Threads of History" book released by Middlesbrough FC author Anthony Vickers, and also helped with the original idea for charity side Broadley FC's home kit, which was adapted by Hope and Glory.

I have now moved onto using Adobe Photoshop more regularly, alongside still using the trusted Fireworks, and Affinity, all for varying tools.