I have commented recently on how 2011 Certifed has fallen short of expectations, both in terms of design and content. Although success of sales have to be high, it is more likely the success of the Black Friday promotion than any part of the set’s actual performance.

The one part of the product that always draws collector attention, is again present in this year’s set. The 1/1 Mirror Black cards that feature NFL logos of both veteran and rookie stars continue to be the reason people pay what they do for these boxes. Very much like the last few years, the examples that have surfaced are more of an example of the poor design that plagues Certified, than an example of its success.

As with every year of Certified, the 1/1 quad logo autos will be the biggest chase for collectors, and they are the best looking of all the chase cards. Although that isnt saying much, its worth mentioning that they dont look HALF as awkward as the ones I will mention below.

Mikel Leshoure 1/1 Auto Quad Logo Mirror Black

When reviewing the 1/1 non-auto logos, the swatch could not be in a more unusual location on the card. As mentioned in my previous posts, the placement breaks the line of the one inch border that is completely unnecessary on the freshman fabric cards. I get that Panini wanted to maintain continuity throughout the set, but this is NOT the way to do it. Not only does it make the card look terribly composed, it also begs the question of the skill set of Panini’s design team. Are you honestly telling me that the only solution to continuity is running that border up the side of the card without adjusting it for horizontal orientation? It only exacerbates the notion that the ability of Panini’s team is somewhere just above “amateur” and WELL below “professional.”

Mark Ingram 1/1 Non-Auto Logo Mirror Black

Greg Little 1/1 Non-Auto Logo Mirror Black

The veteran cards look much better than the rookies, but there are numerous complaints on the shrinking of the swatch window to one inch by one inch, instead of putting the entire logo on the card. In previous years, the whole logo was used, but I like these a million times better because of how large the entire swatch would be. If you use the whole logo, there is NO room for the player on a vertical card. Then to see that Panini found it necessary to overlay “MIRROR” in huge repeating patterns on the background of the card, I begin to wonder who is asleep at the design wheel.

Drew Brees 1/1 Non-Auto Logo Mirror Black

Ray Rice 1/1 Non-Auto Logo Mirror Black

Bottom line, if Panini intends to stay relevant in a rapidly escalating industry, they will need to improve on more elements of these products than I can count on two hands. Yes, Topps has a lot to develop as well, but their list is that much shorter than Panini’s. So many of their products do not change year to year, that the boredom will continue to progress to apathy, and in any industry, apathy is death.