T-shirts to me have a magic mix of elements that have had me hooked for 30+ years. They're a mixture of fashion, design, and advertising. And I don't mean advertising like Coca Cola® (although yes that too), but as in advertising yourself to the world around you. Are you in love, do you want to talk politics, is your sense of humor just downright hilarious? There's a shirt for that.
I designed my first t-shirt when I was just 10 years old. My 6th grade class had a contest to design a shirt for our room and I won. It was a wicked peace sign design with icicles coming off of it that read "Room 2 is Cool, We Rule" (blog post to follow).
My goal with the (not yet named) book is to give the reader a place to get away for a while and get lost in a sea of graphics. Maybe for inspirational purposes, or maybe for meditative ones. I believe that my book will different for a few reasons. The focus will be on the graphics and the designs, but in a very generic way. The shirts will be shot on a white background instead of on models. The t-shirts will cover a time span from the 2000-aughts, back to the 70's, but so far it's mainly comprised of lots of 90's tees. This book will not be about the history of the t-shirt, nor about band tees or any one thing specifically. There are a lot of rad books like this out there already. It will be a total mix of design styles and eras. The repetitive nature of my book and it's imagery will itself be a selling point for people who aren't necessarily t-shirt-heads or design lovers.
More shirts I've collected and catalogued in the past few months.
As this is a new project, I haven't yet picked a goal date. When I get farther along in the picture editing process I'll know better how long it will take and when I think I'll be finishing up. More to come.
Purchase these shirts at USUALSUPPLY.COM
