Graphic Design: Custom T-Shirts

I designed the “We Can Moo It” T shirt for the Walk To End Alzheimers.

The shirt company gave me grief about copyright, despite the image being owned by the National Archives; despite my changing 25% of the text, and despite a font change in the main headline. And despite my adding a large cow-head.

Legal heads prevailed, and the shirts were a big success.

The “Trav’s Inn” T shirt logo was a tougher project. In the early 1970s, Trav’s Inn was known as a “serious drinkers bar”, a motorcycle hangout prone to Friday night fights among the bikers.

Ever try scanning a 40-year-old soft-cloth shirt with curved text on a legal-size flatbed? Not fun.

I had to stitch together multiple scans in Photoshop, align them, and then remove the elements from the background (headline, sub-headline, tasty mug of beer.) Then I had to erase all the edges by hand to eliminate any fringe. 

Most of the rest? They reflect an appreciation of quality, as applies to music back when it was good (back when I was a musician) as well as a deep dissatisfaction with what culture has become.