YourHumbleNarrator

T-shirts should be aesthetically pleasing in the message or design they portray AND the way they look. My designs are too small for the “male generic model” that is used to display t-shirts, therefore I use the little boy to model the t-shirts I have available….yet they are not kids t-shirts. So on either they look silly and do not work. I’m sure redbubble will come up with a better way to display them, if they haven’t already.

Peoples taste in fashion is like their taste in art….different to each others. You are not always going to like what I like, nor buy what I buy, nor wear what I wear. What is on a t-shirt is up to the individual…...if you are female and wearing a t-shirt with a bold message….as well as getting the message across you want to look bloody good in it.

I can’t say I necessarily agree with all your points, Humble. I think trying to compare T-shirts and wall art is a bit like comparing chalk and cheese. They’re two vastly different mediums, and vastly different markets. “Wall Art” is perceived by the public-at-large as very much a “big A” Art, whereas T-shirts have a much more “popular culture / lowbrow” sensibility.

That being said, I DO agree that wall-art is all about aesthetics, whereas T-shirts are more about finding a message which will resonate with the consumer. Yes, there are some aesthetically beautiful T-shirt designs on RB and elsewhere, which definitely appeal to a segment of the T-shirt market. There’s always going to be a cross-over between the wall art buyers and t-shirt fans, although I’d definitely say the former are more likely to consume both forms of ‘art’ than the latter. I have many Gen-X friends who own no wall art at all (or their ‘wall art’ consists of a few mounted posters from notable ‘rock gigs’), but love collecting funky t-shirts.

However, approaching T-design using ‘aesthetics’ as a starting point is, as you’ve said, the wrong approach to take. I don’t think “alienation” is necessarily the BEST design approach either, when it comes to T-Shirts. Certainly it’s ONE possible tactic, but it’s not necessarily going to help you shift the most units. I think it’s far more important to have a message which will RESONATE with your potential buyer, and the SELF-IMAGE they have of themselves. Naturally, everyone sees themselves differently – but this is a good thing, because it leaves you with multiple ‘angles’ and ‘niches’ to explore when coming up with the images / associations you want to tap into.

I come from an advertising background, and I think this is a great sensibility for T-shirt designers to draw on. While the wall-art / ‘traditional’ artist obviously has to think of their works as a commodity as well, I think it’s absolutely CRUCIAL for the t-shirt designer to remember their ‘art’ is primarily a COMMERCIAL PRODUCT, which is competing with a PLETHORA of other designs out there – both on this site, and in the world at large.

You need something which will grab people’s attention, and will say something about them when they wear it. This ‘message’ doesn’t need to be something obvious – it’s actually better if it’s more subtle (e.g. “I’m a bit of a smart-arse, I’m into pop-culture, and I like to go clubbing”, portrayed through cheeky ‘celebrity comment’ designs), but your designs will be far more likely to ‘succeed’ if there’s some kind of message there.

That’s my two cents worth :)

I can’t quite be bothered to get deeply into this as it’s one of those bottomless pits of a debate, but I do agree with Bulletproof that tshirts are a different species of product to wall-art.
We, generally, have to wear clothes, otherwise they’d be an awful lot of grotesque flesh all over the place, tshirts do an admirable job of covering that up at a, generally, reasonable price. Plus when it’s faded and torn you can use it to clean the car windscreen. So as you’re probably going to wear one anyway you might as well wear one that states your beliefs/makes you laugh/looks cool or just matches your eyes.
I personally am a strong believer in messages, that I’d rather be a walking billboard for something I was passionate about than Nike, but I’m under no illusion that everyone is the same.
I think tees can be aesthetically pleasing and portray messages, in fact I’d say I find them more aesthetically pleasing than most wall art, and more useful. To be honest my walls are already filled with images, paintings, posters and random things, I can’t use any more, but I can certainly use another tshirt.

Not sure what that last point proves.

Addendum.

I don’t think the alienation tactic will work either, that won’t sit well with the myriad of insecure generations that are still steadily erupting onto the planet.
And I don’t think it’s true that if something looks ‘cool’ then people will ignore any potential subtle message. In fact I think the opposite, make it ‘cool’ and people will listen. I think that’s a shame, but in my experience it works. That’s why every charity wants celebrity endorsement.

Absolutlely correct
That’s why I started wearing Spice Girl- Girl Power Tee Shirts again recently.
I really hope they tour though.
fingers crossed…. a new cd & movie.

Not funny Lucan
The world is not ready for the antiDanny
the number of breast ???

i cannot remember when was the last time i bought a tshirt.. with message or not on it.. Hmm.. maybe ive never bought a tshirt, ever. Why? probably cuz they are usually way overpriced for something thats mass produced and second.. i simply HATE advertising anything on self.. unless its for something i really support. Hold, i just remembered.. The last time i paid for a Tshirt type.. was $20 for a Rainbow Serpent Festival singlet.. Other times i would buy tshirts are when they are on sale at the Opshops for $2..

However other people LOVE buying tshirts – all types of tshirts. Mates and me have done several markets stalls at festivals, and the tshirts and cloth wall banners sell very well.. These are tshirts from overseas , tees that have funny/parody drug/lifestyle type messages.. and of course top notch psychedelic, psytrance type designs/tshirts (which are very hard to come by..) Infact even the 2nd hand tshirts sold well.. (we would buy great 2nd hand teeshirts at opshops and resell them for 5-9bux at festivals… ive done this also on ebay..)

this is my first message tshirt.. what you think? :P

Thanks for the comments.

I’d like to point-out that my comparison between wall art and t-shirt designs was a relative comparison – I was stating that t-shirts have to compete with wall art on RedBubble, which they do have to, and cannot meet the quality of a wall art print, so other thoughts must be taken into account when making a t-shirt design to compete in the whole of RedBubble, not just with other t-shirt designs, for popularity.

Also, what I have presented is a philosophy and thought pattern I’ve had. I wont tell you that you’re all wrong, because what you have presented are your thoughts also. I am just trying to introduce another method of t-shirt designing that can be followed.

I think it is interesting that what most of you have suggested is that t-shirts should be representational – representing the person who wears it. What I’m getting at is that I believe t-shirts should be presentational – presenting a message, not necessarily associated with how the person wearing the t-shirt wishes to be seen.

What a great manifesto YHM, every t-shirt designer should have one, especially when their intent is revolution.

I also like the promise in Pilgrim’s comment. Bring on the changes.

PS – you left out ‘b’ in humble in your tags.

Me again. Question.

Why would I wear a message that I feel is out of sync with my personal outlook on this crazy world of ours [ie presentational] ?

Yes, quite Sjem, quite, this bit …”presenting a message, not necessarily associated with how the person wearing the t-shirt wishes to be seen.” doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t imagine it happening. Unless you’re tricking them, in which case the person in the shirt is probably an idiot and your message is wasted because no one will take advice from an idiot.

But I like where you are coming from so I don’t wish to be too negative.

To sjem’s question:

Either you miss-interpreted what I said, or I didn’t say exactly what I meant (the latter is probably the case). Presentational is to present a message. I didn’t say that you should wear a message that isn’t what you believe in. I was saying that you should wear a message for the message’s sake, and not for your own sake. For example, I could wish to be seen as respectable, and at the same time I could dislike authority. Instead of wearing a shirt which gives a ‘respectable’ message, like one for human rights, or abolition of poverty, I should instead wear an anti-authority t-shirt. This way the message is presented for the message’s sake, and not because it represents how the person wearing the t-shirt wishes to be seen.

Does that make sense?

And thanks for the tag type pick-up.

Thanks for the clarification YHM, yeah it makes sense and your t-shirts support your thoughts. I look forward to seeing more.

Chalk is brittle and doesn’t taste great but cheese is fattening and you can’t write with it.
I like comparing chalk and cheese, apples and oranges, and mice and men.

Interesting entry humble. I think t-shirt designs should be designed for t-shirts.