Goal & Constraints

Design a T-shirt that represented the organization’s design and tech-based origins. Ensure cohesive branding across Design Interactive merchandise, Instagram, and Substack design. Due to screen printing, the design must not exceed more than three hues.

Initial Direction & Feedback

It all started with the familiar grainy gradient. Seen across the organization’s social media and presentations, it was a necessity for the design. I generated a quick placeholder gradient and aimed for a deconstructed look by separating the arrow and text of the DI logo.

Because the brand embodied a balanced mix between minimalist and hand-drawn, I chose to draw a web icon and a mouse cursor, both tech-based symbols inspired by the tech-based foundations of the organization.

However, during initial reviews, organization leaders felt that there was too much tech influence in my design. While the organization did have a tech background, it represented all types of design, not just technology.

Final Product

In order to better represent all design but still maintain technological roots, I kept the cursor but replaced the web icon with a more universally recognized lightbulb. After I was satisfied with the higher-level hierarchy of the design, I went back through the rest.

Familiar starbursts from the organization’s Instagram filled awkward space; the underlining of “design interactive” improves legibility while also being a nod to Figma’s UI; the gradient directs attention to the text after being fully rebuilt in Photoshop. Finally, a small blurb of text at the bottom explains how the organization’s cohort program led to the creation of the shirt itself.

In the end, my design was selected amongst six others to become the first piece that the organization released for purchase.