Crazy World

my iphone case

my iphone case

Last year, I was obsessed trying to find a t-shirt for the long-gone attraction at EPCOT, El Rio del Tiempo. Not surprisingly, this was not a hot commodity as a new attraction replaced it years ago. We all know how this goes: one gets an idea to buy something, say a t-shirt for the long-gone Golf Resort, an obscure Swiss typography book from 1965, or burnt orange mugs. Then, it is impossible to move on.

When I couldn’t find the El Rio del Tiempo t-shirt, I decided to make one myself. Fortunately, I’m a designer and can make things. I started using teepublic.com to make notebooks for incoming students and my iphone case. As implied by the name, they also make t-shirts. I drew my version of the logo using a tiny, tiny, tiny part of a photo I took at the Mexico Pavilion in the 1990s. Why worry about authenticity if I liked my version better?

I uploaded the art and ordered a t-shirt. In a few days it arrived. I could now wear it while walking my mother’s dog or on weekend as the geek I truly am. Pandora’s Box was now open once I realized I could make the t-shirts or other items I wanted simply by creating the art and uploading it.

Normal people like to buy shirts, tote-bags, mugs, and other items with current attractions or characters from films. I was more interested in what was gone. I’ve done things to type I could never imagine in order to create the best version of a mark made in 1967, 1971, or 1982. I purchased typefaces that challenge any sort of decent taste. I don’t regret these transgressions. I can have an avocado green Lake Buena Vista Shopping and Dining bag, or a Magic Kingdom 1971 delft pattern, or t-shirt for the 1974 Walt Disney World Golf Classic (not a real event).

Of all the typographic wrongdoings, I am most pleased with the Welcome to Walt Disney World art. It’s based on a grainy image of a temporary brown sign from October, 1971. The letterforms don’t match as if the sign-maker ran out of Helvetica and dropped in a some Trade Gothic, Futura, and other sans-serif letters. And kerning? Kerning be damned. Of course, I’m one of the only people who ever buy any of my shirts. So I only need to please myself.


 
Sean Adams

Sean Adams is the Dean of Visual Art and Communication at ArtCenter, founder of Burning Settlers Cabin studio, and on-screen author for LinkedIn Learning/Lynda.com He is the only two term AIGA national president in AIGA’s 100 year history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He is an AIGA Fellow, and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been recognized by every major competition and publication including; How, Print, Step, Communication Arts, Graphis, AIGA, The Type Directors Club, The British Art Director’s Club, and the Art Director’s Club. Adams has been exhibited often, including a solo exhibition at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Adams is an author of multiple magazine columns, and several best-selling books. He has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner at AdamsMorioka, whose clients included The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Disney, Mohawk Fine Papers, The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Richard Meier & Partners, Sundance, and the University of Southern California.

www.burningsettlerscabin.com
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