Furry Fix.
Wabash, IN
"Furry Fix is a program that provides funding for low cost spay / neuter services. Our mission is to help stop the number of homeless pets thru spay & neuter. Shelters and rescues are full and the problem of homeless animals is at a crises level."
about fundraiser.
Facebook page.
Furry Fix wanted a fun t-shirt design to help spread their mission to the Wabash County community as well as fundraise for necessary equipment to make cat shelters, spay and neuter cats, and provide food for all homeless cats in the county. They wanted a t-shirt incorporating a cat band feel while having the donors on the back look like tour dates. The only requirement was to include cats that have been adopted by other families through their services. The rest was entirely up to me in terms of layout, colors, and, most importantly, the band name.
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If you'd like to learn more about my creative process with this project, scroll below.
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Step 1. The Front
Starting with the front of the shirt, I knew I had to first come up with a name. What are these cool cats going to call themselves? After coming up with multiple names, I went with 'Twisted Whiskers', playing off the name, 'Twisted Sister'. Since this band is heavily into the alternative rock scene, I knew that would be a great aesthetic to follow. So, I started drafting.
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Grunge and rebellious were two keywords I focused on when creating this design. That's what rock aesthetic is all about! It's meant to be twisted (no pun intended) in a cool, yet weird way. Since I freelance as a concert photographer, I decided to use and combine two of my photos from concerts I've covered and turn these into my imaginary band.
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Since I wouldn't have enough time to train cats to stand on two back paws, I decided to use a couple faces from the submitted cat photos and put them on top of two band members.
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I'm the
Lead Meower.
Problem child turned bassist <3
The last element to the front of the shirt was the font type. I knew an idea of a font I wanted to use, but I needed to incorporate some sort of color into the font so it wouldn't get lost in the shirt. So, what better way to show some angst than create a harsh 'W' that mimics cat scratches?
Step 2. The Back
Designing the back was easier than I thought. When I was drafting ideas, I kept thinking of Axel Rose from 'KISS'. He's infamously known for constantly sticking out his tongue during performances, and it soon became a staple of their brand. However, turning that concept into my cat design wasn't going to work out.
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Instead of adding a tongue, I mimicked the same idea I had for the front of the shirt and opened up the cat's mouth long enough to fit all of the tour dates. Although I liked the tongue idea, having the open mouth makes this a more cohesive design.
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After I Photoshopped the jaw, I wanted to add a paper element inside the mouth so you could clearly read each donor as well as add a cohesion to the front and back of the shirt.
Choosing the typeface as well as deciding where to place the Furry Fix logo was simple. Because the font I have on the front of the shirt would be too busy for the back, I needed something that both complimented a paper style and had a serif feel. Typewriter was the best choice to fill those needs.
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Once I aligned all of the text and fit it into the cat's mouth, I felt like the back was missing something. Sure, it's a cool design and already has enough going on, but the graphics on the front versus the back started to feel unbalanced.
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The owner of Furry Fix encouraged me to use as many cat pictures as I see fit, and this was the perfect solution.
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The last thing I really wanted to incorporate was a tagline. The tour can't JUST be called 'Twisted Whiskers Tour' because let's face it; that's boring. The most iconic tours are the ones that at least have a name. The Short & Sweet Tour, Sweat Tour, and Eras Tour are all iconic names with very memorable artists. The fact I don't have to say who these are, and anyone would be able to recall who performed these tours speaks for itself.
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So, I needed this last piece to the puzzle. What would drive people to see a group of cats perform? Why cats? What would make you want to see an all-cat group? These are questions that circled my mind before I finally came up with the perfect tagline:
Cats RULE, Dogs DROOL
The tagline is short, witty, and to the point, drawing in all cat-lovers alike. Anyone with a cat would be drawn to this design and want to learn more about the shirt because of a clever line.
Step 3. The Colors
Originally, I went for the red aesthetic. Red = Rock in my mind. Red is energetic, passionate, and angst. However, the owner wanted another color to choose from as well. Something that was smooth, easy to see, and not so in-your-face. Red does have a punch, so why not go opposite of red and try out blue/purple?
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Having both of these color options along with the screen-printed feel on each of the cat images heightens the texture to my design. It's interesting how the same exact design can feel completely different when you introduce color, but that's why I love designing.
infographic by graf1x.com
infographic by thecolorsmeaning.com
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The client was extremely happy with this design and can't wait to get it printed. I'm super excited to see how this turns out in person and I will forever wear this shirt with a smile on my face.
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