So when I'm not tracking down fonts or studying graphic design used in the Disney Theme Parks, I tend to focus on theme park merchandise and Disney Consumer Products. I've had the opportunity to work with (not for) Disney Consumer Products in the past and enjoyed it a lot. . . especially studying all those fabulous style and packaging guides. Now seeing how apparel design is what I do for my day job I decided to combine my love for Disney Theme Parks and apparel design in one.
So far I've created 12 concepts for apparel all based on retro Disney. What can I say, I'm a sucker for retro?!?! My first design was based on an annual passholder logo that depicted the Disneyland logo, The Epcot Center logo and the Walt Disney World logo.
I love getting into Illustrator and recreating these logos, not only to build my Illustrator/Creative Suite skills but also to challenge myself to see how close I can come to the original.
In order to really capture the retro feel I was going for I decided to distress the logo with a vintage texture. Now I'm not BIG on distressing and grunge texture seeing how it's overused in today's design world and I look at it as a crutch for some designers. Just cause you throw a grunge font or a distressed texture on something doesn't mean its a good design nor is it trendy or current. But seeing how I wanted this shirt to look like it was made, purchased and worn in the mid 70's then discarded to a random thrift store, then ends up back into the hands of a true Disney fan...I figured the original design would show some wear and tear.
Not only through the distressed texture, but with the use of water based inks (inks that are soft to the touch) and no underlays (the colors would blend into the main color of the t-shirt) the design would really come off as vintage.
The colors of this concept were chosen to reflect a Floridian evening sky, the sun setting in the west and those amazing color spots beginning to shine upon Spaceship Earth. Some of those color combinations are simply amazing!!!! Well that will pretty much do it for today.
Tune in this upcoming Friday for the next installment of the font case study posters where I'll look at another amazing Disney attraction. See you real soon!
