The preview really does not do the presentation on shirts any justice. I have much clearer shots in my blog. Just click my username above, and scroll down.

Thanks!

i want one in sagestone! <3

$5!!

... you didn't put it on dark grey. $5 nonetheless.

oh, moto, sorry. I'll post that later today in the blog. I did make it.

ahhh, i thought you came up w/ a better name, nice ill. 5

totallly awesome! WoWoWoWoW

yes, like it on royal, maybe even purple.

Ohh..nice!
$5

I wish people would stop being so lazy and not make these kind of designs completely symetrical...

lazy? are you freaking kidding me? this design is really intricate and probably took a long time to make.

im lusting for the gray hella hard... $5

loved it before. love it now. great job 5. this is definately one of the best types of these designs. you sir recieve a 5 =]

just want to say again, AWESOME. $5

bue/no
4$

really cool!

Did photoshop throw up?

i didn't like this but now everytime i look at it i want it so much more!! It's looks so awesome in the blog on the tshirts!<3

LOVE! $555

wow. looks great on teal. $4

1 +1 +1 +1 +1 =5!

u did a great job!

this one is a lot better than your other black/white ones :]

.onion, this is made by someone else than those last three. and yes, this is of course better. haha

Hi I love you.

$5

That's amazing.

Sagestone please!

on sagestone or dark greay this would look great... im not really feeling it on the blues though, i think the hue in the blues is too strong compared to dark grey/sage and takes away from the design.

very good though...
5 and maybe a $? ...ill decide the $ later.

gaaahh! my eyes! Very nice design, unfortunantly not my style

i really really like this


good job spires

i hope it wins so i can buy it

thanx for a great job

5$$$$$$$$$

it looks great but the way you presented it wont help u in anyway. 5

I like this one a lot. =) The End.

Cool. No buy, though.

Thanks to all for such awesome comments!

beautiful! 5$ excellent details

Whoah !
LOVE this one !
Deep purple or Royal, please !
<3 !

Dark grey.

YouWorkFor Them.com and associated 'design elements' vendors must be making a killing off this style.

Thanks for the wrong assumption and the insult mdwebb; but except for the top heraldry, which was painstakingly traced, all these elements were created exclusively by me.

I've never used youworkforthem.com, and you are an asshole.

Impressive. I love it Spires. ^_^

Yup, I am an asshole! I was a little harsh on that last comment and I aplogize.

However, keep in mind that tracing something digitally, however painstaking, is the modern version of using clipart.

I'm all for appropriation and recontextualization, but it seems that a large portion of the design in this style uses the ornamental forms of the past as a stylistic shorthand for 'hip'.

After taking a closer look at the above image it looks like there may be more original drawing in there than I'd first imagined, so my first comment might have been more kneejerk than anything else.

Still, it instantly makes me think of 'off-the-rack' design sites like designspin.com.

well that all seems a bit harsh but in any case.....

i can appreciate the time it took to do this by hand
i just don't like it
not my style
looks like something they would have in Bootlegger

holy crap! This is one of the first subs that's jumped out at me and I've been scoring for a while now.
LOVE the colors, love the look of this, and the presentation makes it.
5!

To immediately convey elitist regality, one can't do better than using what has been historically perfect. Should one draw heraldry by hand again, once the work is done already, then scan and then painstakingly trace it, in order to prove it wasn't clipart? I don't see the virtue in gratutious labor, but maybe I missed your point.

What process is 'kosher' that would allow one use historic forms, without them becoming clip art? Via reductio ad absurdum, we may conclude that all historical forms are therefore 'clipart' forevermore, because they must go through some process in order to be employed, tracing or otherwise.

Either you are for appropriation and therefore 'clipart' or you are not. I believe you done nothing more than having admitted to a contradiction in your thinking.

"Should one draw heraldry by hand again, once the work is done already, then scan and then painstakingly trace it, in order to prove it wasn't clipart? I don't see the virtue in gratutious labor, but maybe I missed your point."

Well, first off, as a conceptual work I feel this falls flat. I'm not going to assume that you titled the design in relation to your concept, as there doesn't seem to be a connection to Rorschach or disco (although I could be wrong, there could be about half a mirrorball towards the bottom in the center). Also, I noticed that you were looking for input prior to choosing a title, and they all seemed rather random. That really makes me question your quest to design a t-shirt that conveys 'elitist regality'. Was this design intended as some sort of critique of the elite? If it was, I suppose I misread it entirely.

There's also no difference whatsoever between tracing by hand or scanning and vectorizing, as far as 'originality' is concerned. You're still taking something created by someone else, appropriating it, and passing it off as your own. Why not study the characteristics of classical heraldry and create something original based on what you learn? Yes, it takes time and effort, but as a designer (which I assume you are from your rant about clients) you're passing up a great chance to actually create something unique. Notice I didn't say original. That's another argument altogether. Plus, you never have to worry about anyone spotting that random bit of found imagery in your work, and having to explain that, especially if you redrew it on billable time.

So, i guess that's what I'd consider a 'kosher' approach to historical appropriation. And, unfortunately I doubt you can boil an issue as complex as historical appropriation down to simple syllogism. The argument that all historical elements must be traced, tracing equals clipart, so then historical references also equal clipart is absurd. There's an entire sector of the design world working in historical modes while simulataneously creating original work (www.bantjes.com, non-format.com, decorational.org, omnivorous.org., etc). I find very little appropriation in most of this work, yet it all has obvious ties to history. It's the recontextualization and conceptual application of ornament as well as it's visual appeal that makes the work of these designers interesting. In your case I'm hard pressed to see any underlying concept, other than to create a visually appealing shirt graphic.

So, I hope that clears up my critique a bit.

I never have to worry about explaining used found material to anyone, because nobody is owed an explanation. I initially called you an asshole because you misrepresented my design (and later admitted to this), and that's what I felt you were owed. Everything else beyond that initial offering was my intellectual exercise. In my blog, you have officially been upgraded to jerk. :)

If you believe that you should not test a specific proposition to the structure of logic, (i.e. the syllogism) especially given that I was arguing on your own terms, we will not meet because to me that means, you really aren't debating within the bounds of reason.

You said first, that you are all for appropriation, but then you give examples that you approve of, where you say that appropriation isn't really present. This is bait and switch.

If appropriation is appropriate, then the syllogism stands, proved above via reductio ad absurdum. So, unless you are unwilling to retract your approval of appropriation, then you have committed further fallacy. You didn't give examples of acceptable appropriation, but rather what you considered examples of acceptable recontextualization, which is markedly different from appropriation. It is great to recontextualize, but given the context of that section of my piece, it would only dilute the regal aesthetic.

Given only the substance of your comments here, you do not agree with appropriation.

I did not pass off as 'my own' a universally recognized symbol, I merely used it. Anything that I may synthesize from heraldry wouldn't be as recognizable as that symbol, because that's a pretty famous one. If you disagree with my using it, great.

I will formally declare that I did not invent heraldry, or that historic, heraldic design in particular.

The elements that I did recontextualize in this design are so obscure, that you probably wouldn't recognize them. The point is, that I can both recontextualize and appropriate. Unless someone forces me to stop, I will do both.

I was not making a predominately conceptual work, so I agree with you there. The way I process my experiences isn't given to very sharp, conceptual designs. I am very intuitive and experience life accordingly, preferring to record the broad essences of things. My work reflects this; they are mostly atmospheric pieces that attach a broad aesthetic sentiment to a loose subject. I don't like contorting my natural thought process to match other's preferences. Insofar as others will accept my work, fine. When I attempt to synthesize concepts or make a clever statement, it is usually too involved for this medium, and would probably work better with media of series, or media of large formats.

Most of my work includes homage to things I adore that others probably wouldn't recognize or care about. To them, it is stylish, to me, meaningful. Style can encode.

Is this a crime against design? Who cares? I communicate clearly using design at work, because that is what I'm paid for. On my time, I like to do what comes naturally. Is that wrong? Not from my perspective. If they enjoy wearing it, and I enjoy making it, everyone at the table wins. If third parties grieve, they can enjoy other things.

It would be wrong for me to lower my original score on this submission because your argument/debate style is 75% dismissal and 15% assumption... leaving only 10% for your own valid points... of which only your last one is strong enough to stand on. I recommend not arguing with people who are clearly smarter than you in the comments on your subs in the future. Certainly whining about it in the blogs, wasn't a great idea, either; I'm sure I'm not the only one who came back to this submission, tempted to alter my score because of it.

I wouldn't wear it, b/c I don't think it looks very good on men. However, it does look pretty damn cool. I like it, just not for me to wear. I like a lot of your other stuff too.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

way too much...it hurts my eyes

Wow, I found those blogs entries/novels very interesting. Ok, actually no I didn't.

Pretty cool design though.

yeah, i still love it.

this one makes me smile

This is not a t-shirt, this is THE t-shirt.

This shirt is beautiful, I love the colors, and the graphics. It's just and awesome shirt. I can't say that I get the name, but why should that matter if I love the shirt.

I would definately buy it, since it's already in print.

Arguing on the Interwebs is like the Special Olympics, guys...

Anyway, nice shirt. I've always been a softy for symmetrical designs.

...even if you win, you're still retarded.

Somehow I messed up that account... I'm lying. I didn't like the underscore.

so i came back to remark on the last joke made... it is a disgusting mean joke. okay, i'm done.

congrats baby! love!

i love this like i love you

:]

amazing