From Star 2 Finish

One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is about my design process. I decided to give you a quick look at the way I go about designing a shirt graphic. There are many ways to achieve the final design, this is just the way that works best for me.

1. It starts with inspiration. I have always listened to a lot of reggae music and I love the artwork that adorns classic dancehall covers. For the Stay Gold Rudie design I decided to base it on Jamaican rude boy culture. I flipped the popular saying “Cool Off Rudie” or “Rudie Can’t Fail”, from the Clash and Derrick Morgan to “Stay Gold Rudie” to fit the brand.

2. Once I have the inspiration I sit down and write a list of key words that relate to the concept. A list really help me put my ideas into a solid form. I circle, highlight and pull out the words that relate the best and help push the concept.


3. After I have a bunch of keywords that I like I start sketching the ideas into visuals. I use tracing paper because you can layer the design and it allows you to work on the individual parts separately until you get it just right.

4. Once I have a sketch that I am happy with I pull out the light table and ink the design. I try to ink the design as clean as possible with a fine tip marker. The cleaner the design is inked the less cleanup will be needed in the computer.

5. The computer is the last step of the process. I use it for cleaning up the artwork and getting it ready for print. I want everything I produce to have a hand crafted feeling to it. I want you to be able to see that I personally touched each piece and it wasn’t just a found image or clip art. Pushing and pulling at the points in illustrator till you have it right. The hand drawn type always takes the most time because it has to flow perfectly.