15/52: Happy Candy Day

9/30/17 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on October 1, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

I’m not a big fan of Halloween, but I do like candy.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the design for week 15.

I’ll let you in on a little secret… I don’t really like Halloween. I’m sure I liked it when I was little, but as I got older, it never really meant anything to me. I don’t necessarily hate Halloween, but I am completely ambivalent about it.

My kids and my wife, on the other hand, love Halloween. They dress up and go trick-or-treating, and I follow along, wearing some sports jersey or something, and pretending like it was a costume of some sort.

I wanted to design a shirt as part of the project to wear around with the kids while they trick-or-treat. But my initial sketches were terrible.

Finally, I asked myself what I liked about Halloween? The answer, embarrassingly, is candy. The stores are full of candy that you can’t get the rest of the year. And my favorite of the Halloween candy is candy corn.

So celebrate candy — and candy corn — with my 15th shirt, Happy Candy Day. You can buy it on my Threadless store, and since it’s Fall, I’ve even made it available as a sweatshirt.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

14/52: Combo Box

9/23/17 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on September 24, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

I struggle with the relationship between design and art.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the design for week 14.

My kids think that I’m a great artist. But most days, I wouldn’t call myself an artist. Designer, yes. Artist…. I’m not sure.

It’s probably a hangup from my youth, but to me, artists use natural media. Paint and canvas. Ink and paper. I feel completely lost with a paintbrush in my hand. While I work out ideas in a sketchbook, my tool of choice is a computer. And to be honest, I’ve always felt that makes me less of an artist.

I’ve talked to many designers my age who feel the same way. But younger designers often have no issue with the distinction between natural media and computer-based creations. They’ve grown up with computers as just another tool that artists use. It’s all art to them.

To complicate things further, as a designer in the business world, I’ve always been taught to base every aesthetic decision on a strategic need. Organizations struggle with subjective artistic decisions, but they love a problem solver. And so designers — like me — often downplay the “art” side of what we do in an effort to show the strategic value of design.

This shirt project is the first thing that I’ve done in a while that feels like an art project. The tools I’m using are the same ones I use when I’m working with clients. The process I’m undergoing is no different than my normal design process. But it feels different.

Maybe it’s that I’m creating for myself, or how I’m presenting the shirt project. Perhaps it’s because I’m not trying to justify my art with a strategic foundation. Whatever the reason, I’m now sure that the difference between artist and designer has nothing to do with the tools, and everything to do with perception.

So it’s possible my kids* are right…

This week’s shirt is a little snippet of a computer interface expressing my uncomfortableness with the label of “artist.” You can purchase “Combo Box” at Threadless.

* My wife thinks I’m an artist, too. And she really didn’t like this shirt idea.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

12/52: Never trust a storm with a friendly name

9/9/17 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on September 10, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

We personify the things we cannot control.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the design for week 12.

As I write this, Hurricane Irma is about to tear through Florida after devastating the Caribbean. I live in South Carolina, and earlier this week, we were in the path of this beast of a hurricane. Gas stations ran out of fuel. Grocery stores rushed to stock enough bread and bottled water. Irma turned west and now, we’ll likely avoid a direct hit.

My 5-year-old son wanted to know why hurricanes have names. I explained that every storm has a letter. And every year, there is a list of names that corresponds to each letter. The names alternate between male and female names. After a particularly damaging storm, that name is retired.*

But I also think that we personify these storms because it’s somewhat comforting to give a friendly, familiar name to something so incredibly terrifying. Irma, Harvey, Katrina, Andrew, Hugo… These were monstrous, deadly destructive storms, but each of them with a friendly, approachable name. We talk about them as though they are our next door neighbor. And it seems to me that the friendlier the name, the more dangerous and unpredictable the storm is.

“But I also think that we personify these storms because it’s somewhat comforting to give a friendly, familiar name to something so incredibly terrifying.”

So this week’s shirt is a reminder that no matter how friendly a storm name sounds, it’s still a dangerous force of nature. You can order “Never trust a storm with a friendly name” from my Threadless store. And stay safe out there.

* Bob was retired after the 1991 storm wrecked havoc in New England.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

11/52: Team Rainbow Unicorn

9/2/17 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on September 3, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

I designed this week’s shirt with my daughter.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the design for week 11.

My middle child, Jill, turns 10 this week. As part of my 52 Shirts project, I decided I would design a shirt for each child on their birthday.

It was easy to choose what to design for Jill. The girl is obsessed with unicorns. So I designed a unicorn the way I would design a unicorn. Angular and modern.

To be honest, it completely sucked.

And that’s when I had an epiphany. Instead of designing a shirt for Jill, I needed to design a shirt with Jill. I threw out my crappy unicorn design and started to talk to Jill about what she really wanted in a unicorn shirt. We sketched together at the dining room table. We talked about colors and style. She taught me all about “kawaii” style (which apparently is Japanese for cute). We drew different versions of kawaii unicorn eyes. And the end result — our “Team Rainbow Unicorn” shirt — is one of my favorite creations ever.

(One fun note, the horn has ten segments because she’s turning 10. That was my wife’s idea. This shirt is a complete team effort.)

I’ve always said that I don’t — that I can’t — design cute things. And yet, this unicorn is completely adorable. I could never design something like this on my own. I needed Jill’s help to break out of my rigid style. It’s just another reminder to me that I’m a better designer when I partner with other creative people.

The “Team Rainbow Unicorn” shirt is available on Threadless in a variety of colors and styles. Hope you think it’s a cute as Jill and I do. And happy birthday, Jilly!

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

10/52: Cursive

8/25/17 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on August 26, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

I hate my handwriting.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the design for week 10.

After I finished 2nd grade, we moved from North Carolina to Illinois. The move went smoothly, with one notable exception. In North Carolina, they taught cursive in 3rd grade. In Illinois, they taught cursive in 2nd grade. I didn’t know how to write in cursive, yet I was required to write everything in cursive in my new school.

Mrs. Schmidt was nice and had a solution for this problem… I would learn cursive over the first two weeks of school. A couple times a day, I’d go over to a desk off to the side and do cursive worksheets. And it worked, kind of. I learned the basics of how to make the letterforms, but I never became comfortable. My cursive handwriting never became fluid or natural. It always looked like the writing of a 3rd grader.

Eventually, I moved on from elementary school and my teachers no longer cared if I wrote in cursive. I settled on my current style — mostly block printing with some cursive connectors thrown in for speed. I became more comfortable, but I hated my handwriting.

When I was young, having to write handwritten notes to people always stressed me out because I thought people would judge my juvenile writing. I still don’t write long notes in greeting cards because it makes me anxious. In high school and college, I actively destroyed my signature and made it messier because I thought it looked “older.”

“I still don’t write long notes in greeting cards because it makes me anxious.”

A few years ago, I discovered fountain pens — and better writing utensils. Writing with nice pens and pencils changed my writing. When I wrote with an extra fine nib, my handwriting became small and neat. And with a 1.1 mm stub nib, my handwriting was looser and more fluid. I still don’t love my handwriting, but I’m less embarrassed about writing notes to people.

This week’s shirt is Cursive. And it’s my handwriting. I used a limited edition Blackwing Volume 73 pencil — one with a really soft lead. And I wrote the word cursive in my sketchbook several hundred times.* I eventually found one I liked to scan and convert.

Cursive is available on my Threadless store in a range of lighter colors and several different styles and is discounted for the first week it’s on sale.

* Seriously… hundreds of times.

A couple of my cursive options.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

9/52: We become what we consume

8/19/17 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on August 20, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

The internet is shaping who we are.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the ninth design of fifty-two.

The first reference to “You are what you eat” was in the 1860s. But today, I think it’s more accurate to say that in the age of the internet, we become what we consume. Our attitudes, our temperament and even our well-being is significantly influenced by what media we consume online.

I watched last weekend as the events in Charlottesville unfolded. And there were Nazis — Nazis! — marching with torches on a college campus. And then followed by more violence the next day and the death of a counter protester.

Look, I’m not going to blame the internet for Nazis. They existed long before the internet. But I think many of the young adults that showed up in Charlottesville were fueled and amplified by what they saw online. Or more precisely, what they chose to seek out online.

The Nazis are an extreme example of this though. Today, I feel like all of us are shaped by the media we consume. If you only watch Fox News… CNN… conspiracy websites… Twitter… cat videos… hate-filled rhetoric… you slowly become what you consume.

“…having a well-rounded media diet makes us all better, happier and healthier people.”

The internet is full of content. Funny and serious. Factual and false. Some articles and videos are thoughtful and well reasoned. Some content is shallow and inflammatory. I’m not saying you need to only watch serious, long form content from reputable sources. But I am saying that having a well-rounded media diet makes us all better, happier and healthier people.

This week’s shirt is “We become what we consume.” And yes, the lettering is reversed and upside down on purpose. Our eye flips everything it sees.The brain then corrects it for us.

“We become what we consume” is available at Threadless in a variety of colors and styles.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

08/52: Rogue Teacher

8/12/17 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on August 13, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Every great teacher is a bit of a renegade.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the eighth design of fifty-two.

School is starting back.

I’ve been lucky to have some amazing teachers through the years in a wide range of subjects and at pretty much every level from elementary school through college. Without exception, every impactful teacher I’ve had was a little unconventional in their teaching methods. They looked for the most powerful way to reach their students, even it meant pouring an absurd amount of time and energy into kids who — let’s be honest — probably didn’t appreciate it at that time.

That was a simpler time. Before constant testing and obsessive parents.* It occurs to me that those great teachers — the ones who were just a little unconventional when I was in school — would be downright renegades in today’s education world.

So to salute those great teachers, this week’s shirt is all about being a renegade in the classroom. A pirate flag for teachers that aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes to teach their students.

You can purchase “Rogue Teacher” from my Threadless store in a wide variety of colors and styles. (You can even buy some Rogue Teacher lounge pants if you want them.)

* Yes, I know parents have always been obsessive, but today’s parents seem worse by historic standards.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

07/52: Paper Airplane

8/5/17 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on August 6, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Getting the most out of a sheet of paper

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the seventh design of fifty-two.

Sometime in late elementary school, browsing through a Waldenbooks* at the Fox Valley Mall, I stumbled upon a book about paper airplane design. 30 Designs for the Paper Pilot taught you how to build some (absurdly) complex paper airplanes.

The author, Peter Vollheim, was a pilot and created airplanes using regular paper, card stock, index cards, business cards, straws and other common materials. He tested his designs with wind tunnels and then provided detailed instructions for how to build them at home. He got the most out of his materials and the paper airplanes he designed flew far and straight. I eventually purchased Vollheim’s two other books, 30 More Planes for the Paper Pilot and The Paper Ace.

And while these books helped me build some wicked paper airplanes, I think they heavily influenced my design style, too. Most people who are interested in paper folding start with origami — the art of paper folding. But while I played around with some simple origami, I was much more intrigued by the functionally of paper airplanes.

Early in my design career, many of my creations contained interesting paper folding. Looking back, I can see the influence that Vollheim’s books had on my thought process. Even though they didn’t fly, my folded paper designs were absolutely intended to get the most possible out of a sheet of paper, just like Vollheim’s airplanes. ( I don’t fold paper as much as I used to… maybe it’s time to get back to my roots.)

I was disappointed — but not surprised — to find that Vollheim’s three books were out of print. And while you can still get used copies of the books on Amazon, I was delighted to discover Vollheim has a web site were you can still purchase all three books as a PDF. If you are interested in the aerodynamics of paper airplanes, you’ll love these books.

This week’s shirt, Paper Airplane, is a symbol of my love for paper airplanes and a salute to the books that influenced me at a young age. You can purchase the shirt in a wide range of colors and styles from my Threadless shop.**

* Or maybe it was a B. Daltons. I miss mall book stores.

** Pretty much every color but white and orange.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

06/52: Copyright 1975

7/29/17 • 2 min read

This post was originally posted on July 30, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Another year older

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the sixth design of fifty-two.

This week, in 1975, I was born. My birthday isn’t a momentous one this year. I’m just another year older and a little more gray.

I love when I was born — I got to see the advent of the personal computer, the growth of the internet, comic book movies that don’t suck, iPhones and digital cameras. But I also remember typewriters, card catalogs, Superfriends, rotary phones and working in a darkroom.

When I was younger, it was significant work and investment to share a creation. And copyright was one way that an artist protected that investment. Today, it’s simple for a creator to publish their own writing online, share thoughts on social media, sell music and even offer t-shirts that are printed on demand. And it’s easier than ever for others to steal your creations and profit off of them.

Copyright was relatively straightforward when I was born, but the changes in technology are forcing an evolution in how we look at intellectual property rights. Maybe copyright is like the technology of my youth — obsolete like a rotary phone? Or maybe it just needs to evolve to better protect artists in a digital age while preserving the freedom to create. Forty years from now, I imagine copyright law with be radically different.

This week’s shirt is Copyright 1975 and you can buy one from Threadless. Of course, it only makes sense to purchase one if you were born in 1975.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.

05/52: Campfire

7/22/17 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on July 23, 2017 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

There’s something special about gathering around a campfire.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the fifth design of fifty-two.

Some of my happiest memories are at one, very specific place: Lutheridge, a camp in Arden, North Carolina.

As a young child, I attended as a camper. I made lifelong friendships as a high school camper. And then, after my freshman year of college, I was beyond excited to be a counselor.

And promptly blew my knee out.*

My summer ended very quickly. One week to be exact. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my right knee. I was devastated and heartbroken.

I returned the next summer and this time, made it through the summer unscathed. I had a great summer — a challenging summer — but an amazing time working with kids. But that was my last summer at Lutheridge. The following year, I worked as an orientation leader at the University of South Carolina and then, I graduated and entered the work world.

A couple of years ago, my girls started to attend Lutheridge as campers. And they fell in love with camp, just like I did when I was young. It was fun to see the camp experience through their eyes. To hear them talk and share their experiences.

This summer, our entire family is headed to camp. My wife had never spent time at any summer camp and our youngest is too young for regular camp, so the three of us are heading to a program for families. The girls are doing their usual camp activities, but we’ll all be there at camp for an entire week. The whole crew is excited and I’m really looking forward to being a “camper” again.

I wanted to design a shirt for camp. Something that captured my love of Lutheridge and my history with the place. When I was young, I remember Lutheridge’s logo was a campfire.** It was emblazoned on more than one shirt I had growing up. So this week’s shirt is a stylized campfire, in honor of the camp that I love.

If you have a memorable camp experience, at Lutheridge or anywhere else, Campfire is the shirt for you. You can get one at my Threadless store. My wife recommends the baseball t-shirt with green sleeves. It’s her favorite.

* It’s a little more complicated than that. I injured my knee during orientation during a game of elbow tag. Then finished off my ACL during the first week of camp with a musical, noncompetitive version of duck-duck-goose… on wet grass.

** The logo is actually still a campfire, but different than the one I remember…

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He’s currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year.