DESIGN: Earthbound – Unkikie Uukiuki Gum

I recently replayed the great Super Nintendo game Earthbound (also known as Mother 2 in Japan) and thought it a good topic for some t-shirt designs. My initial brainstorm for topics touched upon products in-game that could be interesting to create a “brand” around and the pack of gum you have to buy to cajole Bubble Monkey onto your team seemed a logical possibility. The words “Unkikie Uukiuki” are monkey for “I love hamburgers” and thus my flavor pretty much picked itself. Available for purchase at shop.spreadshirt.com/jaredmobarak/Sell line: Everyone knows…

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DESIGN: Shenmue – Fruda Soda

It’s hard not to find yourself infatuated with Fruda Grape soda after watching the @RunButton gang play through the old Sega action/adventure Shenmue. They literally go to the vending machine to purchase one in-game two or three times a session. I wanted to give the crude design in the game a more contemporary update while still retaining the fun bubble letters and circular bullseye motif. These are all bilingual, but I made sure to do two each so both English and Japanese could be highlighted depending on your preference. And…

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DESIGN: Angel – Ratio’s Chocolate Nest Eggs

It didn’t take long after watching the season 4 “Angel” episode entitled Smile Time before deciding that I needed to design something in homage to the brilliant demon puppets. If anyone of the gang seemed to get short shrift it was the giant purple creature named Ratio Hornblower. The fact he was also the one who perfected the Nest Egg system the others used to suck the life out of their children viewership was just icing on the cake. The concept that I kept thinking about to bring it to…

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DESIGN: Ghostbusters — I Am Vinz

If I made a Ghostbusters shirt for The Gatekeeper, I couldn’t very well stop without doing another for The Keymaster. Unfortunately, when it comes to Rick Moranis‘ Louis Tully, there isn’t really a stand-out line besides his famous parroting of Egon’s, “Yes, have some”. However, to keep in tune with the previous design, I decided on “I am Vinz, Vinz Clortho”. It’s the beginning of a longer list of monikers that he speaks at a horse upon roaming the streets of NYC while possessed. Using the same font and effect…

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DESIGN: Ghostbusters — There Is No Dana, Only Zuul

Branching out from television, I decided to jump into the world of pop culture films for my next t-shirt design. And there isn’t much more beloved than 1984’s Ghostbusters for which to work off. Thinking about iconic quotes, the guttural line from Sigourney Weaver‘s Dana Barrett after being possessed, “There is no Dana, only Zuul” kept popping into my head. Focusing on her red, silky gown, I set out to go minimal by creating a clean silhouette to go against the text in a bold sans serif font. After playing…

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DESIGN: Doctor Who – Vote Saxon 2008

When thinking about a new “Doctor Who” themed shirt to design, the name Harold Saxon came to mind. The brilliant alter-ego of John Simm‘s contemporary incarnation of The Master, his run for Prime Minister was ripe for a campaign identity. Seeing the myriad posters and tees online using the rather drab black and white, text-based ‘Vote Saxon’ with an x’ed out box from the show, I knew an update was warranted. So, using the red, white, and blue of the Union Jack and one of my favorite poses from Simm…

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DESIGN: Doctor Who – Prydon Academy

Coming up with an image to represent the fictional school both The Doctor and The Master attended on the Time Lord planet of Gallifrey needed it’s fair share of research. First I had to find out about Prydon Academy’s location, vocation, and history to go along with that of the planet and alien race itself. There is the mythology of the hero Prydonius and his relationship with Time Lord co-founder Rassilon (who’s seal is depicted in this design); the school’s geographic proximity to The Doctor’s own House of Lungbarrow, it’s…

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DESIGN: A Bit of Fry and Laurie – Soupy Twist

Having just recently caught up with the British comedy sketch show “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, its end credits’ cocktail catchphrase was still very fresh in my mind. Always wearing tuxedos during their final piano serenade, I knew I needed to put in a bow tie in along with a martini glass. After playing around with a few fonts by adjusting kerning and composition, I finally found a combination that worked to appear natural a the half lemon simultaneously providing the “o” in…

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DESIGN: Twin Peaks – The Black Lodge

Titled “The Birds Sing a Pretty Song”, any fan of the show “Twin Peaks” should be intimately familiar with the Black Lodge. Looking to create an identity/logo that mimicked hotel/lodging locales, I took the obvious jagged striped pattern from the Man From Another Place’s room and attached it to one of the unique lamps bookending the couch residing at its center. Adding the tag “There’s always music in the air” puts the final touch on the graphical representation of the surreal land threatening to consume Special Agent Dale Cooper. Available…

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DESIGN: FC Buffalo – Our City, Our Sport, Our Club

The email said, “My idea is pretty simple and I know you can make it kick butt.” So I had to take the job. It was Nick Mendola and FC Buffalo looking to get a t-shirt made with the text, “Our City, Our Sport, Our Club”. The concept called for making the first ‘O’ a buffalo, the second a soccer ball, and the third FC Buffalo’s crest. After playing with a few fonts, I decided I wanted the design to be compressed letters to offset the more wide icons juxtaposed…

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