Making A Statement (Tee)
2020 has been a challenging year and while almost all of us have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, another pandemic has loomed on for far too long. One of racism, injustice, and inequality that has personally affected us and people we love and care about. We are tired of this issue still being relevant and we want to do better. We are cognizant of those who came before and paved the way for us. Now is the time for us to accept the challenge of enacting real, meaningful change.
Social injustice is nefarious, pervasive and has transcended governments and eras; which is why we must carry the torch of progressive change to create a better world for the next generation. Change is never voluntarily given; it must be demanded and taken through virtuous means. As a society, we bear a responsibility to create equal opportunity for all by making our voice heard and taking a stand for what we believe is right. We are not the first generation to endure the burden of injustice, but we hope to create a future in which we will be the last to face it. And as a summer of protests awoke the world, we were compelled to design a tee that makes a statement about who we are and what we stand for: We are young, inclusive and determined to be the change we want to see in this world.
Our Statement Tee is a collage of contemporary and historical photos that portray a generations-long struggle to secure liberty, equality and justice for all. We pay homage to Ordinary People of the past, present and future whose mission is uplifting communities and making a difference for our brothers and sisters regardless of race, color or creed.
Our friends at For-Sure.Studio played an influential role in designing the Statement Tee and we wanted to share the journey that brought this shirt to life:
O: Give us a little background on you as an artist.
F.S: “We’re a design studio comprised of two designers and a network of collaborators. Coming from a background of the wider arts and photography, we now focus on primarily branding and art direction.”
O: Tell us your inspiration and vision behind the design.
F.S: “Being based in London, we wanted to see if our interpretation of the images and messages coming from the protests aligned with the views of our friends stateside. After attending multiple marches in London, we felt that the messaging was consistent.
We wanted to use photos from the protests, to show the unity of the message, combined with the Iconic raised fist. The great thing about photography is that it can capture a moment, a message in its simplest form.”
O: How did you see your community working to be more open. through the protests? Where did your inspiration come from?
F.S: “One of our friends, We Are No Different, organized a march of silence before one of the main protests. Their goal is to amplify black voices and businesses in the UK. We attended a few marches ourselves, in doing so we were able to understand the tone and the core message of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
O: Can you share the process of creating this T-shirt design? From initial vision to how you made it come to life.
F.S: “We wanted to create a piece that’s timeless, unique, and an expression of the open. brand. After a couple brainstorm sessions, we had a design template set that would evoke emotions consistent with the motivations spurring worldwide protests; the template consisted of a raised black fist supported by imagery from iconic civil rights marches.
From there we added the unique open. elements, to convey the mission of the brand, by including photos that Ken personally took from multiple marches across LA along with integrating ‘open.’ into the raised fist. By eroding the graphic slightly, we were able to show that this is not a new idea nor issue. Together, it formed a picture that’s consistent over time by portraying the prevalence of social injustice and the adverse effects that have continued to impact communities over the last 60 years.”