My iPhoneX gives me back a note from 03/14/2014: times were changing and I could not have imagined “so much… so quickly.”
How many times, in front of the mirror, have you put on a shirt to look “more professional”?
And how many times, in that gesture, did you feel that you were also putting on a role, a protocol, a “how it should be” that wasn’t really yours?
One communicates order: the ironed creases speak of rules, of conventions; The buttons, lined up one on top of the other, keep you composed… it’s a garment that says “I follow the code”… it’s reassuring but also a bit restrained.
The other, instead, inspires freedom: it has no buttons to fasten, no mandatory creases… it’s the canvas on which you can print an idea, a symbol, a phrase that tells who you are; it lets you move, breathe, express yourself… it’s a “I come as I am” that doesn’t ask for permission... it gives itself “without reservations.”
It’s not a matter of fabric nor of dies or tissue paper.
But of INSPIRED ACTION, of LIVED CULTURE… of PERSONAL IMPRINTING.
Talking about shirts and t-shirts is talking about two approaches to life and especially to communication: dressing to conform and dressing to express yourself.
In a world where everyone tries to appear “right,” I suggest you be “genuine and real,” to remove the imprinting of corporate conventions and wear a “conceptual” garment: comfortable, direct, unmistakable.
The shirt represents dressing to conform.
When you wear a shirt, you follow a code (more or less written).
You choose it based on the formality of the occasion, you match it to a context, you iron it so there are no creases. It’s a garment that puts you inside a predetermined language: that of correctness, precision, belonging to a certain “professional” image.
The shirt, in design, is the rule, the grid that aligns, the orderly layout, the sober font.
It’s the visual signal of “I know how it’s done” (and that reassures)… but often, precisely because of this function of conformity, it can smooth out the most original edges of your identity.
The t-shirt represents dressing to express yourself.
The t-shirt has no buttons to fasten nor collars to starch. It’s a free support, ready to host an idea, a symbol, a message you don’t necessarily have to explain… it’s the garment you can personalize, tear, color, reinterpret.
In design, the t-shirt is the blank canvas open to the unexpected: it’s the logo that dares one more shade, the packaging that tells a story, the campaign that breaks the visual routine to get noticed.
It’s the signal of “this is who I am and this is how I say it,” with the freedom that only those who know themselves can afford… simply “my way.”
Workwear and representative clothing: conforming vs. expressing yourself
To conform means to align yourself with a standard: it’s useful when you want to communicate reliability and rigor, when the goal is to integrate into a language already codified by your sector.
To express yourself means to take a stand, it means consciously choosing what to show, how to show it and to whom. It’s useful when you want to stand out, when you want to attract not everyone but the right ones.
The point is not to decide whether to wear “only shirts” or “only t-shirts.”
The point is to understand when to conform to gain trust and when to express yourself to be remembered but, above all, it’s to understand if you are aware enough, centered, consistent and… as a result, credible.
Because, you see… Design starts from people and is never a matter of “fashion” or “trend” but a CONSTANT (and skin-deep) dialogue with the person who will wear it: whether it’s a logo, a slang, a packaging, an envelope or even just a “tag”… a project exists so that you can feel inside what you communicate… totally IMMERSED and the PROTAGONIST of the concept.
An identity is not a “label to stick on”: it’s a garment sewn on your unique shape (I don’t use “tailor-made” or “ad-hoc” because they are unfortunately overused…).
Sometimes that “dress” is more shirt, sometimes more t-shirt but the point is that it must fit you well, represent you, move with you… following the movement and the “stretch” without ever “losing shape, substance and legibility.” To conform is not to “deform”… be careful!
From “tailoring” to screen printing.
Dashed lines that become fold points.
The parallel is not just metaphorical.
Design is like a piece of clothing:
• The shirt is the work of precise tailoring: measurements, symmetries, invisible seams.
• The t-shirt is bold screen printing: colors, graphics, messages that speak at first glance.
Both have weight and can be art but have different languages: the task of those who do identity design is to understand which language you need to be consistent and recognizable.
Don’t compete, leave a mark: in the business world we run too much to win a race that we often don’t even know we’ve chosen and, please, find the courage to tell your story.
Leave the world your shape, your sound, your color (or your colors).
It’s not about “beating a competitor”: it’s about getting a message to the right people, in the right way, with the right means.
Present yourself with rigor, if you want.
Show your heart.
Be different.
Choose to be memorable: design will ensure that, even when you’re not there, your message continues to walk on its own… it will get itself told. Design does not exist “for the market” but for people — those who work in the company and those who will come into contact with your brand.
Culture, in the beginning, was (already) design. Then, conscious people enhanced it with example and action, inspiring “new people” who would determine the future.”
Because in the end, the choice is simple: you can continue to “dress to seem” (someone or something) or you can start to “dress to be (yourself).”
Every brand needs both things (at different times, for different needs):
The shirt for institutional language, legibility rules, visual consistency.
The t-shirt for the emotional, personal, unexpected part.
If everything is a shirt, you risk being correct but anonymous.
If everything is a t-shirt, you risk being creative but messy.
Now... you can choose to wear “the classic shirt with the RED or WOODEN (or mother-of-pearl) button” or a plain blue t-shirt as an “under-jacket” with a fuchsia pocket.
In both cases, if YOU feel good about yourself… you’re perfect! YOU’RE OK!
Because true design does not dress “how it’s done” but expresses your most intimate and true identity… it basically dresses how you are (in some cases, it COVERS WHAT YOU ARE).
This is a rule you find (and can apply) in everything.
And it says a lot about who you are.
That’s why we’re not PERSONALIZING but… TRANSFERRING.
That’s why DIES and TISSUE PAPER are SCHEMES THAT TRACE THE WAY (not limits).
We should take more care in using these four terms, don’t you think?
