I'm not the most literate of human beings, but even with my limited knowledge I have this habit. If you're going to talk my language, you may as well talk it correctly. And true to the t-shirt, the opportunity to correct it does not always present itself, therefore in many a conversation one finds oneself on mental spell check and grammar correction. Available for $17 at Zazzle.


A fresh look to the adidas logo by Japanese brand Cheez. A simple sketchy technique plus a vibrant fuchsia pink makes an all too common logo design come alive revived. Not cheap though. About £42. Available here.


The caption with this tee reads, 'Everyone has a camera, so always wear this t-shirt.' Practical. Available at Don't Tage Me In This Photo for £13.


Sometimes simplicity is just the best way to go. The simplicity of this design makes it a sure winner with a superb concept being represented perfectly making a Godfather style graphic tee. For the placement, see the website.



Anne Hooker is a youth worker at Port Philip Prison in Laverton who is making efforts to reach out to the inmates in a new way. As part of the prisons young offenders' program, Hooker has set up a t-shirt business with inmates printing and producing t-shirts with profits going to charity. Doin' Time Inc is completely run by the inmates and has so far made profits of $130,000. The company name and the t-shirt design above modeled by some of the prisoners, is an interestingly ironic concept. Simple yet imaginative.


On flickr, I spotted an interesting photo stream by 'Sunnyside'. His set includes some fantastic concepts and prints. It is a must in the world of t-graphic t-shirt design, to discover the area that has not been reached. In truth, with graphic tees in their millions around the world, it's not easy to find that hole in the design market, but Sunnyside's designers seem to do it. Among the wealth of designs, he has a set based on some of the great movies and heroes of our time, yet mutated with teddy bears.





Design By Humans is a website that regularly churns out top t-shirt designs from the world's horde of designers. What makes their selections especially unique is the designers use of space. When your canvas is the screen of your computer or the pages of your A4 sketchbook, designs and concepts may be limited, but the designers at Design By Humans demonstrate that their canvas truly is the t-shirt. It is not just about putting a clever vectorised picture on the front of a tee, but the creative use of the space, making a statement and influencing its environment. Support Design By Humans and their designers.


As a t-shirt design goes, maybe the audience for this tee may be too few and far between, however the quality  of the illustration and the originality of the concept has to be appreciated. It is a bold interpretation of the assassination of Abe Lincoln adding the rainbow and wings to signify his saint-like character, turning a very grim scene into a poetic reincarnation. The sketchy illustration reminds you of a modern comic book character, making Lincoln a superhero of sort. Artistically a win - as to whether it will win the viewers of Threadless, we'll have to see.


What I love about many of the designers who continuously submit to Threadless is that they are continuously trying to outdo the previously legendary t-shirts the company has already produced. Many of the Threadless collection have become so globally popular, that their concepts are more well-known than even their apparel. That's what happens when you pool ideas off some the worlds creative geniuses hidden in the nooks and cranny's of the giant cyber design network. Concept and creativity is abounding, and much of it remains in the parlours of the underpaid and unrecognised. Support freelance designers! Kudos to Threadless for their efforts. This number is by Liz Goranov and is available at Threadless for $10.


The design is called 'Making up for lost time' and is available for a whopping $24 at Itself - a company focused on limited edition tees and stuff.


One of the best concepts I have every seen. There are thousands of comical movie satire tees on the market - this one is one of the best ever. A clear winner for both the star wars lovers and the rest of the world alike. Available at Tee Fury for only $9.


Always a fan of a well constructed typography tee. This one is a definite win. Available at Blue Inc.


There's a t-shirt for everything and would not be long before James Cameron's new movie had its own apparel following. It has begun. This t-shirt has an apparent blue-print style diagram of one of the AMPsuits used in the film. If you love it, you love it; if you don't, you don't. Cool film though. This t-shirt is available at the TV Store.


This design holds onto the traditional 'gang-style' LA lettering. Typical of its content source. The design works based on its apparent symmetry and colour selection. Maybe not a high street winner, but a well composed design none-the-less. For more information about the shirt, click here.


Obviously nothing to do with t-shirts, however such an inspiring rendition of the MJ classic deserves some appreciation. Who he is and where he's from, I have no idea, but for now he's a bundle of musical genius. Biggup Scot Dunbar!


Nice concept. And even more impressive coming from NIKE themselves. Make some white noise!


Money! Money! Money! Available at Last Rights. A typographic concept that looks like it should have been done 1000 times already. It works any way.


Did he say $17,000? The truth is, the t-shirt MJ wore for the Beat It video is a beautiful print that would be a high street hit even today. The video makes the design look a bit faded from the original, but the design still comes through. My biggest surprise had to be that fact that the tee was sleeveless. A modern replica might be a hit with the fans and fashion gurus alike.


The website, 2012 Threads has attached itself to the much discussed 2012 prophecies which spawned the movie extravaganza. The awesome illustrative graphic tees suggest a various number of ways in which that fateful 2012 global oblivion may occur. The different concepts include an alien robot apocalyptic takeover, a great Mayan corn god who would return to destroy the world, or the traditional view of the galactic alignment that will bring about the end of all life. Interesting.


In the old Back To The Future movies, it was the Flux Capacitor that gave the time machine it's power. Here is a t-shirt in commemoration. Another one for the fanatics and film fans and available at Tanga.


This is a definite winner. For those ladies who don't take themselves too seriously. A wonderful white t-shirt from a German company (how ironic) featuring an incredible underarm foliage. Either there are serious hormonal issues or some kind of wildlife preservation extremists. Whichever excuse you prefer, this one is a conceptual champion. To finish it all, the name of the design is The Natural Milk T-shirt. Available here.


"I pity the fool!" That unforgettable face of the 80's. After seeing him on an advert recently, I was happy to see he looked exactly the same now as he did then, despite being 57. You can get the t-shirt here.

I was surprised to hear that basketball legend Michael Jordan has re-released his Air Jordans, dubbed 'Air Jordan 11 Space Jam', aptly named after MJ's cinematic debut in the 1996 Warner Bros movie. In order to accompany the retro style basketball boots, various labels have released printed tees. I took note of the Extra Butter number.




Askew TMD is one of the world's most consistent artists who's style has influenced thousands of graffiti writers across the world. Good graffiti art always makes a good transition to graphic tees, and Askew's art is no different. These ones are available at The Pitbull Press.


Sam Flores is definitely one of the definitive urban illustrators of the decade and always one to watch. This is a t-shirt designed by Flores for OM Records 15th Anniversary. Available at Halcyon.


Throughout Christmas, marketers thrust "stocking fillers" into the face of shoppers in an attempt to sell every useless nic-nak and odd end, to squeeze the last penny out those in the throws of Christmas spirit. Most of these tend to be a waste of time and their novelty is normally gone by December 28th. I think this t-shirt may end up another one on that pile, no matter how unique the concept. Yes - those bongos you can actually play, with four triple-A batteries attached. If you spot anyone wearing this at a party, you know to steer as clear as possible. If this is right up your alley, they're available here.


Whether you are a serious Trekkie or seriously opposed to the Trekkie trend, this one must hit a chord. The description describes it almost as a memorial to all those extras who had the privilege to don the famous red shirt knowing that your first away mission was destined to be your last. A classic twist on one of DeForest Kelly's infamous quotes. The t-shirt is available at Think Geek.


Designer and head of Look For Fiddleheads, Lee Tracy is the author of this and another wonderful range of graphic tees. Tracy in actuality is a fine artist but his work has transferred interestingly to the t-shirt medium creating what could be a very successful design range. Modern, vectorised and satirically sloganised art has become the norm and a dime a dozen. Tracy's slant on illustration has a more subtle twist with an ironically classic feel. See more of the range here.


Hector Mansilla demonstrates his superior illustration style as well as his innovative use of space and shape. Almost all his tees are winners - this is another one titled 'Turn It Up', available at Threadless.


I think most artists and designers would of at some point in time encountered Bob Ross. His ridiculous afro and cheesy smile couldn't cover his incredible talent for speed painting. This is a tribute to the old master. Awful illustration but a champion concept. Available at Infectious.


"Refill Required" design by Glennz t-shirts. Hilarious.


Supposedly, this t-shirt will feature in the third part of the Twilight series. One of the lead characters will be wearing it. Well, I suppose that may be a selling point for some, however, this design (as with many of Crooked Monkey's tees) is a fantastic design. This sketchy looking boombox design is available at Crooked Monkeys.


I think all children of the 70's and 80's are excitedly anticipating the up-coming Tron: Legacy movie. Memories of the glowing frisbees and wall building bikes in the vast 80's cyberspace. What better way to commemorate this awesome occasion than the release of an apt t-shirt design. Is this t-shirt really as cool as it looks? Up for vote on Threadless. Designed by the martiandrivein: "When all else fails, I look good by comparison".


One for the comic lovers - insert your face here This big design fail is available at Jinx.


The purpose and the promotion are quite obsolete, however the typographic arrangement and grunge print makes this design a smart one. The words are taken from a poem by poet William Earnest Henley. The t-shit is available at Discreetly Greek.


An interesting angle from Stussy with the first of their range based on the US Capital, Washington DC. This one titled 'Chocolate City' comes from a name given to the city by punk band Parliament from the 1970's. An interesting conceptual angle from Stussy, but nothing exciting yet from their design team. They do however promise the involvement of other recognised designers as the range continues. Hope it will be worth it. The tees are available at Stussy DC.


This is definitely an interesting concept - the combination of a t-shirt and a magazine. The originality of the concept will carry this. Let's see what they produce.


The illustration on the design above is by Siggi Eggerston.


Kenny Kim is a photographer. However he once tried his hand a t-shirt design. Although the profession has changed, he believes the skills have not. Therefore, by some incredible stroke of genius, he has seen reason to design self promoting t-shirts for his new photographic career. Certainly no knowledge is lost and as we have all seen the thousands of promotional t-shirts that circulate with dire designs and normally end up common place fashion in third world countries, this is definitely a step up. Although graphically it may be some what of a 'fail', for its purpose it beats most of its competitors. The statement on the back reads 'Caution: This Photographer Makes Frequent Stops'.


Where do you draw the line between what is funny and what is past the mark?


This Rhino-Hunter tee by Chalermphol Haranchakkham from Thailand is one of the many on display at I Am The Trend in their collection of 50 Sweet Single Colour Tee Designs. Among the collection are some beautiful  and stunning illustrative and typographical graphic tees. Worth a look.


The concept of a maze on a t-shirt initially sounds like a interesting idea (though I think it's already been done a few times), however when the t-shirt comes with a marker pen and instructions and it's 1 of 100 made, there's obviously more to it than meets the eye. Secret message? Possibly. Worth £24? Probably not. The tees are available at Erol Alkan's website.



A couple more exciting graphic tees from Designed By Humans, both with intricate illustrations. We have 'The Swarm' by Michelle Santiago and 'In Your Hands' by Bortwein.


'From The Depths' by Tim Chung.






As a huge fan of graffiti art and a relentless supporter of all writers and the global movement, it goes without saying that I'll support these incredible set of graphic tees from one of the world's most well known and prolific writing teams - The Seventh Letter Crew. A nice range from photographic images to classic illustration techniques makes a nice addition to the team's already massive set of collectable apparel. Support the movement. These tees are available at Zumiez.


 

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