Been There, Done That, Got the T-shirt

It's official -- I've become an entrepreneur...

Early in the run of Vehicle Magazine, an e-mail 'publication' I used to send out (still planning on a farewell mailing), one issue was titled 'Inevitable Merchandizing', wherein mocked-up images of Vehicle Magazine T-shirts were presented to the couple of dozen readers I had at the time.

Now, once again, I've mocked-up some T-shirts, but this time the images are available on the Web, @ http://www.unifiedsettlement.org/apparel.html . On Thursday the 13th of January, 2005 (today to me, but technically yesterday, especially considering that post times here are recorded in UTC), I contacted not one, but two local printers about Flag of Earth / Unified Settlement T-shirts. The first offered me a great price, and the second promised to match it -- and thse prices are competitive with what I would get from large Internet-based companies...

Now, all that stands between me and a half a gross of shirts is a sum of $522 -- and demand for these shirts, at least among the few I've 'spoken' with about them, is high.

This is how I'm to be somewhat reimbursed for my time spent developing the Unified Settlement. One in each of the 4 colours of the Flag of Earth for me (I'll wear them often), a few given away, and the rest sold at a profit, sent around the world, generating income.

People like T-shirts, sometimes treasuring the ones that show everyone else what they believe in, often loving the ones that are comfortable and have colours and designs that make them feel good... The Flag of Earth is a design that we should all feel grateful to Jim Cadle for authoring way back in 1970 -- a simple, geometric representation of where we are from in the larger sense. I've felt for months now that it would look great on a T-shirt, and that those shirts would sell much better than actual flags -- those flags (sewn, not printed, in 2 sizes), lapel pins, and window decals being the only merchandise Jim offers on www.flagofearth.com ...

I'll be sending one in each colour to Jim -- and if he should choose to, he can order some from my printer to offer on his site, without having to pay the 'art & screen' charge. If he would rather not do this, I'll send him more shirts as a thank-you, along with a paid order for some of his stuff (I want to wear the pin, fly the flag, and stick the decal on my car anyway -- and I'll want more of these items to give as gifts).

Another shirt will eventually follow, with a large f.i.l. on the front, 'freedom is life' (and perhaps other f.i.l.
acronyms along the same vein) and the Unified Setlement URL on the back...

Click on the title of this blog entry to access my site, and please (if you have something to say) click on the number of comments at the bottom to leave a comment of your own.

"I'm Phil Smith, and I approve this T-shirt."

Time Out

The BRUTRUCK is meant to be a brute of a truck. Though its design elements are taken from my concept for a small sports car, the Brubeck itself is one tough-looking two-seater...

SKETCH

Once again, I started with MS Paint and moved on to Serif Photo Plus. Using these programs to create new images becomes easier with practice, and the results gradually come closer to the images in one's mind's eye. When it comes to angular designs, an image created on the computer can actually be superior in some ways to a freehand sketch.

The angular nature of the Brubeck and BRUTRUCK concepts makes them difficult to draw with a pencil and paper, but then there are subtle proportions that can get lost in the process of laying down straight lines. The image above, to me, seems awkward -- the wheelbase is a little too long and the front bumper (yes, it does fully surround the grille), along with the farside front wheel, are not in proper perspective with the rest of the truck. Then again, it could be the greenhouse (top of the cab) that isn't quite right...

In any case, I'm pleased to have been able to adapt the elements of the Brubeck -- which I haven't been able to get out of my mind for two years straight -- to a different type of vehicle. Now I have a second concept begging to be built (the flat panels make body construction a relative breeze), with a third in this theme forming in my head.

The next one will be a Brubeck sedan -- not to be called 'the Brubeck Sedan', but, I think, Time Further Out, as an homage to one of my favourite Dave Brubeck albums (the name also hints to transcending the 4th dimension).

But you ask, "What's with this angular, flat-panel design theme? Why do you persist with it?" All right then, since you asked...

Angularity was toyed with most successfully by Chrysler (plus Plymouth and Dodge) designers in the mid-Sixties -- I will point specifically to the Plymouth Fury, model year '64, but there are many others. One can also look to the original Willys Jeep Wagoneer and other purposeful vehicles of that nature, such as the Pinzgauer, even to a particular Voisin design from the late Twenties. Making a vehicle look good when all or even most of its panels are flat is not an easy thing to do -- it represents a design challenge. I like challenges.

Beyond that, while the trend is slowly reversing, there are so many vehicles out there these days with bloblike, amorphous forms that it's getting hard to tell them apart -- even for a lifelong automotive enthusiast like me. To be specific, BMWs, Mercedes, and even the formerly 'Boxy But Good' Volvos have gained sickeningly melted forms -- and don't even get me started on the dementia of the current crop from Chrysler...

To be truly different in these times, to really stand out among the crowd, a vehicle has to be as angular as it can be -- but then, as I mentioned, it isn't easy to make it look good with all flat panels. One has to take a geometric approach, playing the angles against one another, moving the lines by degrees, doing one's best to give a good appearance from any direction. This is quite different from working with curved lines and surfaces...

And yes, flat-panelled bodies are much, much easier to build, which brings the dream of seeing one (or more) of my designs realized as a drivable vehicle that much closer.

How does this tie in with the Unified Settlement? That will be covered in another entry, perhaps the next..

Now, if you will excuse me, this concept has kept me up most of the night (post times are Greenwich Mean, though I live in the Eastern time zone) and I need to get some sleep. I may lie awake thinking of various things for a while, but that is often part of the process. Give me 30-hour days, and I may be able to keep a regular schedule...

The Blur of Time

ABLUR

Yes, my son took the picture, with his new camera -- but the blurring was done on purpose...

Personally, I believe he has a bright future ahead of him in photographic expression. This is not only good alternative framing -- the car almost looks NEW. (Photo not cropped or otherwise altered -- only resized.)

Where does time go?

Time, the 4th dimension, is systematically being obliterated by the 5th...

Will entering the 5th dimension feel anything like drinking a fifth of vodka?

2005 is going to be INTERESTING.