Designing for bodies, production lines, and a print budget.

Illustration · Tattooing · Print Production · Brand Identity · Entrepreneurship

CONTEXT

Before I designed software, I designed for bodies. First as a tattoo artist, then with Ugly Apparel, a scholarship-funded clothing line I launched on Kickstarter. That’s where I learned how an image behaves on a curved surface, how line weight moves when the person wearing it moves, and how to make a design that survives production.

APPROACH

I worked for a swag company, designing apparel for corporate events, sports teams and merch tables. I learned the whole pipeline: separations, screens, substrates, inks, placement, and what each of those costs at volume.

Ugly Apparel started as a riff on that day job. It took the mechanics of decorating a shirt and turned them into the joke. It was also the first time I built something end to end: the concept, the drawings, production, fulfillment and the brand voice.

OUTCOME

Ugly Apparel taught me the business side. I priced products, managed vendors, kept manufacturing on schedule, and learned that a Kickstarter is a promise you have to deliver on.

I still work that way. My linework comes from tattooing, where every line is pressure and intent. My files come from the print shop: layered, separated and ready for production. And merch taught me that people handle and wear a design, so it has to hold up in their hands, not just on a screen.

RELATED WORK

The full collection.