Area 07 · Merch

Merchandise

Merchandise is the art of bringing your screen to life... sometimes after 20 iterations, but it is always worthwhile. I've had the opportunity to experiment with a wide variety of merchandise options and designs, including tote bags, paper bags, hoodies, caps, banners, vehicle branding, and even some unusual designs like a cardboard cutout of someone. I don't always get to create the final design, but being in charge of getting it out and into production has shown me a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into something as simple as a paper bag... Yes, it may look like a bag to some, but the thought process and use case that goes into designing and selecting the right material are extensive.

White paper bag with the Waikato Students’ Union doodle print in gold

Gold paper bag with the same print in white

Kraft paper bag with a small black union stamp in one corner — This paper bag is intended be a bit more discreet

Finding the right direction

One of the more interesting parts of creating brand merchandise is figuring out how far to push the creative direction. While a client may initially lean towards something simple and safe, that can often result in a design that looks good but doesn't necessarily stand out amongst the crowd. In this case, what started as a relatively safe concept gradually became a little more chaotic. Through that process, we eventually landed on a final product with 3 color options to choose from.

Finding the right color option

Plain black Union at the Don tote bag, the first simple concept — Simple and safe

Black tote covered in white swirling linework — Progression

White tote with a lighthouse and kraken tentacles rising out of the swirls — Too chaotic

Final tote in white with gold swirls and a gold handle

Final tote in black with gold swirls — Final

was a little side project I ended up making with the idea of testing out large format typography while keeping a two-tone style of colors - I ended up making 12+ variations of the style with the intention of printing some as prizes for university students to win as a little prize during their exam week.

Tan crewneck with Burnt out printed huge in red across the chest

Cream crewneck with the small gold Burnt out chest print

Cream crewneck with the huge red Burnt out print

The photoshoot · Waikato Students’ UnionCorduroy caps & hoodies

Close crop of Seamus in the corduroy Waikato Students’ Union cap — 01

The back of the cap with the hood up — 02

Seamus in the pink corduroy cap, glancing sideways — 03

The back of the cream hoodie with the hand-lettered union print — 04

Seamus in the cream hoodie and cap, hands in pockets — 05

Seamus peering from under the brim of the pink corduroy union cap

The kind ofmerchyou actually wear“we don't need to explain ourselves”

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