Anarchy in the VA
While at a concert at The Southern with WTJU DJ Fontana Mercury a few months ago, we were introduced to Rock Director DJ B-Note. After talking with us for a while, and learning about our business, she asked if we would be interested in designing the next Rock Marathon t-shirt. We said yes immediately! DJ B-Note wanted something a bit edgy, with a protest vibe, that nodded to our current political climate. On the walk home after the show, Erin thought of the infamous Sex Pistols artwork featuring Queen Elizabeth II in front of the Union Jack as a symbol of protest. Our version would feature Charlottesville’s own Thomas Jefferson as the authority figure, with a tattered American flag behind him to convey a sense of our messy era. We called the concept “Anarchy in the VA.” While we presented four design ideas to the WTJU Rock team, this was the one that earned Erin a spontaneous hug from DJ B-Note.
Our process for creating the design was a team effort. Erin came up with the idea, art direction, and typography, and Jeff created the digital artwork. We used a collage approach, with a scanned image of a $2 bill for Mr. Jefferson’s portrait, a distressed American flag that we further edited and recolored, and ripped paper textures for the eyes and mouth. To keep with the punk aesthetic, Erin used type that felt handmade and true to the era. We collaborated with DJs B-Note and Ciclamino throughout the process as we refined the final artwork.
When it was time to move into production, we approached Thomas at Infinite Repeats, a local screen printing studio. He generously checked the artwork to make sure it would print true to the design, and when the shirts were ready to print we stopped by the studio to document the process. It was so much fun seeing our concept come to life, and we even got to choose a one-of-a-kind color for our own shirts!
The positive response from the DJs and staff at WTJU was overwhelming, with one DJ even saying this was “the greatest t-shirt in the whole sweep of human history!” And we’re so proud that we could contribute to a marathon that raised more than $70,000 to support our community radio station, smashing the previous fundraising record. DJ B-Note said that people really wanted this t-shirt, and some people even donated enough to get several shirts to give to their friends and family. If you’re interested in learning more about our thought process and our connection to WTJU, you can check out our interview with the station here.