New DBH print: Cornerstone

I love all my Contest Watch selections like children. I get excited about them as though I created them. Sure, sometimes a couple go ignored without my intending them to... it happens with lots of children. And sometimes I wonder how the ones who disappear to far-off homes are doing. But I love them all.

Like every parent, though, I have favorites, intentionally or not. Today, I'm happy to announce the graduation of one of those favorites: Cornerstone, by beecombs. It's Design by Humans' tee of the day, and it is absolutely gorgeous. To me, it hits the intersection of Design and Art perfectly. It's composed of textures from old books and other copyright-free sources, so it is arguably not "art" in the classic sense. The piece is composed in a very calculated way, with strips of texture stacked atop each other. It's clearly designed, clearly built as opposed to created. This goes against most of what I believe in artistically. Yet I can't get enough. The placement seems simple at first glance, but the strips seem to be arranged just askew enough to not come off as blocky or static. The colors flow in a homogenous way, as if all these pieces were meant to someday interact. The execution is simply too thoughtful to write off, the visual too appealing to not simply become artful. And then there are those strips themselves... each one is an artistic cliffhanger, teasing the viewer... what else is going on? How does the design continue? What sort of scene is being depicted in the full view? Somehow, these swatches capture the imagination by forcing you to fill in the blanks. It's a beautiful thing, and it makes for a beautiful, unique shirt.

Don't forget, DBH is running this at a discount for it's first 24 hours, so now is as good a time as any to snag one. The deal becomes even sweeter with code 4B8GLY: it'll save you 10% off this and all DBH tees until June 12. Which will also give you almost a whole summer to rock what will probably be the most unique shirt on your block.