Get Out the Vote

In American politics, there is one thing you can be assured of above all else: someone will be running that has no right to the office, and that person will probably make a scarily tight race of it. The debates will show them getting their proverbial ass handed to them. Their sound bites will be full of blatant lack of understanding for how society works. And they will not see their poll numbers drop a percentage. In the interest of combating the inevitable in the most broken democracy on the internet, then, please consider voting for the following designs in woot's latest double-take derby.

Title: Hay is for Horses
Artist: Theinfinityloop

Perhaps you really like dogs licking cats. If so, I guess there's really not much I can do for you. However, since it is apparent you don't mind if your shirts have no concept, shall I suggest taking that a step further and voting for a shirt that DOES have art? This piece is pretty much all about style, which makes sense, being created for the sake of a style derby. The design's colors sing, creating a wonderfully wearable piece,and the shapes swell across the tee like an uneven (yet delicious) cake. The use of negative space is pleasing, also, with the stylized horses prancing proudly across one's hypothetical chest. More of this sort of thing, please.






Title: Little Red Riding Bug
Artist: bsweber

Linework does not automatically make for a great shirt. Those of you who slink around Threadless regularly have likely seen about 1000 passable sketches slapped on shirts they should never have been slapped on. However, when great linework is combined with great shirt design, it becomes its own reason for a must-print tee. This is that. The illustration fills the shirt expertly... canvas coverage is so important on any canvas... and the flecks of bright red draw the eye strongly, despite the tiny amount. When one considers the quality of illustration and line work, and the sheer effort and skill put forth, there is no reason this shouldn't deserve a grand.






Title: Muahahahaha!
Artist: Bootsboots

As we all know, anyone who promotes progress is evil. You can tell because we all have neckbeards and hate God. For those of us who are not so obvious, however, we need a good evil looking shirt. This one-color wonder fits the bill as far as I'm concerned. It's a good solid graphic tee. It's not too over the top in artistry, for those people who are scared of too much art on their clothing, but it's still well-done. It's iconic and accessible without being tired. It has humor in it without trying too hard or being too exclusionary. This would be a perfect inclusion in the catalog of the lovely folks at fuzzy ink, but I see zero reason a fun tee like this shouldn't work at woot.






Title: Happiness
Artist: EdgarRMcHerly

Sometimes, you stumble across something that simply illustrates everything you've ever believed perfectly. This tee printing at woot would pretty much be the epitome of snarky retort for that reason. Ignorance, they say, is bliss, and the characters here look incredibly ignorant and blissful all at once, while the dude with the brain looks appropriately concerned and morose. It's easy to argue that a t-shirt is just a t-shirt if your head is unable to soak up the reality of the situation. Regardless of what most people seem to think, art is at its best when it makes a statement. Perpetuating that lost art of obtaining meaning through art is reason enough to promote and print this piece.





Title: Sticking Out
Artist: Jewelwing

The odd-man-out idea is incredibly tired. If it went to sleep, it would put Rip Van Winkle to shame. That's how tired it is. So it was incredibly nice to see, among a million horrible panda tees, one piece that truly tried to be original. The Urchin/Hedgehog match-up is one I'd never have expected, even though it is so perfect for the theme. The style is what really hits this out of the park, though... to me it almost looks painted, giving the scene more of a watery clarity. Everything looks as crisp and refreshing as the Amalfi Coast. Not only that, it's undeniably cute. Y'all like cute, right? Prove it by voting for something that the term actually applies to.





Title: Socially Networked
Artist: Ninthwheel

Finally, something a bit abstract. I think this is a winner for its colors (the palette works perfectly against itself as well as the creme blank). I also like the concept, vague is it might be. The idea of interconnection based on knowledge is an appealing one, if not one that would sell very well to people who don't agree that knowledge is what connects us. That the head here is made up of books, the probable transmitters of knowledge, is a great connection, better than even the subtle networking web laid under the main image. Without knowledge, we have nothing to give socially, and intentional or not, this design speaks to this truth. A vote for this would be a vote for a message that needs to be spread.


There are other solid pieces in the derby, to be sure, as there always are. However, with recent outcomes and an absolutely unforgivable set of HM's on the last go 'round, I feel it is vital to take this doubletake seriously. No one else is going to, so we need to take the bull by the horns. You know what to do.