Everybody must get Cow'ed
So we're just a few days away -- if that -- from taking pre-orders to have a bunch of shirts printed with our favorite inebriated mascot. While you can't wear your own swag, the goal was to work with David to get something I'd want to wear within the current limitations of shirt printing.
Since you'll be wearing them (or sealing them in mylar, away from harmful UVs) to help support the site, and we can only go with one design, let me know which you prefer (A, B, C or D) and why so we can throw together the final. Click for larger...
Posted by drunkenbatmanSeptember 21, 2005, at 12:55 AM
Comments (72)
Posted by: Justin Gardner at September 21, 2005 01:11 AM
Indeed...
The kozoru abides...
Great shirt! I can't wait until I get to attend an actual festival of fans of "The Dude."
Posted by: Other_Matt at September 21, 2005 01:18 AM
I'd go for B, but with a slight variation, colour the cows face as well as the drink.
Posted by: Mark Rakes at September 21, 2005 01:18 AM
I second B, A, C, D.
B's got the right mix: Not too many colors (less busy AND cheaper!), and it just seems like it makes more of a "statement".
Posted by: Cap'n Hector at September 21, 2005 01:29 AM
A, B, C, D
I just love the way the couch looks.
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 01:43 AM
Strange way to show you're a Dylan fan... I vote B, A.
Posted by: todd at September 21, 2005 01:56 AM
I favor A,B,C,D. I think B would have been a stronger contender against A, but methinks that the text is a little too dark -- it just looks out of place.
Posted by: Marcus at September 21, 2005 02:02 AM
I vote for B, but also think the text is too dark. Maybe it is SRGB conversion in my browser. Could the brown be lightened?
Posted by: drunkenbatman at September 21, 2005 02:07 AM
I favor A,B,C,D. I think B would have been a stronger contender against A, but methinks that the text is a little too dark -- it just looks out of place.
Good point -- weirdly enough, it was a lighter color, but I darkened it as I was playing with swatched and forgot to set it back. If it ends up being B, that'll be looked at.
Posted by: Keller at September 21, 2005 02:14 AM
I vote for B. Its a white russian shirt that happens to have a cow on it, which adds another whole level of subtlety and coolness.
Posted by: John Röthlisberger at September 21, 2005 02:23 AM
Hi DB,
I would *much* prefer either the white russian by itself, or the cow's face by itself. If I can't have that, then A, B, C, D.
Cheers,
--John
Posted by: mennonot at September 21, 2005 03:00 AM
I vote for A
Posted by: Dustin Sacks at September 21, 2005 03:01 AM
I like A the best. The color is nice, and it makes the picture a lot clearer (especially for people who may not have seen the cow drinking before).
After that comes C. If you;re going to go no color, you might as well go all the way.
Posted by: V for Vendetta at September 21, 2005 03:01 AM
I vote B. I like the Penny Arcade approach where you pick something cool from the site and not turn your readers into walking advertisements :-)
Posted by: Ben Mitchell at September 21, 2005 03:16 AM
I'd opt for A, followed by B, then C, then D. I've always liked the color balance of The Cow, the White Russian, and The Couch (how can you avoid capitalizing that one after capitalizing the first two?), even if it meant spending a few more dollars to have and to wear.
Posted by: Justin Gardner at September 21, 2005 03:21 AM
I like the order you present: A, B, C, D and then (we) go on from there.
I like the color against the black.
-jpg
Posted by: Retard at September 21, 2005 03:32 AM
A B C D - always good to run with the crowd...
what no that can't be right?
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 03:36 AM
B. In color, the bovine creeps me out. Animals and human bodies are scary!
Posted by: Malte at September 21, 2005 03:53 AM
I'd go with A, love colour.
Please please please make shure you get the best quality textile, printing and sewing you can (within resonable limits). I am willing to pay quite a bit more, since I absolutly *HATE* buying clothes that get that "used look" after some 5 washes, depite me being nice to them and not using tumble dryer, sledgehammer and whatnot.
Posted by: Pat Allan at September 21, 2005 03:56 AM
Definitely A, altho B has some appeal.
Posted by: mark at September 21, 2005 04:00 AM
C-A-B-D
C-oolest. A-full breakfast (ocassionally welcome). B-ad compromise. D-oesn't work for me.
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 04:05 AM
B
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 04:09 AM
I'd be happy with A, B, or C. Don't care for D.
-Wil
Posted by: Art at September 21, 2005 04:12 AM
A. And why are we discussing this? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
And please tell me that someone did not bring price into this as a factor. I mean, come on -- like the difference in cost would deter someone from buying this? Sure, I might not opt for the diamond-encrusted version, but $10 vs $20 isn't going to be a factor in my decision to order one. Who flinched when shopping for a Copyleft shirt from Giant Robot?
Posted by: Chris at September 21, 2005 04:45 AM
A, all the way.
Posted by: Kurt Moore at September 21, 2005 04:45 AM
I have a feeling most are going to push towards the A as the design they like, myself included. I dropped you a email about shirts a month of so back, did not hear from you so I assumed you had plans in the works.
Anymoo, seeing as how I used to own a screen printing shop a few years back, I might as well put down my .02 in case it helps.
I don't know what the deal is with tech shirts and black, but do they always have to be black? Lets assume you go with version A, on black, you are looking at, as best as I can tell..
Brown, grey, tan, white, and possibly black ink. You just just 5 colors, which is pricey. To run this job correct, on black shirts, you are going to need white underbase, brown, grey, tan, black, white. Now we are into 6 color. I know it makes no sense, the shirt is black, why use black ink, and why not steal the white underbase for the other white?
I don't really want to hash out the details, but lets just say, to get coverage on black shirts with white, you need a underbase to make the other color pop. Not using black ink renders the black in fabric, which fades, and over time, looks half assed. You can not really use the white underbase as spot white either, as to get coverage, it would be so thick it feels like a iron on.
So you are in this 5-6 colors, to do it right. Assuming your designer knows how to set up the files, and there is no mess up, figure 10.00 each for each color of film, a 25.00 each screen charge, and we have not even started printing yet. Some shops are going to charge you for that "flash cure" on the underbase as well.
You can simplify this greatly with a white shirt, or even grey/heather (my favorite) You may not get out of the 5-6 colors, jobs just come out so much better on anything but black.
Someone mentioned shirt quality, and here is where a lot of people go wrong as well. Everyone thingks 100% cotton is the way to go, I disagree, most in the industry do as well, though customers balk at the 50/50 notion. 100% cotton t-s do something called defibrillation, where the fibers of the shirt will migrate up through the cured ink, and over time, it makes the ink look worn and faded. This happens to a much lesser degree that on 100% cotton gear. 50/50 breathes better, prints better as the threads are smoother, and is an all around better choice in my opinion. They also do not shrink one bit, and tend to last ages longer, and are much more stain resistant. ie:I dont have any coffee stains on 50/50, but on cotton, you are pretty much ruined.
I would not doubt the Hanes 100% coton Beefy-T is what you are looking at. Take a look at the Fruit of the Loom 50/50, in all regards, it is a superior shirt, superior threading, smoother stitching etc. They run about .20 more each, in general. Also to note, Hanes has a really bad habit of their shirts being of varying sizes. So 100 x-larges will all fit significantly different. The Fruit of the Loom's are made more consistent.
Yeah, it's been 5 years since I pulled a squeegee, but not much changes in screening. Feel free to contact me if you want some pointers, or to even just look at the art before you send off the files, to make sure there are no stray overprints, spreads, chokes, and whatnot.
Posted by: Mac-arena the Bored Zo at September 21, 2005 04:49 AM
A, B, D, C, in order of my preference. colour is good. it's nice and subtle in B. the other two are exclusive of non-fans, because of the black drink: 'a cow drinking cola?' 'no, it's a White Russian actually.' 'huh? it's black!'
for clarity, B is right behind A in my preference (I like the subtlety), and D and C are far behind. I don't like D because of the grey.
and I agree with the suggestion to colour in the Cow's face.
Posted by: Simon Pearson at September 21, 2005 05:37 AM
ABCD, in that order, as long as I can make the purchase from the UK!
Posted by: Oyvind at September 21, 2005 05:48 AM
B is best. Like the suggestion of coloring the cows head too.
A and C next.
D I wouldn't buy.
Posted by: Squozen at September 21, 2005 06:05 AM
Bored with black shirts, I'll pass on all of them.
Posted by: Michael Madsen at September 21, 2005 06:13 AM
Only A !
But no loose fit for me, thank you... pls make'em in rib or stretch..
Posted by: uv at September 21, 2005 06:58 AM
I don't get the font. Seems to me it should be Chicago (for both reasons) and it looks more like the one from the old C=64.
Posted by: Malte at September 21, 2005 07:08 AM
Well, I didn't even think that far. I kind of assumed you would have a few different colours to choose from.
I'd really like a green or red t-shirt with this. Or brown? Oh well.. Not beige, please.
And about sizes, I suppose I'll choose a M one. But from what I've heard rumours of you have larger sizes in USA than us i Europe. We'll just wait and see if a USA-style medium i tent-size or if it will be wearable.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at September 21, 2005 07:17 AM
*yawn* Chill out guys. There'll be one color of a shirt, but it won't necessarily be black, that's just there to keep the color of the shirt from distracting from the actual design/amount of colors. There'll be a color voting round. :)
Posted by: LEGO Boy at September 21, 2005 07:42 AM
I like A and C, but I like smaller designs on the shirt. So as not to be so "loud". Just my opinion, tho.
Posted by: Chris Karr at September 21, 2005 07:54 AM
A
Posted by: jojo at September 21, 2005 08:11 AM
A all the way!
Posted by: matonmacs at September 21, 2005 08:34 AM
I vote A; and how about doing a white version?
Posted by: Devon Shaw at September 21, 2005 08:45 AM
I think in this case it's fair to say only cow-ards would dare wear a shirt like that.
Sorry, someone had to.
Posted by: Jamie at September 21, 2005 08:48 AM
I'd vote for A
Posted by: Colin Barrett at September 21, 2005 08:50 AM
I'm voting for A and then C. We should all wear these at the Evening @ Adler. It'd be great to have a dozen geeks walking into a bar all wearing the same shirt.
Posted by: Ankalon at September 21, 2005 09:24 AM
Yeah, why Synchro LET's little brother? I'd say B, but I recommend making the lettering white, as that puts emphasis on the drink.
Posted by: Davide Benini at September 21, 2005 10:08 AM
A is cool, but B is so so cool...
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 10:10 AM
B, C, A, D
Any chance of getting the White Russian logo you used on the couch from yesterday's post about the "Evening at Adler"? Maybe put that WR logo on the front and the cow/couch on the back or just put the logo on the couch next to the cow like in your pic.
Posted by: brian at September 21, 2005 10:12 AM
A
Posted by: Olly at September 21, 2005 10:25 AM
A or B - largely because I like to have colours in a tee.
Posted by: Jacqui Cheng at September 21, 2005 10:26 AM
P.S. You already know what I think, but I think a cream-colored monochrome (or maybe two colors, depending) on a chocolate shirt would be sex in a t-shirt.
Posted by: MacStansbury at September 21, 2005 10:33 AM
you should really listen to that Kurt Moore guy. I was about to write that same diatribe. the only thing I'd add is that those colors tend to fall off of the white undercoat after a few washings.
Posted by: icedtrip at September 21, 2005 10:34 AM
B, A, D, C
Posted by: Jay Contonio at September 21, 2005 10:53 AM
A or B, but that fonts weird.
Posted by: Cherdevall at September 21, 2005 11:34 AM
Absolutely A but i would prefer a lighter color for the text (Maybe white),
How much will they cost and is it possible to get one sent to sweden?
Awsome design! keep it up
Jonathan
Posted by: ozzi at September 21, 2005 11:34 AM
A, then B.
Posted by: Ian at September 21, 2005 11:37 AM
B for me! The sparing use of color really adds some class.
Posted by: Matt Thomas at September 21, 2005 12:11 PM
A, B, C, D - but I don't like "The cow abides" part
Posted by: KnurdMan at September 21, 2005 01:21 PM
Why does everyone seem to hate D? C'mon people, don't hate on the moon-man-esque cow! D is the clear choice for the mylar sealing crowd and with its freshly preserved look... its totally metal!
On that note, my vote is for A and my other vote is for D.
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 01:24 PM
A
Posted by: Rory at September 21, 2005 01:55 PM
A gets my vote :)
Posted by: Ryutaro Murai at September 21, 2005 02:24 PM
Like the Fonz said, "A"
Posted by: Benjamin Morin at September 21, 2005 02:25 PM
C
Posted by: 2.STL-DX.B11 at September 21, 2005 03:25 PM
A and none of the others. Got to be full on colour. I too would like to buy from the UK.
Posted by: foresmac at September 21, 2005 04:10 PM
Um, why doesn't it say "The Cow Imbibes"?
I like A, that could be as few as 5 colors, 4 if you make the cow's shirt a screen of one of the other colors, and 3 if you also make the lighter brown a screen of the brown couch color.
B would be second. I don't really care for C or D compared to the other two options.
Lookin' forward to it!
Posted by: Izzy at September 21, 2005 04:47 PM
I like them in the order presented: A, B, C, D
I also second Kurt's suggestion of going with a different colored shirt. I've never been a fan of black shirts and would prefer the cow on a white background.
Posted by: Twist at September 21, 2005 05:23 PM
A then C but I don't care for the font. Besides changing the font I would change the text to white for A as well.
Posted by: Sam MacCutchan at September 21, 2005 06:36 PM
My vote is for A, the others seem to drab without any colour.
Posted by: Evan Schoenberg at September 21, 2005 11:11 PM
I say A, B, D, C, just because D is lookin' all sad with no votes, but really I'm sayin' "A, B." Love the addition of The Cow Abides to all models :)
Posted by: at September 21, 2005 11:39 PM
I prefer the full colour A, even though, as curt points out, to do it right will take more work.
For a fallback, I'd actually prefer a B/D hybrid... spot colour the wr and the cow's head, but don't go high contrast white on black for the rest... a subtle grey on black, or even better, black on heather.
Posted by: cabbey at September 21, 2005 11:40 PM
bah, and if you're keeping track of names for later, the previous comment was me.
Posted by: Antidragon at September 22, 2005 05:01 AM
I think...D..no..C..Ah no..
Based on the colours used and density of the design, I'd have to vote for B.
OK - I'm done. You can lock me back up now...
Posted by: MACC at September 22, 2005 06:39 AM
How about having a drink in one hand and in the other have the cow squeezing cherries. OS that is.
hahaha
Posted by: Ben at September 22, 2005 11:07 AM
A, easy. Some color in my life, and t-shirt, please. ;)
Why is this blog system stopping me from posting because "questionable content: blogspot .com" ??
B, A, C, D. In that order. I'll pick one up (they're unusual) but I wish you would explain the mascot. I know if I wear it I will be asked and would like to be able to answer!