Strong As Hell
A collection of apparel and merch that we produced for the marketing department during the month of October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Myself and my creative director worked closely with the marketing team to develop a collection that was intended to empower women, while also holding a delicate energy. Cancer survivors are strong as hell, but there is a vulnerability that exists in their lives due to having their bodies exposed to a number of medical procedures. We wanted the type, color, and white space to reflect that vulnerability, that softness, with strong copy.
services
Hand Lettering, Illustration, Apparel Design, Merch Design, Motion Graphics
Along with designing apparel, I worked on creating a set of stationary items we believed would be practical in every day uses of life: erasers, pencils, buttons, pencil pouch, and a notebook! Scattered throughout the designs are brush-stroke, empowering quotes with correlating illustrations of nude women, some with mastectomy scars.
We chose to utilize embroidery wherever we could to enhance the delicate durability of the collection. Embroidery takes time, it is detailed, and it has roots in women’s history.
It took a couple of tries to get the nude women illustrations to feel as we wanted it: feminine, powerful, classy, and gentle. We wanted to keep them as minimal as possible without losing the recognizable shapes.
I believe there is beauty in the nude shape, and having to draw them in the context of Breast Cancer Awareness was planned to feel beautiful, non-exploitative, and tame.
Each item in the collection was carefully selected: a timeless white- with considerate embroidered details, a boob button, and matching natural canvas bags. Items that would be easily wearable and accessible to inspire other brands to work with us to create branded merch.