Though web and print design are our primary focus, we love a good creative project of any kind. As evidence, I submit our coffee table, our birthday coffin, our felt ruffles and our brief foray into catering.
In April, I ran my second Boston Marathon for the benefit of the Boston Debate League. A debate nerd myself, the organization speaks to me, and their work makes an incredible difference in Boston’s Public Schools.
This year, the BDL wanted to step up their game with regard to race day shirts. Each runner on Team Debate receives two team shirts – one long- and one short-sleeved, to accommodate April-in-New-England weather craziness – and previous shirts had featured just the BDL and Marathon Coalition logos.
They wanted something more clever, more humorous. Funny race shirts are best, especially in a marathon, during which you settle into a group of similar-paced runners, and need something to look at that whole time.
Jack and I stepped up to the challenge. We opted to question the sanity of marathoners (which I can say, because I am one), to play on the debate connection and to get a word in about the impact of the oft-maligned charity runner all at once.
We utilized the BDL speech bubble logo, and their block text logo format was transformed into Team Debate 2012 identification. We used basic, legible fonts to ensure that the shirts could be read on the move, and incorporated the grunge font Alabama for a bit of scholarly levity.
Screen-printed locally on technical shirts, the team apparel did spark conversation – and even some debate. One fellow racer, affronted that I would question his sanity and mine, engaged in a brief argument over why one would even consider running and fundraising if they weren’t in a completely rational and right mind. (Touche, sir.)
