THE SKETCHPAD T-SHIRT
Because perfection is overrated! When we sketch, the intent is never to get things right, and it’s through this creative freedom that our brightest ideas are unlocked.
THE WHITE CANVAS
The canvas is intentionally white to reference the blank canvas of life. Each one of us is the artist welcomed to create our own story.
COLOR OVER TIME
The white t-shirt, similar to a new pair of white sneakers, is symbolically fresh, clean, and new, just like new life. As clothing is worn over time, the material attracts dirt and defects until it eventually is too aged to be worn any longer. This is once again symbolic of our limited time with our canvas. The question is what you chose to do before it becomes too dull to draw anymore!
THE PERFECTIONIST FONT (PART 1)
The font used on this shirt, and the font assigned to the entirety of the Sapita Music project is titled Perfectionist 1, 2, 3, & 4.
This was an intentional font choice because it’s a font you see every day.
Perfectionist is a derivative of the Highway Gothic Wide font group, which is the official font family for all roadways and traffic signage in the United States (pictured below).
Perfectionist was purposefully created to remind us to focus on our life as a journey, and not a destination. It’s always a work in progress, it never truly stops, and is always moving somewhere.
THE PERFECTIONIST FONT (PART 2)
Ironically, ever letter in the perfectionist font book has something wrong with it.
The difference between Highway Gothic and Perfectionist is that one is perfectly rounded while the other is loaded with defects and blemishes.
From a distance, it might be hard to tell that each letter has imperfect characteristics. Our brain subconsciously completes the lettering in an effort to perceive things they way we would prefer to see them. But that’s the problem; too much of what we do is often subconscious and programmed. Going through the motions. Seeing the world in our image and not its reality.
This is surface level, and our culture loves the attractive surface. We flock to it. In fact, we love it so much that we’ve encouraged each other to curate perfection online with social feeds and highlight reels.
Taking a closer look at the font, you realize that the text’s edges aren’t very smooth. None of the lines are straight and each possesses some degree of randomness and chaos. This is the true version of ourselves that isn’t typically visible to our surroundings. Perfectionist is a reminder that all of this is okay. We don’t have to be perfect, we’re not going to be. What’s important is for us to always be striving to do better and likewise making a more conscious effort to understand what’s around us.
When you see the randomness of the text, think of it as a call for us to take a closer look at our surroundings. To look beneath the surface. To love one another regardless of the way we are. To listen more closely, to see more closely, and to challenge a greater understanding of ourselves and others.
THE PERMANENT MARKER
The font is written in black to symbolize a permanent marker, or that of which cannot be changed. This represents the many obstacles we may feel we have given through our situation or upbringing in life. It doesn’t matter who you are, everybody has them. This is a reality we cannot dwell on, but rather we should learn to accept and embrace.
The call to action is how we play our cards based on the situation at hand. It’s in line with the Serenity prayer, which states…
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
PERSPECTIVE
There is an intentional color and size contrast between the blank canvas and the permanent marker. The blank canvas dominates the permanence, reminding us that what we are capable of changing far outweighs the fabric of what we cannot control.
SKETCHPAD SUMMARY
It’s all about…
Sharing all your ideas while you have the opportunity to do so, embracing the imperfections of ourselves and others, coming to terms with what we cannot change to adapt and elevate our situation for the best possible result.
CONCLUSION – SAPITA MUSIC
Welcome to the member yearbook! I humbly invite you to wear this shirt as an acceptance of our imperfections and encouragement to keep testing ourselves and our ideas. Every shirt helps fund my artist project so that I can continue to write music and build ideas like Sketchpad.
You can upload a photo of yourself wearing Sketchpad here to join the gallery for your respective year. I’m excited to see how large we can grow the group! Thank you again for your continued support as I find my voice in art and music.
Whatever it is, keep sketching.
Zach