Schlockingly Good
“When I first started on the Box o’ Schlock, I designed it primarily as a vehicle for sending out my T-shirt designs, as well as some hats and knit caps that I’d recently produced,” says designer Eric Stevens. “From there, it just kind of grew incrementally into what you see now.”
The box ended up holding T-shirts, hats, stickers, postcards, a poster and a small item (like a bottle cap or skull patch) carefully packaged as a “Completely and Utterly Random Miscellaneous Novelty Item.” Stevens sent the box to current clients and professional acquaintances in the hopes that they would keep at least some of the pieces and be reminded of him often.
“Though Stevens has a playful style, the box does a great job of showing his attention to detail and devotion to craft,” says judge Megan Patrick. Stevens screen printed everything from the outside of the box to the T-shirts and postcards inside.
“During the entire design process, I constantly wavered between thinking that it was something great, or that it truly was a box of worthless junk,” Stevens says. “Still haven’t made up my mind. Anyhow, I find that a few too many design shops take themselves a bit too seriously, so I try to not do that—that is, until I really hit it big and buy the most expensive black beret I can find and then a BMW to match.”
Get the October 2006 Self-Promotion Design Annual
Title Tower of Babel Box o’ Schlock
Design Firm/Client Tower of Babel, Portland, OR; www.babeldesign.com
Designer Eric Stevens
