Every year, millions of fans around the world fall in love with the The Beatles.
Whether it’s the iconic, era defining songs; or the game changing impact that they had on global culture; there’s a million and one different reasons to love them.
From their earliest days, Beatles memorabilia and licensed products enjoyed enormous popularity. And while there is no end of iconic Beatles imagery, this was a bold attempt to add some new designs to the canon.
The concept was to create a bespoke collection of t-shirt designs that were inspired by the titles of Beatle songs, bringing together typography and illustration in surreal and whimsical ways, so as to pose visual riddles. The dry and ironic tone of the artwork, dovetailing perfectly with The Beatles’ own quirky sense of humour.
This concept was very much aimed at the devout Beatles fan who knows their expansive catalogue, history and trivia, inside out.
And because all good product concepts benefit from snappy product names, I named the collection after one of The Beatle’s most obscure songs, “You Know My Name”, which works as if made-to-measure.
Given that this was put together completely speculatively, I was pretty chuffed that it got all the way to Apple Records, via brand agency Merchantwise, who hold the Australian license. While there was a great deal of enthusiasm for the concept, it was ultimately considered one shade too quirky to be commercially viable. That said, I’m pretty sure The Beatles themselves would have seen it my way.
Client
Agency
Adrian Elton Creative*
Items
T-Shirts
Role
Concept
Graphic Design
Finished Art
Credits
Every year, millions of fans around the world fall in love with the The Beatles.
Whether it’s the iconic, era defining songs; or the game changing impact that they had on global culture; there’s a million and one different reasons to love them.
From their earliest days, Beatles memorabilia and licensed products enjoyed enormous popularity. And while there is no end of iconic Beatles imagery, this was a bold attempt to add some new designs to the canon.
The concept was to create a bespoke collection of t-shirt designs that were inspired by the titles of Beatle songs, bringing together typography and illustration in surreal and whimsical ways, so as to pose visual riddles. The dry and ironic tone of the artwork, dovetailing perfectly with The Beatles’ own quirky sense of humour.
This concept was very much aimed at the devout Beatles fan who knows their expansive catalogue, history and trivia, inside out.
And because all good product concepts benefit from snappy product names, I named the collection after one of The Beatle’s most obscure songs, “You Know My Name”, which works as if made-to-measure.
Given that this was put together completely speculatively, I was pretty chuffed that it got all the way to Apple Records, via brand agency Merchantwise, who hold the Australian license. While there was a great deal of enthusiasm for the concept, it was ultimately considered one shade too quirky to be commercially viable. That said, I’m pretty sure The Beatles themselves would have seen it my way.
