Behind the Design: Black Hole

THE CONCEPT

The concept of this black hole design cam about while watching an episode of Nova called Black Hole Apocalypse. Captivated by the thought that they are a void or a paradox or even a ripple in time, the thought, "what if you fell in?" came to mind. From there, visual inspiration was born and a design emanated.

First in the design came the blue gradient. As direct to garment printing works, it nearly impossible to do a true gradient to transparent. While most images of black holes appear as gradients to black, the challenge was to find a way to make a compelling gradient that would blend nicely into a black shirt. To do this, we used Illustrator grunge brushes with gradient color overlays in multiple layers to create the best effect.

Second we needed to create an astronaut. In research, we decided to bridge the gap between too realistic and comical. We wanted to really accent the black shadows to give depth and a feeling of falling, while still keeping the aesthetic of the astronaut. The subtle color and shading accents give a realness to an otherwise stylized design.