Making of: The Hazard Tee

While the Hazard T-shirt surfaced as a new addition to The Good Day Federation in the Summer of '22, its origins began three years ago, when I was freshmeat in college trying to get through Chemistry. The graphic that you see today was actually adapted from a class handout which I had cutout and pinned above my desk in the dorms, among other clippings. 

At this point in time I was really infatuated with the company Teenage Engineering, and the blending of science into aesthetic purpose. It was safe to say that I had developed a crush on Courier New in the pursuit of the scientific style. Looking back, I can see that my infatuation largely stemmed from alluding to the attainment of knowledge without speaking it. I wanted to wear clothes that conjured a sense of mystery to others, reflecting the power of science and engineering that I was working to achieve in school. Yes, this could more or less look like wearing a lab coat in impractical settings. 

I was also taking inspiration from everywhere around me, and feeling great at my intersection of art and science: struck by the bright green glow on the ‘70s oscilloscope screen (a scientific device used to analyze waveforms),

taking notice of all the pockets on my chemistry coat, listening to house music in calculus, etc. etc. These were the kinds of things constantly in my everyday life. There was a constant internal exchange between art and science. 

The graphic that was handed to me in chemistry was one of the things that stuck around with me from this era. After COVID struck, the clipping was placed into a box and tucked away at home. I eventually opened the time capsule a few years later, and decided I wanted to pay homage to the scientific aesthetic. 

I scanned the image and brought it into photoshop, doing a lot of clean up and re-sketching. Once the final graphic was all set to go, I added the text below:

“The Good Day Federation

Invites you to think carefully

About your everyday future."

I sent the graphic with text to Evan, and we discussed the idea of the Everyday future. To me, this meant taking steps in your everyday life to promote a better future. Whether it’s riding your bike to get some exercise and reduce gas usage, cutting down on what you throw away by composting and recycling, or donating clothes rather than tossing away, all of these steps that we take in our everyday lives have an important impact on the future. 

With Evan's finishing touches on the text, here is the final product: 

Now you have a little behind the scenes on the Hazard tee. I hope you have enjoyed hearing about its origins and a little bit of my experiences intertwined. Make sure to check them out on the website Summer of ’22 readers! 

 Back to the Lab,

Merek