So Ribz is a t-shirt company I started 5 years ago when I was high school. When I first started, it was literally just making shirts that I thought were cool and hoped that other people thought they were cool too. Throughout my 3 years in graphic design, my quality has been getting more and more better; better photos, better website, better videos, pretty much everything. But now that I’m seeing Ribz as a career, I’m noticing that my company is missing a huge part of what makes a brand. The identity. Without a message, audience, or attitude, my company would fail to make a dent in the clothing industry. Which brings me to my question:

How can Ribz develop as a full brand that goes beyond clothing to creatively influence a progressive movement?

How can Ribz develop as a full brand that goes beyond clothing to creatively influence a progressive movement? Like I had stated before, my company was missing an identity; but with branding alongside a creative change in both on and offline shopping experiences, I think I can make a huge impact for my company’s success.

I gathered a couple of brands together to find their audience and message. Brands like Carhartt, Levi’s, and HUF represent the craft and quality of their practice. While some companies focus on a very specific topic like Been Trill and the uprising internet culture or Black Scale looking at the balance of things throughout history. The companies that stood out for me though were (click) OBEY, Rebel 8, and 10 Deep. These companies are basically about rebelling and looking towards yourself if you wanted to get anything done. I want Ribz to represent rebellion and self-accomplishment just as these brands have, but with the addition of how important education is. Whether it be a degree or street smarts, I feel knowledge and rebellion create a giant movement.

Most people take orders from at least one person in life.

Some take many orders from many people. Ribz stands

for the ones who rebel against orders to seize what they

know they can accomplish, what generates their desire.

!

Rebellion isn't something handled without a plan or

reason; doing so gets you nowhere. Arm yourself

with structure and knowledge, and streamlined orders

crumble in the face of something true to the individual:

!

An Educated Rebellion.

So here’s my mission statement, sorry if you’ve heard it every time I present: Most people take orders from at least one person in life. Some take many orders from many people. Ribz stands for the ones who rebel against orders to seize what they know they can accomplish, what generates their desire. Rebellion isn’t something handled without a plan or reason; doing so gets you nowhere. Arm yourself with structure and knowledge, and streamlined orders crumble in the face of something true to the individual: An Educated Rebellion. Ever since writing this statement I’ve realized how important the educated rebellion has been in my life. Everything I chose to do is not based on what I’m told. What I do is based on if I think I can do it better my way. Of course, I’m not always right. But from what I’ve learned in school is that the more I sit down and plan something out before I do it, the better the outcome of what it is I’m doing. I wanted Ribz to represent something that I’m 100% into, and right now, seeing people becoming successful just by doing what they want and love has gotten my full attention. What I’m trying to show is not about how I want to be successful, but to show people that it’s possible to accomplish whatever you want.

My audience is pretty much like any other street wear brand. It consists of skaters, graffiti writers, fans of alternative rap, fashion heads, people who go to house shows, active workers, musicians, artists, hustlers, rebels, and people who aren’t phased by the word ‘illegal’. It’s pretty much everything I’m into and what inspires the lifestyle I’m trying to project.

My new branding is all about the gritty hard work that goes into any success, inspired by graffiti and textures of the streets. I used bold type for the loud rebel who wants to get their message out, accompanied by thick serifs to show knowledge and establishment. I was also inspired by a lot of military forces as well. Even though all they do is take orders, they still work together as a unit to get shit done right no matter the circumstance.

BLOOD SWEAT TEARS

No strong project is done without some blood, sweat, and tears. I’m sure any project that you’re proud of involved at least one of these things. So what better way to represent a company focused on hard work with these 3 colors.

Here’s my new hangtags for each shirt including our motto and website on one side, and our logo along with one (click) of the 4 different patterns.

Each new shirt also includes a sewn-in tag that states that the product is illegal. I think that this was a good way to appeal to my chosen audience seeing as how they don’t really care if something is illegal, it gives the chance for each of customer to feel like a badass every day. And according to trade laws on garment tags, these shirts are actually kinda illegal.

A couple of my newer shirts also refer to the educated rebellion. The shirt to your left has the entire mission statement on the back and the shirt to your right has what I call a ‘rebel engaged in pure thought.’

My online experience has changed dramatically as well. (click) - My homepage now acts as a Ribz hub. It includes featured news, my radio station, our latest video, and even my Ribz tumblr. Basically my home page

will never have the same contents as the week before. - With my stock I wanted to showcase my products in a way that I have never seen before. I feel like viewers will be more engaged with something they’re

not used to and I feel every product will get a click just due to interest.

I’ve also been seeing a lot of success in the recent trend of pop-up shops. The pop-up shop gives people the opportunity to sell their product and create an atmosphere for which their audience can feel right in. All in a short session of time and with little cost compared to running a real storefront.

I started planning over a long period of time how I wanted to handle my very own mobile pop-up shop. Being inspired by ice cream vendors, I wanted to create a shop that I could roll up on a corner, setup, play music to chill to, and sell shirts. Almost like a deployed unit that provides my army with a place to kick it. After drawing up the blueprints 4 separate times, I went in and built the wooden box that my shop was going to be occupying. I felt pretty comfortable handling what has been my most detailed woodworking project, but it did take quite some time.

With the huge amount of help from my roommate Max, I was able to fit the wooden box inside a steel frame to hold everything together. The Sculpture department is also full of a lot of dangerous things.

Here’s the Ribz Mobile Unit in all of it’s glory. It’s safe to say that I love this thing and can’t wait to use it.

The shop can carry my amp for music, my laptop, any mixing equipment I have, and more. At the top includes a well lit display case for my featured products that I can lift up and grab. Each product is also displayed along with their prices on the poster holder on the side, just like a ice cream truck would.

The paint-job, black steel, and these heavy duty tires also makes it feel like a unit deployed by Ribz in order make something quiet and boring, loud and rad. Overall I’m glad I pulled myself out of my comfort zone and did this, I think it turned out well; but I can say that it involved a bit more money than I had planned, and that that thing is really freaking heavy. I plan on having the shop indoors during our show providing a planned playlist for a full understanding of what this thing does. Don’t worry, I’m not DJing our opening reception.

Thanks guys.