How do you design a shirt with someone who communicates by blinking?
That was the task ahead of me and Kelsey.
Bryan Richardson had a brain incident at the beginning of March 2020 which left him completely reliant on others for care. He became quadriplegic and nonverbal. Prior to that, he was an active and athletic young man of 18 who loved skiing, mountain biking, and drip - fashion. He enjoyed designing and reselling clothes.
When we got the opportunity to collaborate with him after his massage therapist Amy reached out, we HAD to do it! (Start here if you haven't read Part I)
But how? Especially when he was in Oregon and we were in Ohio over 2,000 miles away?
After some consideration, Kelsey and I decided to start with color. We figured Bryan could easily blink if he liked a color, versus starting with an infinite list of design concepts. In my excitement, I immediately went to the Coolors app on my phone and began putting together some palettes.
At this point in time, we communicated through Amy. I sent several color palettes over via email. I figured someone in his situation might want choices. I thought it would be liberating for him to see a number of options.
It is almost impossible to know what is right for someone else. I learned that the number of palette options I sent were overwhelming for Bryan.
Here I thought we were liberating him, but instead we gave him the experience of being at the grocery store trying to pick a new pasta sauce in front of a wall of jars.
TOO MANY CHOICES
Amy and Ryan, thanks for all of the colors. I will work with Bryan to get an idea of his thoughts. There are so many options it is a bit overwhelming for him especially since he can’t vocalize. It will probably take us at least a few days to get some answers from him. We need to ask the right question and he gets frustrated. It is very exciting and we want to get his wants just right. Thanks again Ryan and Amy. This is very exciting.
Best,
Sharon
So we went back to the drawing board. And we iterated. We were able to get a small glimpse of what it was like for Bryan's family and friends as we learned to refine our questions over time. During this process is when the beauty of Bryan's community really glowed.
With the help of his sidekick Payton, we eventually landed on a warm, red focused color palette.
But what about the design? Where do you start with a blank slate?
Well if you know Bryan, you get a sense of what he likes.
Bryan absolutely loves the outdoors, and like us, he loves repping his home. With those things in mind, Payton went to work with Bryan. After some edits and stylizing by our designer, colleague, and friend Andrew McNamara, soon enough we had a design.
With a color palette selected and a fresh design, it was time to go to work:
(design mock up pre drip)
(first test drip)
(screen printing transparencies)
When you see a shirt from Ohio Drip and wonder what the Pacific Northwest has to do with Ohio, know that it's for Bryan Richardson. Know that our missions align.
“We only have one chance to lead a life with purpose,” he wrote in a college admissions essay. “For me, this means enjoying my life, helping others, and experiencing new things.”
aka Make Life Colorful
Bryan showed us that although life can change in the blink of an eye, a lot can be done with the blink of an eye.
Now, for a special delivery.
Ryan
