A tale of two cities

LDN & PRS – designer’s notes

Maps can make fascinating viewing. The aerial view laying out how we live, how we communicate, how we explore, how we connect. They create seemingly random patterns but look closer and there’s a method behind the madness. A system designed to live with or control or work around the surrounding landscape.

Building on this aesthetic, our maps for our LDN and PRS shirts are pieces of decoration. Freed from the need to inform and label in detail, we have used a restricted colour palette to simplify and amplify the shapes of the city. White paths are roads, leading the eye into the centre. The lighter shapes are parks, spread not randomly, but equally across the city to give everybody space to breathe. And then there’s the rivers. Played with but never fully tamed, their artfully natural shapes contrast with the more angular lines of human endeavour.

And cities are evocative places. A single word such as Paris or Bangkok conjures up a whole set of visions, each set unique for each city, and often prompts a desire for travel. “I must go there soon” to experience the chaos, the harmony, the culture and the people.

As Paris is the city of romance we chose a deep red rose/valentine colour for our map, placing it on a neutral background of a natural white t-shirt. For London, a more business-like city with a strong naval tradition, we chose a traditional navy blue map colour. As London is also known for its cool design we put the map onto a fresh mint-green shirt. And knowing that some of our customers can prefer something a little more more subdued, we also put it onto a calmer stone-blue t-shirt.

T-lab PRS & LDN mens t-shirts