On this day, I accidentally deleted SO MUCH TEXT on this blog because I am I dumbass and inadvertently closed the page without saving. TWICE. AAAAHHHHH! LOL! WHATEVER. Never go with your first draft. That’s just silly.
Well, here are my final PRIDE CLACK FAN designs.
WOOoooo! There is real joy in these and I’m happy for it.
I’m gonna say it. They are A D O R A B L E. I accomplished what I set out to do. I made something worthy of bringing joy into the world. The goal was to design a set of unique, vibrant and joyful clack fans in time for 2026 PRIDE celebrations. The added “CLACK!” sound when the fan opens only makes it more fun! Considering that in June, it can be blazing hot here on the East Coast, PRIDE events can be met with hella hot temperatures. Maybe some locals might want one or more for their tribe. If not, I’m not bothered. In fact, I AM FABULOUS.
This is how we do it
Me. I’m the “We” here. It’s just me. And these are sublimation prints, heat pressed onto thin polyester fan material. This explains why the artwork is reversed.
From the pitch, I limited my paper to 3 sheets. I purposefully chose not to design imagery that would cover the entire fan. Using an 8.5x11 printer, a full bleed image would require 5 sheets. That’s a lot of seams. Lots of places for art to muck up in production.
LACE?
I own an old fan I purchased in ChinaTown, San Fransisco. It’s edged in black lace. I figured, EUREKA! That’s what will make these fans spectacular!
After a test drive, I discovered that the lace is too heavy and the fan fabric is flimsy. IDEA SCRAPPED. I will add the lace to the graphics. Problem solved. And on a high note, I discovered a long forgotten Singer sewing machine I’d forgot we owned. This of course got my wheels spinning on all the crafty ideas I can sew to life. But that’s another post.
PRODUCTION CHALLENGE: The plan was to make the White background a feature of the design. I worked with my limitations. But tooooooo much White space, as seen in this scrapped concept, on inferior material ended with poor results. This would be cute AF on a black background, but that’s the 5-sheet rule broken.
Stuff happens. Colours bleed and lines blur. I was almost ready to pull the plug on the fans. I won’t put out merch with obvious flaws. So I found a solution. Heat Transfer Vinyl! I can sprinkle in holographic shiny little details over the entire fan. And in doing so, can strategically cover flaws with them. WIN-WIN!
Final results for all designs that made it to MarketPlace are satisfactory. If I like them, that’s saying something, because I am the critic of all critics. I am especially critical of my own work. Positive feedback from friends is one thing and greatly appreciated. I am the design snob that needs to be on board. SO far, so good. And since I began writing this entry, I’ve already taken orders for half a dozen! Weekend plans? Fans.