Thunderfrogs: Hi James. Thanks for agreeing to the interview. Can you tell us a little about how you got started designing t-shirts?James Lillis: Very unconventionally. I started out in the professional speaking business and bought Adobe CS2 so that I could design some materials to promote my speaking (I couldn't afford a real designer!). CS2 includes Illustrator, which I enjoyed playing around with and after a while I came up with a few interesting ideas that I thought might look half decent on a tee shirt. So I went to a tee shirt shop to ask some advice, they told me to talk to a guy who had recently begun a tee shirt festival (!) where I live - Brisbane, Australia - and I got in touch. He said the best thing to do was to get my designs up on RedBubble. I did, just hoping for comments. Instead, I got sales. Before long my tee shirt sales outstripped my speaking engagements.
TF: Is there a demographic for your designs? Who are the shirts aimed at?
JL: Geeks and insiders. There are references in the shirts (usually). With a lot of them you have to know something about something. For example, with "Shoplifters of the World Unite!" you kind of have to see the three references that make up the design - a song by the Smiths, a Marxist slogan, and 20th century communist poster art. Most people don't, so they just think "Oh, are you a shoplifter? Do you think shoplifting is good?".
Or in the shirt "Are you the real batman?" you have to know a whole bunch of references from the Dark Knight, as well as more obscure facts, such as that George Clooney wore a batsuit with nipples.
TF: If you could have any celebrity wear one of your designs, who would it be, and which design?JL: A celebrity? Walter Kovacs (another insider reference) should wear my SNIKT shirt - because it's awesome and hasn't had the recognition it deserves (IMHO!).
TF: You have your designs up at the Print On Demand stores Red Bubble and MySoti. What advantages does this have for you, and do you plan on opening your own store in the future?JL: PODs are a godsend. So many advantages, mostly financial. No outlay. People can choose their preferred size and colour (very handy for the big boys). And I really enjoy internet marketing. So much better than real world marketing. My experiences with real world stores have been largely negative. Although, I will be starting a market stall at a local university some time in the future, so we'll see how that goes.
TF: Have you sold any designs to other apparel companies, or do you keep all your designs for yourself? Do you do any design work outside the tee world?
JL: No I haven't sold any designs yet, I probably will though. And yes, I have a women's line, consisting of printed tights and leggings. I own three sewing machines and sit at the kitchen table sewing for a few hours every day. Most people find that strange.
TF: You created the "Audacity of Joke" image - a subversive take on the iconic Shepard Fairey "Hope" poster image of Obama. The Fairey image has raised issues of intellectual rights, resulting in a law suit and counter suit. What's your take on the subject? Does Fairey's use of the AP photograph fall under "fair use"?JL: Yeah, of course.
TF: Presumably, as a designer you are balanced between wanting fair compensation for use of your own works, and the creative need to use source material from others. Where do you think the copyright line should be drawn?
JL: I'm the worst person to ask. I have a very different perspective to most designers - as long as people aren't actually selling my stuff, I have no problem with people using my designs without paying for them (yes, you heard correctly). For example, I often find people lifting my JOKE design, I thank them and get them to link to the store. Or, for something like Flickr - I'll just leave a comment with a link to the store URL. It's great, I don't see these guys as thieves, more as volunteer marketers!
We're at Web 2.0, wake up and smell the proverbial coffee, people stealing your stuff is one way to get popular.
TF: You've drawn some criticism for your image – many took it as an insult to the now-President. MTV named it the best of the Obama parodies, but your true inspiration was the Dark Knight. Would you elaborate on your explanation of the design from the Wired interview, please?JL: Truth be told, the real reason was to see if I could pull it off! It really has nothing at all to do with Obama. Of course, there are some interesting questions that arise from the juxtaposition. I find philosophical and religious questions far more interesting than political ones. And the character of the Joker in the Dark Knight raises some very interesting points about morality, God, existence, relativism, etc. Some people believe that the prototypical Nietzschean Superman would be Adolph Hitler, I'm more inclined to think he would be the Nolan Brothers' Joker.
TF: Your latest design riffs on the Watchmen. Are you looking forward to the movie, or put off by all the hype surrounding it?
JL: Hell yeah I'm looking forward to it. I'm a big fan of most of Alan Moore's work.
TF: You're also a professional speaker. Is there any crossover between the two disciplines?JL: My speaking has taken a back seat recently. Yes, I do see similarities - creating a talk and a creating a tee shirt design are both about communicating effectively.
TF: Are you wearing a cool tee now?
JL: I'm shirtless. I live in one of the hottest places on earth (and I have great pecs).
TF: Haha, cool. Which five websites could you not do without?
JL: RedBubble, Flickr, my blog, Rugby Dump, one more... ThunderFrogs!
TF: Thanks. Do you have any tips for aspiring designers?
JL: Be humble. Always.
TF: What's next for you, James?
JL: Good question... how the hell should I know?! I could make a prediction, but it would be wrong. I suppose that is why I find my life fun. This time next year I could end up as a ninja or a university lecturer, I wouldn't be surprised either way.
TF: Thanks James! Best of luck for the future - wherever it takes you!
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