I received this little package from Symbolika a while back but am just getting around to it now. It’s been a while since my last post and I had been doing so well too. I admit to setting up a few robo-posts though. I had time one day and stuck a lot of posts on a timer. Anyways, back to the tee shirt that I received all the way from Israel.
First impressions are important and Symbolika know this. Not only is their website stylish it is a perfect match for the demographic they are targetting. It’s a pity they didn’t do the same with the packaging. That said, even in its lack of style, the packaging is impressive enough. Inside the white envelope there was a smooth silver envelope and a sticker. Who doesn’t love a freebie?
OK, so environmentalists won’t be too happy with the next layer of packaging but they would have to admit that it looks good.
The t-shirt itself is quite nice, not too heavy, not to light…just right but it just seemed a bit loose for my taste. I couldn’t find the size on it so I guess it is either a medium or a large. I have a feeling it is a medium though as it is short. In either case I think the neck hole is too big but that may be the preferred style in Israel. I also feel that the fit is a little odd…maybe I am just used to slimmer fitting tees.
The design is beautiful: a computer generated 3D model of an elephant’s head on the front. The print is perfect and much better than I had expected from looking on the website. The back print is also quite and amazing piece. It employs some visual trickery which I find very clever. At first I didn’t notice how many creatures were there. The back print seems to be a bonus because the front design totally carried the shirt.
As I have mentioned countless times before, I don’t think that shirts need to print their logo on the outside of the t-shirt as we paid for the tee, why should we advertise their company for free. But this logo actually adds to the shirt. The location is subtle and the logo itself is a work of art.
I think the design of the symbolika.com web site perfectly matches the products that they are selling. It’s a bit confusing but it looks good and with a bit of patience you will find what you are looking for. It seems all the designs were created by this dude called Fabian and if he wrote all the text he comes off as as quite pretentious but of course it could be just google bait. “Symbolika is a peephole into Fabian’s psychedelic and spiritual creation.” I wonder what his spiritual creation is. I guess I need to be more enlightened to see it.
The designs are all pretty good, the kind that you’d expect to see hippies in the sixties wearing. Well, if computer generated images were all the rage back then instead of batik or tie-dye or whatever at-the-time innovative technique was actually used.
While I think many people with no interest in the eastern philosophies and cultures referenced at symbolika would love to wear some of these shirts just for the aesthetics, for me the fact that these designs have a deeper meaning and one that may not be in line with my own beliefs or lack thereof is a negative point. For the same reason I don’t wear a crucifix or a star of David around my neck I wouldn’t wear the symbols of a belief system that I know nothing about on my chest. At least not intentionally. That said, I do find some of the artwork very attractive. The beautiful line work reminds me of 3D models that you might have seen in eighties science fiction movies.
Please comment with your real name using good manners.