districtNative

It's 2019. What an American looks like is as wide as the spectrum of the rainbow. Once relegated to pale, white men, "American" can look like EVERY possible human appearance on the planet. Grow. Learn. Change. This ain't your older, racist relatives' U. S. of A.

Keep crankin' that GO-GO! When gentrification came to a DC neighborhood, the new residents felt the need to try and tamp down a local store's LEGENDARILY TRADITIONAL habit of playing local music into the streets. How dare they! CLEARLY, they don't know DC NATIVES, and they SHO NUFF didn't know what they were up against!

DC Natives KNOW, when you're excited you're SICED! Sometimes its a good thing, sometimes you get joked about it. WHATever the case, being SICED is definitely what this tee is all about! Some spell it "psyced" because of the "psychological" twist to thinking. That may be another design. (*smiles!)

YOU know what it is! Some remember the 'U' but use the 'A' for legal reasons. Others use the 'A' but still pronounce it with the 'U". And some even dropped the 'U' and the 'A' and use an 'O'! It's all good, cuz if you're from The District you know our hometown sauce and how to get down with it. Here's DistrictNative's Sauce. It goes by other names, but to stay safe, we'll call it Citizen Sauce for now.

Alternate take on DC Native logo. Rugged but legible.

D.C. is THOROUGH! All day. ERRYDAY!

Ay Youngin'! DC Natives know when you're clowning around or straight actin' a fool...YOU'RE LUNCHIN'! Act like you've got some sense. Sho You Right!

Wha'choo know about that Go-Go swing?! My playful treatment of a DC Go-Go CLASSIC! Hit that Go-Go beat and start the call & response. You know you know the lyrics. Sho You Right!

"OH , YOU JONIN'!? Growing up in DC there's NO WAY you didn't hear these words! Some people (TRADITIONALLY) call it THE DOZENS; Up North they call it RANKIN'. But when you're talking trash about someone ( good or bad, Friend or Foe), once you start poppin' off at the mouth!? IT'S ON!! Sometimes in good fun. Sometimes not so much. If you're the recipient of harsh words or criticism, and you didn't participate? It's all good, because chances are, it'll happen again. Better learn them words, Youngin'!

DC Natives the world OVER know the nickname The City was blessed with by an OH-SO Intergalactic Explorer Back in The Day! As the lingo drives home, it's not an occasional thing of possessing the state of mind of being a Washingtonian. It's an ALL DAY THANG! 24 /7 like SEVEN ELEVEN! Represent!

DC Natives KNOW! Go Hard or Go Home? Nah, Rough, Rugged, and Raw is how we get down.

"BUMPIN'!" If something was a bit beyond COOL, and easily considered'FRESH", in D.C. it was, "BUMPIN'" Like all phrases and words that shape our youth, "bumpin'" was SO DC no place in the country could rock with that word. Yeah, "COOL" is ubiquitous and has transcended DECADES as its use has gone worldwide. But "BUMPIN'" is distinctly D.C. and if you know, then you know. Sho You Right!

Sho You Riiiiiight! 3-word linguistic gold that ALL DC Natives can recognize and relate to. When you know what things are going good and they can't get no better, a fist-pump is good, but dropping "Sho You Right" drops the correct beat, and keeps the goodness of LIFE going.

Keep crankin' that GO-GO! When gentrification came to a DC neighborhood, the new residents felt the need to try and tamp down a local store's LEGENDARILY TRADITIONAL habit of playing local music into the streets. How dare they! CLEARLY, they don't know DC NATIVES, and they SHO NUFF didn't know what they were up against!

Scenes familiar to all who've ventured on to the METRO. DC's legendary public transportation system that set the trend Back in The Day, but has seen much better times over the last several years. Regardless, the sound of the wind flowing through the tunnels, the muted lighting, the dense movement of sound during both non-Rush & Rush Hour. It all resonates in my mind like it was yesterday. Still home.

Today's social climate shifts almost daily. Depending on where you live, what you do, who you associate with, and those you simply casually pass by, social acceptance on ANY level seems unsure. People of color in particular have been aware of the ever-changing environment in which they exist. Always. Whether accepted or shunned, self-esteem and independence are paramount to daily living. Children in particular need reinforcement on so many levels. Maybe this message can reinforce that idea.

Today's social climate shifts almost daily. Depending on where you live, what you do, who you associate with, and those you simply casually pass by, social acceptance on ANY level seems unsure. People of color in particular have been aware of the ever-changing environment in which they exist. Always. Whether accepted or shunned, self-esteem and independence are paramount to daily living. Children in particular need reinforcement on so many levels. Maybe this message can reinforce that idea.

Today's social climate shifts almost daily. Depending on where you live, what you do, who you associate with, and those you simply casually pass by, social acceptance on ANY level seems unsure. People of color in particular have been aware of the ever-changing environment in which they exist. Always. Whether accepted or shunned, self-esteem and independence are paramount to daily living. Children in particular need reinforcement on so many levels. Maybe this message can reinforce that idea.

Today's social climate shifts almost daily. Depending on where you live, what you do, who you associate with, and those you simply casually pass by, social acceptance on ANY level seems unsure. People of color in particular have been aware of the ever-changing environment in which they exist. Always. Whether accepted or shunned, self-esteem and independence are paramount to daily living. Children in particular need reinforcement on so many levels. Maybe this message can reinforce that idea.

The Future is all ANY of us has. We speak about plans we'd like to make. We make promises. To our friends. To our family. To ourselves.

The ONLY Pumpkin Spice you need in your life!

Heart Tone is a bright, bold, juicy burst of colorized icon happiness. An extra life for you VideoGameHeads. A Pop culture bit of colorful play. More than just LOVE, Heart Tone expresses SO much more; more so it expresses whatever you want it to!

Burning heart. Heart on Fire! Pop-passionate heart just showing you a little LOVE!

Printing your heart's true desire. Burning that halftone design of love and passion, bright and beautiful! Because that's what everyone wants in their life, right? A burning love so deep...?

PopHeart of LOVE lit like a candle. Slow burn. Smoldering. We all know what that’s like and yearn for its return in our lives. Everyone needs a little bit of Burning LOVE sometimes. Let’s you know YOU’RE ALIVE! Am I right? Or am I RIGHT?

No need to panic! This a GOOD Bomb Scare! I think we could ALL use a little Love Bomb scare every now and again. Don’t you? Spark a flame. Spark a LOVE? BOOM! Get SOME!

Rather simple. We've all been there. In it. About it. Without it. LOVE. Often complicated when it doesn't have to be. Always necessary though. Get you some!

Feeling a little nostalgic. Black & White Pop Happiness.

A design instructor I had in my formative years had a term- "The Delicious Apple". It referred to that aspect, as creative individuals, how we all have that one creative or artistic area we find particularly comfortable. We know it. It’s tools and ways are familiar to us, and we create within those walls that we know are SO easy to design and flow as we do. Maybe it keeps your grades in your creative classes at a steady "A- / B+). Maybe it pays your bills. What ever it does, it doesn’t challenge you. You have to push forward into the unknown. Create a new Delicious Apple. And then again. Bettering yourself. This is my version of my Delicious Apple. It’s green and it’s a Granny Smiff (Smith) Take a bite?

This design is more for the people out there taking on the New Adventure of PARENTHOOD! if you've never had a kid, watched a kid, taught a kid, or just had one sitting on your lap while their parents are off getting a snack or some-such, you know (or will know) the adventure of Having a Baby! Welcome! Also applies to people in new relationships, Newlyweds, New Divorcees, and ALL who know there's MORE TO COME! Enjoy!

A typographic journey has begun and what originated as a scribble slowly becomes a more solidly graphic word

One pair of words that just continues to resonate with me. A child of the 70s and a fan of TRUE hip-hop, the loss of one of the members of A Tribe Called Quest inspired this bit of hand-written word play.

Some say a state of mind. Others a realm of existence. Beyond Culture and Ethnicity, I suppose it's HAS to be a thing. Right? How to define it? Not too sure about that, but I'm pretty sure its a definition that's both grounded in truth, yet fluid in it's expression.

A different take on an AWESOME lyric. You know it. Come, sing along! "Let's look for the Purple Banana til they put us in the truck..."

Three words. Now one word. Makes things easier for those who have problems sharing their emotions. Now all it takes is a quick look, and you're good! iloveyouman!

Old school? Yeah. but every teacher deserves a juicy Red Apple in appreciation for what they do. Don't you think? We learn to take flight with our imaginations, and teachers inspire that extra bit of goodness pushing us just a little bit further by shaping our world through classroom lessons, homework, and all that other good stuff we take them for granted for. So take flight, and get some fresh fruit for that teacher in your life!