New-Old School

I have always been fascinated with old things. I mean things that are either old or just plain look old. Many shops today create images that look like they popped right out of the 50s and were given a bath with rusty quarters and barbed wire. Abercrombie&Fitch uses this look on all their branded items, albeit with 70s imagery in most cases. Most notable for making things look like you just tripped on it behind a gas station on a naked stretch of Route 66 is Fossil. The packaging produced by this company, to deliver high-tech watches, are phenomenal. I love it!

Designers call this technique of aging prints/products/whatever: weathering. It is also known as antiquing, grunge, destroying, and what have you, but the most prevalent term is weathering. Probably due to the fact that it looks like you left the item out on your back deck for the last 5 years. Unprotected. Untouched. Unnoticed.

I really, really, really like this style and have tried to learn how to imitate it. There is software available that can help you out, for a fee. That being Mr.Retro’s Machine Wash for Photoshop. These are actually really nice filters, especially for under 50 bucks. Heck, for under $40. Most plug-in packages for Photoshop are just too expensive for the work/use you get out of them. But to truly get that dirty, "Holy Crap! Look what I found in Grandpa’s fourth drawer in the garage" look, there is no better resource than… your Grandpa’s fourth drawer in the garage. Should, however, your grandfather no longer be around to have a fourth drawer (much less a first), I suggest looking into Mr. Moll’s series, “That Wicked Worn Look”. It is a four-part series with the last segment featuring articles by some of the best in the grunge biz. Overall, the series is awesome. I look forward to using these techniques when appropriate. At last, the ability to modify my elementary report card’s P.E. grade.

Well damn... we’re all a bunch of Sushis.