Nov 27, 20212 min read

I Don't Know What I Want - The War on Christmas

I Don't Know What I Want - The War on Christmas

Drawing of skeleton, 18th century, A. Monro I (Wellcome Collection)

What's this? #14 in the Great Big War on Christmas Design Drive of 2021? Yes, it is. I Don't Know What I Want is my take on a great graphic designed and donated to the Public Domain by CHRISTOPHER DOMBRES (his caps, and please see below for the original).

This design hits a few of my buttons. The human skeleton is timeless, of course, and inherently powerful. The shopping cart represents another preoccupation of mine, an interest probably best expressed in the Facebook group I created, a shopping cart saved my life. Naturally, I resonate with the anti-consumerist message, and the hat and beard give it a Christmas spin that is more applicable today than any previous year what with supply chain problems, Covid, and the storm-destroyed highways in BC. Finding that funky and cutesy 1950s/60s font gave me permission to funkify the grey oblongs.

After Christmas, I will be posting a version without the hat and beard for a more evergreen design.

The original piece that directly inspired I Don't Know What I Want, by CHRISTOPHER DOMBRES.

If you feel the need to express an anti-consumerism message this holiday, why not head over to my Redbubble store and the I Don't Know What I Want page there, and pick something out. The gallery below provides just a few of the options available. You will notice that the backgrounds of some items are different colours, taking advantage of the semi-transparency of the funky oblongs. Speaking personally, I have my eye on the tote bag. Nothing gives a message to the powers that be who run The Mall more effectively than a snide graphic printed on your own shopping bag.