IKEA, that furniture store we all love to love, has opened its doors to comedian Mark Malkoff.  The Parmaus, NJ store will host Mr. Malkoff for the next six days, and he will post videos to YouTube.  His schtick seems to be these kinds of corporate gags.  In previous stunts he went on a binge and went to every Starbucks in Manhattan in one day.  I like your style, sir.  

   I love this jacket because it is such a conversation piece. People will stare at the graphic and speculate as to whose image it is.  People’s obsession with celebrity and fame will keep them occupied for a while as they guess name after name (Brad Pitt from Fight Club, Jeff Goldbloom, Johnny Depp, John Lennon, Che, and my favorite — Barak Obama).  This jacket is almost like a fashion rorschach.

A few weeks ago I was feeling industrious and decided to have a little fun for my next art-fag opening.  I took a nice jacket and turned it into my Wall Stree Power Broker blazer.  There is a good possibility I will wear this to my next job interview.  Either that I will sell it on eBay.

 Chris Baker and I started this as a joke a while ago. There were graphs, strategy plans, and venn diagrams flying all over the place during a presentation.  The audience was mostly absent, but Chris and I had a jolly time.  Eventually the joke grew to be something more. It became a mission to make references and allusions only to things which a select few could appreciate.  Namely, only those where were readers of a quality periodical from the UK – The Economist.  These shirts are badges as much as they are a silly inside joke.

There are too many design fags out there complaining about Comic Sans. It offends to be sure. There is nothing of perfect ratios, and it is impossible to kern properly. There are those who cream their pants for Helvetica and other such nonsense — they use this “grid system” and talk about negative space. They talk about the voice which types lends to a message. I argue that comic sans, too, has a voice.Let us not forget Comic Sans’ intrinsic value in everyday culture. Those of us in our twenties grew up with that typeface. We used it for term papers and for instant messenger. Older generations loved it, too. Look at a lot of small businesses — especially restaurants. Menus and signs are comic sans. And where would the doggy daycare industry be without this font? What better typeface for a pet care business than Comic Sans?This is for all of those who appreciate this bastard redhead child of the design community. Essential Pop Culture offers a t-shirt for everyone to express his or her love for a typeface who fights snobbery and elitism in the design community. We give you the “I Love Comic Sans” t-shirt.