“Where’d you get that shirt?”
That’s what the GV Art + Design team wants you to hear when you sport one of their designs. “We really try to think outside of the box, and we have worked with some really big companies who ask us to do their shirts because we have a pulse for what people will buy,” says Greg Vlosich, founder with brother George Vlosich.
Their brand officially launched in 2009 with the Cleve LAND that I LOVE campaign. Meanwhile, an advertising background and roll call of illustration awards differentiate GV Art + Design and its process in the now-saturated T-shirt market.
“To us, each shirt is a canvas for our artwork,” Vlosich says.
Here’s a peek at the creative process behind three stand-out shirts in the GV Art + Design portfolio:
Cleve LAND that I LOVE
This is where the brand started. The concept was simply about loving the city and sharing that love on a shirt.
“At the time, there really wasn’t a lot of pride in Cleveland, but we knew how much we love Cleveland and we knew others felt that way, too,” Vlosich shares. “So, my dad came up with Cleve LAND That I LOVE, and it became our tagline. To this day, it’s on the back of our shirts.”
Who’s Your Dog?
Vlosich was at an Indians game with friends. The hot dog mascot was making rounds and stopped to hand him a note. “Hot dog wants his very own designed shirt.”
A spectator sitting behind them recorded the exchange — which went viral.
“I posted the video that night and the comments were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we need a hot dog shirt!’ We thought, this is so cool … let’s see how it goes.”
A couple months went by, and the GV Art + Design team teased the hot dog shirt, then the design launched. “It was ridiculous!” Vlosich says, adding that the story behind the shirt continues to entertain fans.
The design shows three cartoonish hot dogs duking it out a Dog Race. The back reads, “Who’s Your Dog?”
Official Sunshine Mike
Clevinger T-Shirt
The popular Sunshine shirt project with Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger is a stand-out because of the bright-yellow tee and Woodstock vibe. “He is known for having an out-there personality, and we went back and forth with him during the design process to get his thoughts,” Vlosich says.
Clevinger was down with a totally different shirt concept.
The sunshine theme and accentuated CLE in the Clevinger name made the design a winner. Vlosich says he loves that you can spot the high-voltage yellow in the stands during games. “The day we launched the shirt, I went to the game and he was pitching, and you could literally see yellow in every section.”
17128 Detroit Road, Lakewood, 216-273-7188, gvartwork.com
