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the route to success

route clothing

fax machines are a less impressive means of electronic communication than was once the case. i recall in my early years on the isle having been offered the opportunity to undertake some isometric drawings for a mainland company of architects. keen to impress them with not only the quality and speed of my artistic endeavours (which weren't that great if i'm truly honest), but also my speed of return, i popped round to the local business centre (such as it was in those halcyon days of yore) and faxed a preview of my graphical skills.

route clothing

such rudimentary means of connection have, of course, been thoroughly superseded by e-mail, dropbox and similar services, perhaps the most advantageous feature being the ability to transmit both grayscale and colour as opposed to the fax machine's simple bitmapping. however, the latter means of transmission did and does still bring with it certain advantages, particularly with regard to logo design.

it is almost a pre-requisite these days, if earnestly considering commencing a new business, to have an appropriately stylish and effective company logo. though rather obviously, time ought to be spent on perfecting the service or items you're prepared to offer the great unwashed, but simultaneously, or even a tad previously, the logo should also be finely crafted. for it is likely that you will need to communicate with those offering finance, look at advertising, send missives to the press and of course, (how could we forget), setup a website. for all those, and a few other variations i haven't mentioned, it is almost compulsory to own a bright and shiny corporate logo.

route clothing

you will, perchance, be wondering what on earth this has to do with fax machines, but let me tell you that their simple black and white means of transmission can aid greatly with logo design. at some point in its life, and the tricky part is knowing just when that might happen, that beautifully crafted and coloured logo is going to find itself faxed to someone. and that is the completely the wrong time to discover that a bitmapped version is all but indecipherable or (true story) looks like a pint of beer.

thus, once the pinnacle of contemporary graphic design has been fashioned for the top right of your letterhead, it behoves well that you perhaps fax it to itself and carefully check the result.

director of glasgow's route clothing, david mcneil may not have personally undertaken any of the above procedures, but the end result is nigh on perfect. only recently brought to our attention in three initial physical manifestations, route's clever selection of t-shirt designs were preceded by a simple website landing page displaying only the route logo. clear, simple and decidedly effective, presaging the quality of the apparel on offer.

route clothing

those three individual designs are screened onto black, charcoal, eggplant or indigo tees depending on choice, but not just your average cotton substrate. two of the route tees consist of 30% organic cotton and 70% viscose derived from bamboo. thus 'tis possible to add the colour green to those representing route clothing. the crash and bicycle designs exist on 100% combed cotton.

it's early days yet, so there are currently only three separate designs each of which will cheerfully identify your pelotonic tendencies. the bamboo derived garments retail at £30 each, while the cotton version costs £26. all in a slim fitting small, medium and large.

i do have certain reservations, however, about printing a black image onto a charcoal coloured tee. subtle it may be, but i think white would have been a more appropriate choice. just saying.

despite a compulsory need to present a hardman/woman image to the civilian population, perhaps by stupidly standing outside the coffee shop in mid-winter wearing short sleeve t-shirts, these are impossibly soft to the touch externally and internally; probably something we should keep to ourselves i'd warrant. the bamboo versions are ideal as baselayers, not only for the softness of touch but a similar natural odour resistance as that of merino. the only caveat in this regard is the lack of a droptail; though the tee is long enough to protect your back when on the drops, the same length at the front tends to bunch-up slightly.

bursting onto a burgeoning uk cycle scene in the wake of the 2012 olympics, and, as a glasgow-based company, the upcoming commonwealth games in 2014 may be perceived as the ideal opportunity for route clothing. but in a cycle world awash with apparel in every corner it might also be seen as something of a brave venture. on the evidence of this initial offering, they're on the right route (sorry, that was unashamedly deliberate) and it'll be intriguing to see what else transpires as the year rolls by.

an excellent first three steps.

route clothing

sunday 10th february 2013

twmp

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