harvard dropout

BRIEF

This concept was inspired by my experience of attending university this past year. While I do not attend Harvard, nor am I a dropout student. The main idea is to blend music and clothing to illustrate how I have seen people evolve through attending university. I have seen people turn their lifestyles upside down for better or worse. In either scenario, one could drop out. I chose Harvard specifically because to me that’s a symbol of prestige in education, so I wanted to take this concept to the highest extreme.

HOODIE

• Cropped fit
• 300 GSM 100% Brushed Cotton
• Puff screen print logo

Harvar”D” Dropout Hoodie. The letter D drops out of line to symbolize.

To somehow transform the idea into understandable art was the challenge. In designing, I was most inspired by what students were already wearing. Lots of sweats, hoodies, headphones/earbuds, fuzzy shoes. That said, creating a catchy design for the people around me was crucial.

The design approach for the Harvard Dropout hoodie was very focused on the cut and stitchwork. On the left, is a picture of a size diagram I created for the manufacturer. One thing I’ll highlight is the exaggerated arm length and equal arm and pit-to-pit lengths. I did this on purpose because I did want that cropped look, but also the baggy arm look. On the right is a reference sheet I sent for how I want the stitchwork to be. I know a bit more about different stitches now, but at the time not so much, so I looked at all the other hoodies I liked and explained where I wanted those elements on my hoodie.

It doesn’t feel right going further without talking about the dropping D. This came from being on Adobe Illustrator, I had been seeing some designs on my social pages where brands were getting creative with the texts. That said, I was messing with the isolate tool and had a great idea to make the “D” literally drop out. However, this color wasn’t the only I thought of, and it also was a zip up at one point.

At the time this is written the hoodie has not been released yet. They will release in September.

MUSIC

The world for Harvard Dropout started with the Hoodie Design, but my initial goal was to bring my interpretation of it to music as well. I released an EP titled “Harvard Dropout Pack” on June 28th, 2024 under Ram Chaganti. While the sound I went for was not something I was accustomed to, I knew it was important for the cohesion of the project. Below is the title track.

HARVARD DROPOUT.MP3

Especially after being at University, and joining a fraternity, the dancy, synthy, appeal is there. This beat was made in my basement with my friend Reif who is also my main producer, he’s produced all of my tracks. I tell him exactly what I am looking for, and we work together to produce it.

THE COVER ART

Comic books were a huge inspiration for the cover art. Specifically the vintage Spiderman ones. I sort of related my life to Peter Parker because of my age and the day-to-day human experiences he has. This is illustrated through the aggressive black pointed shadows, and comic book-style sharpness. The pack of songs did originally release with the cover on the right, but I had a change of heart.

IMPACT

Blending music and clothing is something the younger me would be extremely proud of. As a passionate artist, I really am constantly looking for new mediums to express into. It could be a novel, a short film, or anything in between, but my goal is always to make the vision as dynamic as art is.