Many years have passed since I read Neuromancer by William Gibson. I always liked the Chatsubo bar. For those who haven’t read the novel, here is the introduction in the first chapter:
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. “It’s not like I’m using,” Case heard someone say, as he shouldered his way through the crowd around the door of the Chat. “It’s like my body’s developed this massive drug deficiency.” It was a Sprawl voice and a Sprawl joke. The Chatsubo was a bar for professional expatriates; you could drink there for a week and never hear two words in Japanese.
I really wanted to wear something about this. I wanted a strong design based on contrasts, something to be seen from far and good looking even if you don’t read the text or don’t know what it’s all about. The idea is like having been in the future having a few drinks at the Chatsubo and coming back with a t-shirt. Well, I know the Chatsubo wouldn’t be exactly like the Hard Rock Cafe but… what the hell…
Bold strong typography and the beauty of squared Kanji. Yes, those are the Kanji symbols for chatsubo, “cha” means “tea” and “tsubo” means “pot”. I drew the kanji with bezier curves to fit the rectangle. The most difficult part was to make the curves suitable for cutting the design with the plotter as space between lines was too narrow.
The design is printed by Spreadhirt in Flex, that is an extremely durable vinyl heat pressed onto the garment so it doesn’t fade over time. It will last more than your t-shirt.
Do you like neuromancer, or sci-fi, or cyberpunk or simply japan? Well, if so, I hope you like this design.