Client: Theories Brand
Design: Andrew Diemer

Theories Revealed

Inspired by Science-Fiction author L. Ron Hubbard’s work Dianetics, this skateboard graphic recontextualizes the imagery associated with the seminal text in Scientology with perrenial Theories Brand Elements. This was my third capsule collection completed for Theories Brand.

Design Inspiration

Featured on a single run of the book sometime in the late 1980’s and into the early 1990’s, the title design of L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics featured an incredibly beautiful piece of type—done by an unknown designer to my knowledge. This piece of type features an invisible acending angle which is carried through the type by the crossing of the ‘A’, the middle stroke of the ‘E’ and the terminals of the ‘C’ and ‘S’ in the layout (as pictured below).

Design Origins

I was not the first in the skate industry to lampoon or mimic this design and its featured elements. in the early 1990’s, Mark McKee of World Industires created a signature graphic for skater Randy Colvin that featured a similar graphic style and elements tot he same cover image on the book, its type treatment and the signature exploding volcano design.

Much in the spirit of bootlegging—a practice often involved in the skateboarding industy—I took inspiration form this desing lineage but wanted to expand upon it in a way that was relevant to the brand. I subbed the type to read the name of the brand, and switched the exploding volcano to be a pyramid, an ode to the brand’s obsession with ancient Egypt.

Apparel & Accessory Design

Aside from the primary execution of the skateboard itself, apparel was also developed featuring the design I created. Across a few pieces, the designs were featured on tee shirts, and hoodies, as well as stickers.