DDC Thick Lines Heart is a design by Aaron James Draplin, founder of the Portland, Oregon-based Draplin Design Co. (DDC). The heart motif was released in November 2015 as DDC-153, a souvenir patch in the studio’s merchandise line, described by Draplin as a “thick-lined” heart he made to remind himself that “love is a magical thing.”[1]
Design and History
The Thick Lines Heart patch was offered in two colorways: “Blood Red/Black Heart” and “CMY Process Love.” It measured 3.0 by 2.625 inches and was manufactured by Brewery Outfitters in the U.S.A.[1]
The heart design belongs to Draplin’s broader “Thick Lines” visual language, which began in 2014 as a poster series. Draplin introduced the series in May 2014 with “Sunrays,” the first of what he called the DDC “Thick Lines” Poster Series, describing the work as “big, thick lines…big blast of color…simple forms.”[2] He explained the motivation behind the series in a May 2014 post: “Everything is so complex. Posters are more and more intricate and intense. I just wanted to try something really, really simple.”[3]
The Thick Lines series expanded beyond posters into other merchandise, including playing cards released in 2014 through Deckstarter.[4] The heart patch followed in late 2015 as part of this ongoing series of simple, thick-lined shapes.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
Draplin’s own description of the heart patch is the primary documented meaning. He wrote that despite calling his heart “the darkest, coldest, deadest of hearts,” he still felt love for family and close companions, and made the “thick-lined” heart “to remind myself that love is a magical thing.” He added, “Or, I just like thick lines. You pick.”[1]
The heart shape also appeared in Draplin’s earlier work. In 2013, for the Target Heartwork charity project benefiting art supplies at Target House in Memphis, Draplin contributed a piece he called the “Thick Lines Valley of Love.”[5]
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