Thinking Like A Killer

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: July 28, 2026

This thought is inspired by that old detective / crime trope: “To catch a killer, you have to think like a killer” From Sherlock Holmes to Silence Of The Lambs – the basic idea is that…

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Why Good Design (Alone) Won’t Cut It Anymore

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: July 21, 2026

There’s a lot of  AI ‘cope’ coming from artists and designers – as they try to deal with the upcoming AI armageddon. But it’s not all bad news – because…

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Snowclones For T-Shirts: Smile If… (X)

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: July 8, 2026

For several years I’ve been using the term ‘Plug-In Phrases’ to describe simple, fill-in-the-blank phrase templates. Phrases like: I’ve written about them extensively – including many emails giving examples of…

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3 Reasons To Create Things That Make You Laugh

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: July 8, 2026

Last week I created a particular design purely because I thought the concept was funny. And as I was putting it together I could hear the voice in my head…

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Funny Acronym Ideas (FAI)

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: March 28, 2023

One of my most-frequented websites when working on new ideas is OneLook.com It’s basically a big ol’ dictionary that displays related words, phrases containing certain words, and a whole lot more….

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One (Easy) way to come up with better pun ideas

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: February 10, 2026

Today – I have a website to share that can help you come up with better ideas.  So – if you’re just getting started creating designs for products –  and…

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Why T-Shirt Designers Should Put Faces on Things

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: March 28, 2023

People love faces. We’re naturally attracted to things with faces. (take for example the ‘faces in things’ instagram account). It’s why mascots and characters are so popular, and why they show…

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