Another Department© 100% DIY, self-taught design and screen printed by hand. Product made in limited quantities. Orders designed, printed, packaged and shipped from our studio in London, U.K.
AD® GARMENTS ARE 100% DIY. ALL PRINTED BY HAND IN STRICT QUANTITIES. IDEAS ARE GENERATED, RESEARCHED AND DEVELOPED WITH EMULSION AND INK. LEARN MORE BELOW:
Design Prep: Everything starts in-house - design work is based around a concept, phrase or emotion on a 4:5 photoshop canvas. Artwork is then prepared for screen printing - broken down into single-colour layers and organised. We print these designs on transparency sheets with a Canon TS5000.
Screen Preparation: 23" x 31" aluminium screens are coated with photo-sensitive emulsion and dried in a light-sensitive area. The designs are exposed under a halogen lamp, unexposed emulsion is washed out to reveal the stencil.
Printing Process: We use 200 GSM blanks for production. Ink colours are mixed, and screens are registered to press. Designs are printed using a plastisol ink and a 18" squeegee.
Details: Woven labels are sewn using 100% cotton thread and a Singer sewing machine. Orders are sent out with branded Another Department stickers.
Another Department©—born of boredom and a creative obligation. A brand, designer, and art experiment formulated by Creative Director Bo Matteini in April 2022. What began as poster design developed into an evolving project, now including experiments with screen printed garments and the production of other items and accessories. Each item is designed, produced, printed, labeled, and shipped in-house. Each garment is a collage of ideas, an exploration of clichés, emotions, and sarcastic humor. Silkscreen printing is the medium of choice, a tactile process that reflects the brand's DIY roots. Another Department© H.Q. is located in London, United Kingdom, with its roots in arts education, design, screen printing, and vintage aesthetics.
The Another Department© name appears on the surface to be simple and self-explanatory, but its name holds a deeper etymological meaning. This is best understood by dissecting its two component parts: “Another” and “Department.”
"Another" is a common word, yet it holds a multiplicity of meanings, hinging on the viewpoint of the user. Seen through the negative lens, it can evoke feelings of boredom, redundancy, and the repetition of the mundane—“cycles of the same old things.” A more positive mind can find hope in the word—through feelings of opportunity and renewal—another day, another try, another chance. This duality is alive and well within the ethos of the brand, where both positive and negative emotions are explored and interwoven within the design process. Ideas and emotions mix, creating a melting pot where creativity is continually stirred and reformed.
"Department" by contrast, is a term of administration, a way to organize, categorize, and make sense of the world. A department is defined by its contents—without substance, a department would cease to exist. Yet, categorization, while useful, can be limiting, particularly when applied to the creative process. Creative ideas resist being neatly boxed; they are complex, layered, and often defy straightforward categorization.
Another Department© is the melding of these two definitions. It is an alternative approach to the notion of categorization—a method of graphically archiving thoughts, viewing subjects, and exploring both the “idea” and the “composition,” which often exist in a state of tension. It is in this tension that Another Department© takes form, blending emotion and structure to create a cohesive whole.
"Three hundred and sixty-five days" a project that entailed making and posting an artwork everyday for an entire year, it ran from April 2022 - April 2023. It the start of the Another Department design journey, where it's aesthetic identity took form. Prints from the 365 are available on the site, 356 website coming soon.