Michael Spooner: Live with Color

By: Zuri Fearon

“I think it is important to live life with happiness and with energy. I think color is synonymous with all of those things; to live with color.”

@clr.brand colorbrand.bigcartel.com

Michael Spooner, a senior Psychology and African American Studies double major at the University of Maryland, is the creator of Color Brand, an innovative enterprise connecting fashion design, photography, and graphic art.

Color Brand is an extension of a creative project with Spooner’s photography as the centerpiece. He starts with an image and then manipulates it by adding other visual elements until he’s satisfied with the design. The image is then screen printed or embroidered onto various clothing items and other paraphernalia. For Spooner, “the photography is definitely the main piece and that’s the part that [he] enjoys the most.”

Spooner took an interest in photography his senior year of high school after taking an elective that focused on the subject. He then began to take his camera with him to various events and out with friends, practicing the art of capturing his surroundings. “I didn’t even recognize how seriously I began to take it until the middle of last year.” Spooner had developed a broader interest in photo editing and his eye for media and design continued to evolve.

Ever since he entered college, Spooner was interested in screen printing, but he did not know how to start. Around the end of 2019, he decided to use an image he had captured on vacation and put it on a hoodie. In the following two weeks, Spooner made five other designs, reached out to friends to weigh interest, and came up with a logo. By the end of the next month, he had created a website and launched his brand.

gradient series color block series vibration series text logo series distortion series

Currently, Spooner has released five coordinated themes which he refers to as series. The first was the “Gradient” series for which Spooner used five of the most dominant colors in the image as swatches around the center. He also incorporated gradients of the same colors as frames for the corners. The designs were then screen printed onto all of his items. Next was the “Color Block” series. Spooner used three to five different colors from the image as filters, as well as semi-transparent shapes and figures layered over parts of the picture. This series followed the same process for screen printing. The third series was the “Vibration” series, produced as a partnership with his friend Francis Sowande. Together, they focused on more monochromatic images and added different outlines and designs to make the artworks more robust. Next came the “Text Logo” series, which is much simpler in design and features a different style than some of Spooner’s previous work. It’s also the first time he used embroidery as opposed to screen printing. His most recent series is the “Distortion” series, featuring a more anachronistic look. Spooner is looking towards continuing to explore his creativity in future series.