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Warrior Expo West
May 14 & 15
San Diego Convention Center—Sails Pavilion
Warrior Expo East
July 10 & 11
Virginia Beach Convention Center
WARRIOR EXPO 2019 T-SHIRT DESIGN UNVEILING
Every year, ADS, Inc. takes great pride in the Warrior Expo t-shirt design of longtime employee and artist, Parker Williams. The Warrior Expo t-shirt, revered by most for its unique take on the modern-day warfighter, is treated as a collector’s item and is always in high-demand.
Unique to each new year, the t-shirt design is born in tandem with the event but lives on in the attendees who wear it year-round. Spotting someone wearing a “vintage” Warrior Expo t-shirt provides commonality for all warriors—no matter if you’re a Program Specialist, decision maker, or end-user.
To Warrior Expo t-shirt design fans (yes there’s a group of them), acquiring the memorabilia is equally as important as the official t-shirt design unveiling. With that being said, and in light of tradition, we’re are proud to present you with Warrior Expo 2019’s t-shirt and Warrior Bash theme!
T-Shirts are distributed to all Warrior Expo attendees. Valid Government ID is required for entry.
Warrior Bash is an exclusive networking opportunity available to Warrior Expo attendees on the evening of Day 1 of the show.
Stage 1: Sketching
“Each year, I try to come up with a theme I think our customers will identify with. As you will see in the below sketches and comps, this year’s theme is all about teamwork.”
— Parker Williams, ADS Inc.
Images below are sketches done by Parker in the initial brainstorm phase. He wanted to focus on the challenge warriors face, versus the warrior itself. His initial concepts of teamwork included imagery of warriors in victory poses, defending against attacks, and banding together.
Stage 2: Comprehensive
“Two years ago, I designed a figure with a victory pose. Last year the design had strong roots in tradition and stoicism. I’ve explored themes of adversity and empowerment (with a single person in triumph.) The final decision comes down to what will resonate with our customers best.”
— Parker Williams, ADS, Inc.
During the comprehensive stage, Parker leaned towards the cultural influences of Roman and Spartan warriors and utilized a “frieze” or sculpture-from-stone effect. In line with the teamwork theme, the end-product came down to a phalanx of Spartan warriors.
Stage 3: Final Design
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed designing the Warrior Expo t-shirt over the years but last year was the first time I witnessed someone immediately take their shirt off to put the Warrior Expo t-shirt on. I don’t know if their reaction was to the memorabilia aspect or the design, but it really drives me to make the shirt better every year.”
— Parker William, ADS, Inc.
After developing the concept even further, Parker decided to make the design look as if it were carved out of stone rather than have a realistic quality. This resulted in three final mockups. Mockup #3 achieved the criteria of incorporating the ADS brand while maintaining the carved from stone concept.
Mock-Up #1
Mock-Up #2
Mock-Up #3
Stage 4: VOILA!
At last, the final design and artwork utilized in Warrior Expo 2019’s t-shirt design is revealed!
Special thanks to ADS employee Parker Williams for his creative knack for capturing the warfighter in a way that we all can identify with. See you at Warrior Expo 2019!
With 300+ industry suppliers and more than 3,000 vetted attendees, it’s far more than a simple trade show-it’s the defense industry’s one-top-shop for industry networking, customized training, and product demonstrations.
Warrior Expo is not open to the general public. This event is intended for military, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement, first responders, qualified defense or government contractors, exhibiting partner suppliers/manufacturers, and their guests.
Access is not permitted without official government-issued identification.
The Artist: Parker Williams
A native of Virginia Beach, Parker Williams, Marketing Product Content Manager, has been with ADS for over 17 years in several positions, including Senior Graphic Designer and Creative Director. Parker’s artistic talent shines through his design work, logo creation, branding and managing of thousands of supplier products on the ADS website. Over the years, ADS employees and customers alike recognize his work through various catalog covers, shirt designs, and logos. Outside of work, Parker spends time with his corgi, Panda, works on digital illustrations/paintings (@breakerbot on Instagram), and operates an online clothing store for his personal t-shirt designs.
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