Inspired by Independence

He describes himself as a proud young Saint Lucian at heart, but one who feels that there is a disconnect among young Saint Lucians about those persons who have paved the way for us, our national heroes so to speak. So rather than sit around and mope, argue and get all worked up and stressed out about his feelings, Vladimir Lubin has decided to take matters into his own hands, literally. On the heels of Saint Lucia’s 34 Independence Anniversary, February 22, 2013, the young designer and graphic artist has come up with a line of T-shirts.

The first concept utilized the name of some of our heroes who have passed on to form the background of the national flag. The isosceles triangles in the middle are formed by the national pledge and the motto. The Star spoke to Lubin about the concept.  “Well basically the idea came about after I looked at what I could do to promote pride in Saint Lucia itself through the people who came before us. There is a disconnect between the new generation and the older generation as to who have done what for us and the reason for us to be proud in Saint Lucia. So I believe this is one of the ways I can help connect the generation gap,” he explains. Asked about the research that went into selecting the names on the shirt, he had this to say; “well something like a T-shirt you may not have enough space to get everyone in. In terms of research I checked online that’s the only resource I had with limited time. I checked the CDF website which had quite a few and I checked the Government website also. The rest of it was just general information online as to who did what for Saint Lucia.” He says however he is aware that some persons may point out that some names may have been omitted, but the young designer’s offers that he tried his best to narrow it down to persons whom he felt had been the most impactful and could resonate with the youth. “This project is really about nation building and it is my contribution which I believe is a start,” he says.

Since posting the design on his Facebook page two weeks ago, the response has been overwhelming. So much so that he has gone on to design two other shirts, one with the names of the various districts in Saint Lucia and the other with the words of the national anthem forming the contours of the map of Saint Lucia. All of the shirts are available for sale by placing orders via his Facebook page.

But just in case you think this is all new to Vladimir Lubin, think again. In 2009 through the company OGM he designed the logo for the celebration of the islands 30^th Independence Anniversary. He also did it for the 33 Independence anniversary which incidentally, is the same logo being used this year. Where designing is concerned he started showing a keen interest in the area at a tender age, drawing being his primary form of expression. Top of Form

However, as he got older, he did not continue to hone his skill in the traditional art form, he opted to explore a new medium – the computer. With no formal training and armed with nothing but curiosity and perseverance, he was soon using some of the premier software on the market at a functional level. In the early days, he would offer friends, family and sometimes even acquaintances free graphic design services, as a means of practice.

He continued this for a few years until he realized that there is only so much one can learn by one’s own influences. It was then he decided to join the workforce where he could meet those more skilled than he and hopefully not only gain new styles and technique from colleagues but also develop his own unique style. Today, Vladimir continues to look for new opportunities to work with people in the same field, with different techniques so that his own may continue to develop.

The Independence line of shirts he says is his contribution to Saint Lucia and it is something he would like to continue throughout the year to mark other national occasions like Jounen Kweyol. “The idea is to push national pride and I see a T-shirt as a great medium to do so. For me it is about the implementation of a movement to get young people (and older people) to embrace Saint Lucia ad claim it as their own,” he ended by saying.