When I started thinking about a simple two-color design I could create in relation to the phrase “custom made,” I thought about furniture and clothes and kitchen cabinetry… All very domestic things, but perhaps not such interesting illustrations. Then I began trying to think about “custom made” in relation to the place where I work, the Bell Museum of Natural History. Images of dioramas and taxidermy came to mind, but then I thought: natural selection. Of course, natural selection isn’t exactly customized—so I opted for something more along the lines of trait selection.

Munchkin cats are bred for their short legs, which is actually a genetic mutation. Some professional cat registries don’t recognize this breed (for show) for that reason.

My design incorporates an illustration of a Munchkin cat and a DNA double-helix. I will be editing this design to incorporate “custom made” more organically—the words might form the links between the two strands of DNA. “Couture cat” was a suggested label from a friend who is studying clothing design. I am still considering how to use this phrase, if I decide to keep it.