This document discusses and compares two different Doctor Who t-shirt designs - one mainstream and one niche. The mainstream shirt features the TARDIS and Doctor Who logo, making it recognizable and casually wearable by both fans and non-fans. The niche shirt depicts a specific costume from the 1980s classic series, meaning only deep fans familiar with that era would understand the reference. This niche design is bold and not stylized, intended to connect the wearer with other serious fans rather than be casually worn.

1. Mainstream
Niche
This t-shirt is pretty mainstream, and can be worn casually.
The Doctor Who logo is up at the top, identifying the show for
people who arenʼt fans, whilst the TARDIS is well known as a
symbol of the program. Even though the main image is tied
with the program and fan-base, itʼs also loose enough to be
casually enjoyed; someone could see it as just a design
involving a police box. Someone with little knowledge of Doctor
Who could wear and appreciate the shirt. Itʼs a casual shirt that
the wearer would wear around the house or going out, as it
shows theyʼre a fan but is also accessible to anyone.
This shirt is far more niche, as itʼs based on one of the outfits worn by the
main character of the program. The design is made even more niche by the
fact that the costume used is from the 80ʼs, meaning for someone to
understand the shirt they have to have a pretty deep knowledge of Doctor
Who, specifically the classic series.
To a casual viewer this design would seem absurd and confusing. Itʼs a very
bold design, as itʼs a photo of the costume rather then any kind of stylization
or attempt to simplify it. Itʼs just boldly the costume.
This kind of shirt would mostly be worn to try and connect with other fans.
Someone wearing this is looking for other fans who know the program as
much as they do, and so will recognize the shirt. Itʼs like a sort of test of how
much of a fan someone is. Someone may not wear this shirt as often or
casually as a Mainstream shirt, as it can be confusing to most people who
arenʼt in on the joke.
Theres also and side of that that is solely for the wearers benefit, as a small
part of them will feel like they are the character of the Doctor.