Buffalo State College student Matthew Walsh designed T-shirts related to Buffalo’s history of breweries and prohibition. The project is part of his senior seminar class and is being titled Hops and Tops. His showcase is being displayed at Sugar City Art Collection on Niagara St. in Buffalo this week. Submitted photos

As part of his senior seminar class at Buffalo State College, Matthew Walsh, a 2013 Jamestown High School graduate, is designing beer-related T-shirts called Hops and Tops.

Walsh, a Communication Design student, is optimistic after he graduates that he will join the graphic design work force. For this project, Walsh made all the designs for the T-shirts and promotional material by himself as a way to showcase his skills in graphic design. In the Spring, Walsh plans on interning and attending London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.

Walsh had the freedom to choose any topic for his senior project and he decided to create a theoretical T-shirt company. The name of the project and company, Tops and Hops, is a play on words with beer and T-shirts. Walsh said he wanted to pay tribute the local history of prohibition and beer production from around the region.

“I did a lot of research on Buffalo and where they were at with their breweries,” Walsh said.

There are eight different designs that are related to beer and will be on display and for sale during his showcase at Sugar City Art Collaborative on Niagara Street in Buffalo from 7-9 p.m. The designs will be on display all week but Walsh was available Monday to explain his work. All of the designs were hand illustrations Walsh drew that were then later scanned on to a computer to be able to layout the T-shirts.

“(The designs) look like they’re dripping off of the T-shirts,” Walsh said of the designs.

Walsh said that while an aspect of the project was him sitting in a classroom, a lot of the work happened outside of the classroom and businesses in the Buffalo area. Walsh was tasked with contacting the gallery for his showcase as well as working with the printing companies to create finished product of his designs.

“It’s a good life experience for someone that’s in a college level course still about to enter the entry level position,” Walsh said.