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No matter where you look, the visual symbol of the heart has been rampant throughout world culture for millennia, and has become one of the central depictions of love and passion in popular culture and in art. The heart shape, although it does not actually resemble the human organ from which it derives its name, has so long been in use to symbolize this part of the being that it is commonplace. The symbol's inherent symmetry is part of its beauty, and its simplicity makes it all the more poignant.
While the heart, as a symbol, has been possibly one of the most overused images and metaphors in human history, it is still an undeniable invocation of purity. That is why this "pure heart" graphic makes so much sense aesthetically and intellectually. Not only is this graphic, with its cool white background, a very visual demonstration of both the words "pure", and "heart". Although the heart is the exact same shade as the background, it is outlined by flecks of grey that emanate out, and is also crowned by a circlet of black thorns that still fail to pierce the fragile skin of the heart in their midst. While the white background and white heart hold no blood, it is clear that they both are full of light and full of the white hot passion that make this graphic so powerful.
White is, by definition and nature now, the colour of innocence. This fact makes the design of this image even more remarkable because it is almost entirely white. The only real shading takes place in the letters of the verbal component and the thorns and grey lines that outline the heart. No statement is bolder than this, and the designer obviously took great consideration and care deciding exactly how to put this idea into imagery.
Wearing this sort of graphic design on an article of clothing makes a clear yet subtle statement of the fluidity and intensity of the fickle passions of the heart. No matter how pure, the graphic seems to say, a heart will always been encircled by the thorns of hardship, grief, and sadness. Hold on to your seats, the design says, because life is a roller coaster.
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