Expert T-Shirt Design Tips

Advertising Exec, Patrick:

Before joining CustomInk in November of 2007, Patrick led a number of multi-channel advertising campaigns for an international brand. His experience includes advertising for TV, print, online, direct mail, outdoor, in-store, and T-SHIRTS! He finds t-shirts to be an especially effective advertising tool and is happy to share his t-shirt advertising knowledge with you!

Design Expert, Mary:

Mary is a CustomInk veteran who's been with the company since September of 2002. Mary has worked on all aspects of t-shirt design: proofing, editing, and redrawing artwork, building new clipart for the design lab, and creating original design templates for customers to use. She's reviewed thousands of t-shirt designs and is excited to show you some basic design do's and don'ts to make your next one a winner!

Patrick's Comments:

1. Apparel is a great marketing channel and tool. The "before" version has a great logo and shouts "Kenny's Landscaping." But the shirt has no phone number, no URL, no email address. So while it is worthwhile to have an identifiable and professional-looking crew, always be sure to include your contact info on your item. You have to make it easy for your customers to contact you. If you don't, they won't.
2. If I'm a landscaper, does a brown shirt convey my business? While the color hides dirt and wears well, brown probably means "dead plants" to a customer. Green is a much better color, and it too can hide the daily grime of the job.
3. How about listing what your services are or giving me a compelling reason to use your service? What makes Kenny better than his competition? Can he incorporate a slogan like "Always on time and on budget" or stat into his design? (Just be sure to live up to this customer "promise"!)

Mary's Comments:

1. Pick colors that have optimal contrast and represent your company well. The green product color now makes the grass in the clipart look green as well.
2. Adding a simple design element like a horizontal line to connect the clipart and text will make the design look more like a cohesive logo.

Patrick's Comments:

1. People will admire your shirt, but probably won't stop and ask the wearer about it. So think of the shirt as a walking billboard – a quick read is all you get.
2. If Capital City Dance Academy welcomes new prospects to stop by to get a sense of their programs, Keller best provide an address. For those unable to drop by in person, provide a URL.
3. What type of dance does the academy specialize in? Irish folk dancing? The Tango? Hip hop step? Her choice of clipart (free at CustomInk!) implies ballet. There's plenty of room to list them across the shirt. Ballet. Tap. Classical. Modern.

Mary's Comments:

1. Save money by using fewer colors. By minimizing this design to two colors, it will save money and still be just as impactful. (Remember: printing is priced depending on the number of colors used on the item.)
2. Outlining text with a subtle color can make it hard to read. Sometimes it's best to remove the outline entirely – your results will be clean, simple, and legible.
3. Choose your colors wisely. Using the same color for text and clipart can imply association. You'll notice in the front design, the dancer clipart and word "dance" are the only white elements because it shows their relationship.

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