Are you going to host an event or raise funds for a charity? Or do you want to showcase your creative side? Creating a custom t-shirt is the perfect answer to all the above questions. Not only is a shirt a reliable head-turner, but it’s also a useful way of promoting your cause!
An artistically designed t-shirt will get your message out and provide you with steady publicity for years to come. A comfortable and fashionable shirt can also be an effective marketing tool, but everything comes down to one thing — designs.
The graphic design process can feel awesome, especially if you have some artistic experience of your own. But as per our ideas, anyone can make their own shirt with a tool like t shirt maker and a little help.
We have boiled it down to six crucial steps. As you start brainstorming, planning, designing your shirt, consider these steps:
1. Consider the types and style of the shirt
One decision that will affect your entire t-shirt design process is the types of shirts you want to provide to your customers or supporters. Consider your target audience; think what do they like to put on? Think about your relationship with them, and also take into account the time of the year among others.
These questions will help you decide how exactly you will design your custom t-shirt. Whichever custom apparel platform you choose, think of exploring various catalog like — tank tops, baseball shirts, football shirts, hoodies, crewneck shirts, and long sleeve shirts.
Remember that you consider the exact purpose of your shirts all through the design process. For example, a shirt for people participating in a charity marathon should be different than a hoodie meant for spreading social awareness.
At this point, you might have gotten an idea of how you would like your shirt to look, but here is a tip for you — do not pick a color until you have finalized the design. Choose a flexible custom t-shirt platform that allows you to test different design options before making a final call.
2. Consider the visual elements
There is a good chance that you make your own t-shirt for a non-profit organization. If that's the case, be sure to familiarize yourself with any existing branded visuals used in the past. There is no hard and fast rule. Stay true to your existing branding to incorporate visual elements into your design. It's because this will let your customers, donors, or supporters identify your new products instantly.
Your existing visual materials likely have logos and other illustrations. You can use these to identify visual elements to include in your design, such as — custom fonts and colors.
Using existing elements as a starting point for your t-shirt design is a good idea. Choosing a similar color scheme or style in a completely new design will also create a sense of stability for your target audience. So, it is a smart way to transition into something new.
Similarly, if the custom t-shirt is meant for an event, use existing elements to create your design.
3. Consider the message and tone
As you move towards the most specific visual elements of your design, you have to remember its context and purpose both. It will help to set the right message and its tone that you want to convey. Identify these contexts for your shirts:
• Is it meant for raising funds online?
• Are the shirts meant for sale at a particular event?
• Is the shirt meant for promoting a cause?
Having an exact purpose will help you with your design concepts. For example, consider whether your shirt is for raising awareness, or is it for promoting a fundraising event? Getting answers to these questions can affect your color choice, typeface choice, and visual styles.
When it comes to color choice, there is only one short cut. Create light-colored designs for dark shirts, and dark-colored designs for light shirts. Walking away from this practice can jeopardize your shirt’s design.
Additionally, smartly use the text. Use tagline or words to connect with your audience and communicate your mission. A handwritten script or an outstanding typeface can be effective.
Make sure to consider your design as a cohesive combination of text, colors, and images. Each of the element should work together to attract your audiences’ attention for a distinct impression. Keep in mind the purpose of your shirt, your audience’s expectations, and best practices as you start brainstorming.
4. Find more inspiration for your design
Once you comprehend the parameters that are paving the way for your design, such as the purpose and mission, it's time to find some visual resources for more ideas and inspiration. Draw from multiple resources while you brainstorm some initial designs. It's essential to make sure that your group should have varied choices. You can start from creative social media platforms like Instagram.
Pinterest is also a good resource if you need more visual inspiration. Find out major graphic design trends there to catch your customers’ attention. As you discover some visual resources, collect your favorite graphics that inspire you and resonate with your mission. Create a mood board using these images before brainstorming.
Also, take some notes on particular visual elements that caught your attention or work well in every design. These include:
• Typography
• Color
• Illustration Style
• Contrasting Elements
• Use of text
• Design Accents
Once you have identified these elements, work on to incorporate them into your fresh concepts.
5. Refine your design concepts
The next step involves you to identify a few of your favorite design concepts. Work closely on these concepts. Check to see what's working and what's not. Remove the unnecessary elements. This will leave you with a meticulously designed concept.
Be sure each primary concept is distinctly different from each other so that you can precisely determine any major changes for your design. Each initial concept needs to be diverse. Even if you want to go with an idea you already have, come up with at least one different concept.
Looking at the options, side-by-side is the perfect way to judge how you can combine elements or bring the most significant aesthetic effects.
6. Consider printing and production
Just like the right tshirt design, choosing the right t-shirt printing service is of utmost importance. The success of your design depends on it. You already have the idea that well-designed t-shirts are the best merchandising products. They provide the audience with a more engaging way to support a cause.
It merely means that designing and producing shirts through a reliable service is the best move to make. When deciding on production, keep in mind that screen-printing is widespread. It is a crucial standard for high-quality and best appearance.
Find a t-shirt platform that’s flexible options. A perfect t-shirt service will aid the design part, printing part along with the selling process. It can handle the process pretty well.
Conclusion
Designing the ideal t-shirt to raise awareness, promote your cause, or engage audiences at an event isn’t easy. By carefully considering every step mentioned earlier, you can be sure that your next t-shirt design will be a huge hit!