How to Design the Company T-Shirt for Your Business

There are some who believe that designing a company t-shirt for your business is a simple matter. After all, all that you have to do is slap your corporate logo on a background and take it to a company that will print this on t-shirts, right? Unfortunately, yet logically, things are much more complex than that.

Just because you want these t-shirts to be branded, it doesn’t mean that you can apply the same rules that you do for other formats. A design that looks good on a website or on a banner doesn’t necessarily have to be fitting for a t-shirt (although it most definitely can). With that in mind and without further ado, here are six considerations for you to make.

1. Figure out your budget

Printing t-shirts is by no means an expensive marketing method. Nevertheless, it’s still incredibly important that you decide how much money you can dedicate to this cause. Keep in mind, nonetheless, to keep some flexibility in your budget just so that you can agree to a superior offer that you failed to consider beforehand (which is bound to happen). Only after you have this out of the way can proceed to the next step in your plan.

1. The reason why

Even though this may seem like something pretty straightforward, there are many good reasons why you may want to print corporate t-shirts. Printing t-shirts as uniforms for your team are not the same thing as printing t-shirts for a giveaway. The first one needs to be pragmatic and inspire camaraderie, while the latter is supposed to act as a promotional material. Needless to say, seeing as how your team will get a multitude of shirts and even be able to replace them at their own behest, the longevity of the print and the material is greater paramount in the latter case.

1. The complexity of the design

The way in which this interacts with your design may also determine the cost and the pace at which they are produced. For instance, printing 100 shirts with the same design are not the same thing as printing four different designs across 25 shirts each. The latter is both more expensive and more complex, yet, it might be quite necessary. Most importantly, just because a design is more complex it doesn’t mean that the t-shirt is better or more effective. Of course, the recipient may like it more (even though this is not a rule) but it might be less effective in sending a direct message, thus, spreading your brand awareness.

1. Brainstorm various designs

The next thing you need to understand is the fact that brainstorming a t-shirt design isn’t nearly as simple even if you believe that you have it all worked out. For instance, you already know that you want the name and the logo of your company on the shirt, nonetheless, the very design of the shirt may have a major impact on how the end result will end up looking.

You see, a V-neck shirt and a polo shirt are completely different backgrounds, while, at the moment, you may fail to see how something as simple as the neckline may impact the whole picture. Printing a sample of each might be a solid idea, yet, its downside lies in the fact that you already have to have everything worked out.

Here, comes the most ingenious part. A lot of people believe that in order to make these prints, you need to figure everything out on your own and then go to the printing company just to tell them what you need. This is as far from the truth as it gets and some specialized custom print companies like Allstar Graphics also offer consultation services. It goes without saying that a person with years of experience in this field may give you some invaluable advice, even offer a suggestion that you wouldn’t even remember to consider on your own.

1. Determine on the typography and color

If your company’s logo already contains words or initials, then you might already have this issue resolved for you. Nonetheless, if you don’t want to go with a logo or aim to include a slogan to the mix, you might want to give this idea a serious thought. As for the color, different hues send a different message and evoke a different emotion. On the other hand, you shouldn’t feel restricted to a single color. Just make sure to check how your design interacts with these differently nuanced backgrounds.

1. Make an end evaluation

No matter how much effort you’ve invested into this print, there’s no guarantee that it will become a resounding success. Still, for all your work, both creative and logistical, you might feel biased towards the end result. Needless to say, this will make you unable to give an objective answer to the question of whether this design hits its mark. This is why you might want to assemble a test group in order to find this out. For this reason, you also need to start with a smaller sample and be ready to discard all your previous work if it turns out to be inadequate, no matter how hard this may seem.

In conclusion

The reason why it is so important for you to master this method is due to the fact that it is something that you will most likely use in the future, as well. Therefore, if it’s the cost of a trial and error didactic method that you’re worried about, it’s definitely better now rather than later.

Nick Brown is a blogger and a marketing expert currently engaged in projects for Media Gurus, an Australian business, and marketing resource. He is an aspiring street artist and does Audio/Video editing as a hobby.