So you have some cool blank t-shirts, and custom patches and you want to create a t-shirt design to put across a message of a brand. Creating a t-shirt design demands excellent craftsmanship. With a t-shirt design, you are building a brand around a message.

But if that design is vague or ambiguous, it will reflect poorly on your brand image. Therefore, you have to be very astute in creating the artwork on a t-shirt, and this is where these tips come into play:

1.    Research The Craft of T-Shirt Design

Just as any job demands awareness and exposure to a subject, t-shirt design also calls for the skills and knowledge in print and design. To get in-depth information about this art, you need to study the different books on the subject. You can also watch tutorial videos on YouTube to gain hands-on knowledge of t-shirt printing.

Once you get adequate education about this art, it will become easier for you to get the best t-shirt design that could communicate with your target audience. Explore Fit Threads‘ collection of distinctive t-shirts for some inspirational styles.

2.    Think About Your Target Audience

Every design appeals to a particular group of people. Similarly, if you want to create a perfect t-shirt design that features the custom embroidered patches of your brand, you need to take into consideration the visual stimuli that can invoke the right emotions in your target audience. And for that matter, you need to learn about your target audience in first place.

Are they women? Consider using blue, turquoise, purple and lavender in the design as women love these colors. But if you are addressing to teenagers then use bold patterns and bright colors in the design as they have a liking for these design elements.

Similarly, if you intend to attract the adult men then blue, green and black are colors that appeal to the grown-up male gender.

Analyzing the taste of your target audience helps you in the detailing process of your t-shirt design, and you can easily pitch the core message of your brand to a specific group of people.

3.    Determine a Theme

A theme is the most important part of the design process. To create the right t-shirt design, you need to have a central idea that you want to convey with a t-shirt design.

Are you a political organization who wants to voice a political slogan? Are you a business who want to spread awareness of his products? Are you a celebrity who wants to promote his personal brand? Or Are you a social enterprise who wants to promote an event?

Your reasons to create a t-shirt design are essential to contextualize the theme of your design and make an artwork that could resonate with your target audience.

4.    Create a Winning Design

Now that you know the core message of your t-shirt design, the next step is to materialize that theme into an exquisite design. The artwork is the essence of a great t-shirt design. But before you jump on that part, you should come up with some design ideas that are popular within your specific domain.

To get an idea of the best design concepts, you can go to Google Images and Pinterest and search the t-shirt designs or custom patches for clothes. This will give you some fantastic ideas on the t-shirt design. Once you get inspiration for the design, it will be easier for you to choose the right colors, imageries, and fonts in the artwork.

5.    Keep It Simple

It is common to see t-shirt designs that have too many design elements. A design with too many imageries, fonts, and colors confuse the viewers and keep the attention away from the core message. Instead of complicating the message with an intricate design, you should keep it simple with minimal design elements to make it easier for the onlookers to get the gist of the message.

6.    Analyze Your Final Design

Once you have finalized a design, you need to make sure if this is the artwork that conveys the main idea of your message. To ensure the accuracy of your design, you need to get feedback from the people.

You can wear the tee yourself and ask people in your vicinity or workplace about their impression of the design and if they can communicate with its message. Lastly, you need to evaluate the financial cost of the t-shirts by working out the expenses of the production. Once you are done with it, you are ready to print the design.

7.    Choose a Printing Method

The quality of your t-shirt design is highly dependent on the type of printing method that you choose for producing the artwork on the apparel. There are different types of printing methods that work on different types of fabric. If you are creating a print on a cotton tee, then screen printing and direct to garment (DTG) are the best options. For the polyester t-shirts, you can go for the dye sublimation printing process.

Besides, the different printing methods have their set of pros and cons. Screen printing is primarily an ropa de trabajo industrial peru printing method which intends to print t-shirt designs on a massive scale. So it works best for the companies. The result is extremely good, and the print is durable.

DTG is ideal for a short batch of t-shirts. This method produces the best results for elaborate artwork that requires intricate detailing. However, the design doesn’t last longer than the other printing methods and usually fades away after some washes.

On the other hand, dye sublimation produces the most durable print that lasts for life. This printing method also produces high-quality designs that match up the quality of screen printing.

When so many printing methods are available, you need to choose the best options that match your taste, budget, and goals.

8.    Hire a Professional Printing Service

Finally comes the most important part which involves the printing of the t-shirt. And since it is a highly skilled job, you need to find a professional printer who can convert the artwork onto a t-shirt with utmost precision. Don’t just hire a printer in haste and take your time to evaluate their quality of work.

You should review their previous projects and get feedback from their former clients. Negotiate the rates upfront and learn about any additional charges they ask for special services.

A t-shirt design can make or break the essence of your brand message. Make sure that you do it right by following these expert tips.