In charge of creating the company’s t-shirt? You can probably feel the burden of having to please everyone weighed heavily on your shoulder. If one of the solutions you could think of is to go around and ask others how would they like their t-shirt to be, that is one idea that sounds way, way better in your head and will put you at a loss when executed. Everyone will want different things and the short list of t-shirt ideas you have previously drafted will turn into a long list. Designing a t-shirt that fits everyone’s preference seems like an impossible task, but there are several aspects you could place extra attention to. Keep on reading to know how to design your t-shirt to ensure as many (if not all) people in the team would be satisfied!
Fitting
You might think there is no win-win solution to this. If you pick the fitting that fits only one gender, it might not find the other. The solution? Lose the fitting wholly or pick one that will compliment all body shapes.
If you would like to lose the fitting, the t-shirt is most likely not going to be hugging the body – at all. There is one particular trend of this fitting that can fit both men and women, and that is the oversized shirt! This kind of t-shirt normally has a very low shoulder (hint: Billie Eilish style, but less drapey). The only downside is that it may not look as formal as you want it to be, so make your choice accordingly.
Most people, however, would like a bit of shape on their shirts. Certain fabrics like dri-fit and jersey make a great choice as they are body-fitting on their own. Their light fabric hugs the body nicely and enhances nice features.
Avoid cap sleeves or any features that will not look good on everyone. You might want to opt for short sleeves that end right before elbows or long sleeves instead. Some form of cuffs on the sleeves will look good, but you should consider that it may not be comfortable or even induce sweat.
Design
Slogan & Logo
You can have either one or both! Normally, a logo will be placed on the front of the shirt and the company’s logo written in tiny (but readable) fonts will be on the back. They should, however, match each other in terms of the size, color, fonts, and overall theme. Think of a company shirt you know. You would not want to feel underwhelmed looking at the front to suddenly have a huge slogan thrown to your face as you look at the back of the shirt. Especially if you are creating a unisex shirt, there are numerous things you should take note of.
Positioning
One of the most common placements for a logo or design is on the chest, which is highly attractive. I mean, picture Superman or Batman without their logos on their chest – how plain would their suit be? However, be mindful to not place your logo or slogan too low or directly across the breast area as it can draw attention where many women prefer not to be stared at. If you have a chest pocket, that is a great place to place a logo on.
Try not to design your logo in a big size and then place it right in the middle of your t-shirt as that might make it seems like a typical movie t-shirt. You want to design it to look as professional as possible, so less is more in this situation.
Decoration
Avoid any kind of material embellishments at all costs – rhinestones, lace, you name it. Keeping it minimalistic is the way to go for the t-shirt you are designing. Many would place one small logo on the pocket and that’s about it. Not only it looks attractive, but more people would not mind wearing it to other occasions as well. Some company t-shirts look good, but not everyone wants to be a walking advertisement, at least not THAT obviously. If designing it to be an advertisement is your main objective, keeping it simple but attractive is a way that will work excellent. You can consider adding an inspirational quote on the back of the t-shirt as well.
Size
Do not make it too big, but at the same time not too small to the point you have to really squint your eyes to see it. If you are still uncertain, resize it several times and compare the designs next to each other until you get the most optimum result.
Note: For a reference, try looking at the t-shirts people wear around you. When someone passes by you, you would find that you can read what’s written on their shirt no matter how small you think the words on the shirt are. If they are small, their fonts are always easier to read. Likewise, you would not feel awkward looking at the logo or picture on their shirt as it is most likely not placed in a weird area.
Colors
Colors should work in unison with the design of the logo to make the t-shirt appear as best as it can. Hence, it is best to input the colors after you finish drafting the design to ensure that the colors will match nicely. Most importantly, the colors should balance nicely.
You can play with the colors of the fabrics alone, keeping the design in basic colors like white, black, or deep, dark colors. If its bright color is one of the significant features of your company’s logo, you can set it as the background, aka the fabric color. In turn, you might want to keep the logo and slogan in white, black, or other dark colors so it would pop better on the bright fabric. Likewise, if you pick white or any dark colors as the background, you could be more creative or have more bright colors in your design.
Then again, minimalism is in fashion! You can simply go for a brown fabric with a white logo and slogan and your shirt will look attractive enough! Although you might think of it as quite a big risk, opting for color-block is sometimes better than matching colors from the same group with different tones. A baby blue paired with navy blue does not necessarily produce good results as compared to pairing blue with orange. If you are certain of your color-matching, then, by all means, go ahead.
Design Review
Often, designs appear much more vibrant and alive on computer software than they are on fabrics. To ensure the best outcome, you can produce a prototype. Of course, this is much easier said than done. You could print a design onto the shirt on your own, but the method may be a tad bit complicated than you would expect. Try getting a printing company to create a professional prototype for you.
If printing the design directly onto the shirt fabric is too much, you still have other options. One is to have the design accurately placed on the shirt, according to the measurements and everything. Many do not know this, but after completing the final mock-up of the design, you can have your local shirt printing services do a design review. Some might charge a certain amount for it, but there are several who offer free design review as well, like us! Plus, you should know that not all printing methods will work for your design.
With these tips, hopefully, you can minimize the complaints as much as possible! Another aspect you should also consider is the fabric material itself, but let’s save that for another post. A lot of t shirt printing online companies offer services that will assist in all of the details mentioned above (for free!) so you just have to look around!
