Did you know the average promotional T-shirt generates over 5,000 impressions in its lifetime? That’s 5,000-plus opportunities for your brand to be seen. But to make the most of those impressions, your design needs to shine.
By investing time and resources in a high-quality T-shirt design, you are getting the most out of your marketing dollars. Knowing a few key principles for design can help you avoid costly mistakes when designing for screen-printing and other T-shirts.
7 Mistakes to Avoid When Designing for Screen-Printing
1. Using Low Contrast
Contrast is key when designing a great T-shirt. Avoid pairing light-on-light or dark-on-dark colors, which can be difficult to read. Instead, choose high-contrast combinations, even if it means getting more creative with your brand colors or design idea.
2. Not Including Your Logo
While not every shirt design will prominently feature your logo, it’s important to incorporate it somewhere to boost your brand visibility. It might look better on the front or the back of the shirt depending on your design. And don’t be afraid to refresh your logo if it’s starting to look dated.
3. Overcomplicating the Color Palette
In addition to choosing contrast, try not to use too many colors when designing for screen-printing. The reason? During the screen-printing process, each color requires a separate screen. Using more than four or five colors in a single design can make the process more complicated and costly.
4. Using Funky Fonts
While there are lots of cool fonts out there, it’s important for your design to be easily readable. You want any text on the shirt to be clear, bold and simple–which means staying away from fonts that are too intricate or unusual. There’s no point in creating a branded T-shirt if nobody can tell what the brand is.
5. Cramming in Too Much Text
Have you ever seen a billboard with paragraphs of text and thought to yourself, “I’m not reading all of that?” The same design principle applies with T-shirts. Keep your message concise if you want people to read (and remember) your brand.
6. Choosing the Wrong Fabric
Don’t forget to pay attention to the T-shirt fabric when designing for screen-printing, which requires a smooth surface. Cotton fabric or another natural fiber are the best choice because they provide the right level of absorbency for a vibrant, long-lasting result. You can also screen-print fabric blends depending on the ratio of cotton to polyester used. Shiny or stretchy fabrics can cause uneven printing or faster fading, so stick with cotton-heavy blends.
If you’re looking for a comfortable fit with a vintage feel, consider heavyweight T-shirts. Made of natural 100% cotton, the fabric is especially well-suited to screen-printing shirts and gives that popular retro feel.
7. Forgetting Your Audience
When designing for screen-printing, it’s important to remember that you’re not just creating something for your brand–you’re designing for a specific audience. A shirt designed for employees may not resonate with customers at a trade show. Consider whether the customers you’re targeting would prefer muted basics, bold tones or even a throwback vintage style. Planning (and even doing some research) before placing your order can make a big difference in whether your final product is well-received.
8. Not Working with a Designer
A lot goes into creating a great T-shirt design, from colors to font to brand messaging and tapping into current trends. Working with a graphic designer can streamline the process, taking your ideas and perfecting them into a winning design. A designer with experience designing for screen-printing has a real, tangible sense of what translates well from design screen to printed shirt and can help you avoid costly errors along the way.
Benefits of Working with a Designer
Sometimes it takes a bit of work (and a lot of experience) to turn a good idea into a great design. That’s where a custom apparel designer comes in handy.
Here are several reasons why you should consider working with a custom apparel designer on your next project and why it may be much more affordable than you think.
Bringing Your Ideas to Life
Sometimes it takes a bit of work (and a lot of experience) to turn a good idea into a great design. That’s where a custom apparel designer comes in handy. An experienced designer can work with you to understand your vision and make it a reality.
Say you want to design a screen-printed T-shirt with a vintage ‘70s feel. Apart from creating the actual art you need for your design, you also need to consider the texture, feel and overall look of the design. Whether you have a specific vision of what you want or you’re starting from square one, a designer can help you figure it all out–and make it happen.
An Eye for Detail
When it comes to putting together the perfect custom apparel, details are everything. A custom apparel designer can help with important details such as the size, placement and color choices for your brand logo. A specialized designer likely has years of experience with the medium you’re looking at – from sweatpants to embroidered baseball caps.
If you’re trying to decide what will look best on your custom apparel, a designer can guide you toward what design choices will look best for your specific item. They will also have a working knowledge of the colors, fonts and other design options available to you.
Staying on Trend
In addition to knowing the different design elements that are available, a custom apparel designer has insight into what’s popular right now. They can help inform you about the latest trends, from T-shirt designs to the most popular promotional apparel at conferences this year. Many items vary in popularity based on the season and your target audience. With this helpful knowledge, you can make the most of your budget by choosing items that will really have an impact.
This knowledge is especially helpful when it comes to choosing custom Greek (and other collegiate) apparel. Choosing a designer who understands–and can produce–items in popular colors and styles is key to keeping your organization on top of the latest trends.
Building Brand Recognition
When you work with the same designer on multiple projects, they begin to understand who you are as a brand, company or organization. In turn, this knowledge can help your custom apparel designer create consistent branding across your custom apparel and promotional products. Studies have shown that promotional products, including apparel, are incredibly effective at building brand recognition and increasing customer loyalty.
Working with a designer can help you make the most of your investment and create a product you’re excited to share.
Skip the Stress and Get Great Shirts
Want to skip the stress of designing the perfect T-shirt? From small projects to big orders, Full Press Apparel is backed by decades of experience and commitment to getting it just right. Whether you have a design to tweak or you’re starting from scratch, one of our designers will work with you to create magic.
Call or send us a message today to discuss your big dreams for your organization or brand and how we can make them happen.
