T-shirt Designing 101

Deciding how to expertly use your creative talents to create your own business? Perhaps you should consider trying your hand at T-shirt designing. If you wish to be your own boss, make a nice profit, and are talented in graphic design or illustration, this may be the calling for you!

It may not be the traditional art form, but think of blank t-shirts as your canvases. They are just awaiting your awesome designs! Especially with all the social media forums and constant access to the Internet, you are able to test your T-shirt ideas by asking virtually anyone for opinions. In no time, you are sure to create illustrations that people find interesting and which they will want to wear!

Before setting up shop, read these following tips for T-shirt designing 101:

1.     Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a vital part of any creative process. Although your design will obviously be the main point of the T-shirt, and you should spend most of your time on this aspect, you should still create an outline of EVERY step of the course of your shirts. This means from the design, to the production, to the selling.

2.     Practice

Any great product comes only after a great deal of trial-and-error. You will have to test, test, and test your ideas, again and again. Eventually, you will find the process that works best for you, but it takes practice to get there. When a great idea for a design strikes, get it out on paper or the computer. Walk away from it, revise it, ask others for opinions, and try to perfect it as much as possible.

The same thing applies to the production aspect. You will want to play around with the technology you use to pinpoint the best one for you. Also, once you have the graphic, experiment which color T-shirt looks the best with it. To save ink, shirts, and time, play around with the color scheme on your computer screen, rather than on t-shirts.

3.     Details

Intricate graphics with tons of color and details are eye-catching and popular. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should always use detail-oriented pieces. Simplicity also goes a long way.

If you have the time and talent for large, complicated designs, then by all means pay attention to the small details. Something that doesn’t translate well on the shirt won’t make you money, no matter how big or colorful it is. Spend time on large, extremely detailed graphics, but also know when to go the simple route.

4.     Contrast

No matter how artistic your graphic is, if the color scheme is wrong, or there is a lack of color, it won’t turn out to be a successful design. Something that lacks color or is hard to see when converted to the tee won’t get you very far in sales.

Be sure to use contrast to create a bold look that will get noticed. It doesn’t matter too much which colors you decide to use as long as there is contrast to draw the eye to the shirt. Some good options for a contrasting color scheme are white and black, red and yellow, white and blue, charcoal and royal blue … the list could go on!

5.     Pop  

For a universal appeal, use current, trending aspects of pop culture in your designs.

6.     Humor

Humor is wildly important, especially if you wish to attract a younger crowd. People like to have a tee that stands out and which will express aspects of their own personality. Everyone likes to laugh, and good humor will draw customers to you.

7.     Statement

Besides correctly incorporating an eye-catching color scheme, humor, or cultural influences, you should also plan for your tee to make a statement. Everyone wants to wear something that expresses an opinion or showcases an underlying meaning. Don’t just use a meaningless design. Make it count.

8.     Quality

Even with excellent design ideas, your T-shirt will not create any buzz if you have a poor quality printer. Be sure to invest in high-quality technologies and machines.

Now that you have a model plan to follow, what are you waiting for? Think of a unique idea, and bring your illustration to life on your new canvas—a T-shirt.

At The Adair Group, we want to support your entrepreneurial efforts, and we offer high quality, low priced wholesale and bulk T-shirts. Check out our range of colors, sizes, and patterns to find something that will best fit your design needs.