Are you interested in creating your own custom shirts? Custom clothing is an excellent way to promote your brand, unite a team, or showcase your creativity. When creating your own custom shirt, there are a few things to keep in mind. Whether you’re designing for fashion, a special occasion, a sports team, or a promotional product, we can help. Follow these five tips to make sure you get the best product and the most bang for your buck.
#1 – Review Your Art
Whether you’re adding a logo, a slogan, or custom art to your shirt, be sure it’s prepped for printing. Make sure that your artwork is sized properly, as an image that’s too small may appear pixelated when printed. Also, remember that an image or font drawn with clean lines is easier to fill with color.
Make sure you really love the design you choose. Before you print, consider how your design will look on a shirt. Whether you’re making just a few custom shirts, or a few hundred, double-check your design. Reviewing your artwork is a key step in making sure you end up with the perfect custom shirts.
If your shirt is intended to be used for branding purposes, remember that it represents your business, so the artwork needs to convey something about who you are and what you’re doing. Sticking to these artwork guidelines will help ensure that your custom shirts come out just the way you imagined them.
#2 – Color
When designing your shirt, take care in selecting colors. Color selection is an important part of the design process. Not only will you be selecting colors for your artwork, you will also be selecting a shirt color. The color you choose for your T-shirt is the first step.
If you live in a place that’s hot year-round, consider choosing a lighter color. Lighter shades reflect sunlight and help keep the wearer cool. If you live in a cooler climate, a darker color may be the way to go.
Your targeted demographic can also impact color selection. Young people tend to wear brighter colors. Older people may favor colors on the more neutral end of the spectrum. A good thing about darker custom shirts is that they tend to hide stains well. Light custom shirts are a solid standby but may become soiled more easily, so they\’re more likely to be discarded.
The color of your logo or artwork should contrast with the color of your custom shirt. Choosing a contrasting color ensures that your artwork pops. Contrasting colors are colors that are on opposite ends of the color spectrum. Green and red are contrasting colors, for instance, as are black and white. If you select a light shirt, a dark color for your logo or artwork will allow for excellent readability. On the other hand, dark custom shirts should be printed with artwork or words in a lighter shade. Make sure not to choose the same shade for artwork that you use for your custom shirts. The more contrast you have, the better. Readability translates into visibility – let your artwork shine!
#3 – Placement
Placement impacts the style of your custom shirt. If you want your artwork to take center stage, place it in a highly visible area. High-visibility areas include large sections, like the front and back of the shirt. If you prefer your artwork to be more subtle, you may want to select an area of lower visibility, such as an upper corner of the chest.
If your artwork is purely decorative, it can be placed in a less visible area for a subtle effect. Although, for branding purposes, you’ll want to place your logo in a high-visibility area. It’s also an option to print on both the back and front of your custom shirts. Why not put a smaller logo on the front and a large one on the back? When it comes to placement, let your creativity guide you. You have so many options!
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#4 – Size
Along with placement, artwork size is another important style and branding element to consider when designing your custom shirt. Larger artwork is easier to spot from far away, making it a bolder style choice. A smaller logo or piece of artwork is a more subtle accent. Do you prefer a bold or understated look? Either style can be accommodated, depending on the size of your artwork.
As with placement, consider the purpose of your custom shirt. A shirt made to promote your brand should have artwork that’s easy to spot. This means that the artwork for branded custom shirts should be large. Don’t be afraid to go big! The bigger the artwork, the more of an impact it is likely to make. When going big, make sure you use a high-quality image.
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#5 – Making Your Custom Shirt
Once you\’re certain that your artwork is ready to go, leave the printing to an expert. Choosing the right printing company is the most important part of turning your design into a custom shirt. At BYOG, we have a state of the art in-house production facility, and over 25 years of experience! Speak with one of our professionals today at (925) 829-3950 to turn your design into custom shirts that you will love.
