Real Thread

Want effective feedback? Ask these questions: 

1. Is it visually appealing? 

2. Is the design timeless, or have I created something dated looking?

3. Is it built well? Asymmetrical vs symmetrical vs design basics 101 vs screw design basics, I do what I want.

4. Do you understand the message/feeling i’m trying to convey/evoke?

5. Is it appropriate for the audience I am trying to reach?

6. Is everything cohesive? theme, fonts/type, color, design style (grunge, illustrative, cartoon-ish, etc.)

7. Will it work well for the medium (i.e. web, print, screen print, mobile, etc.)?

Who should you get advice from? When seeking feedback, make sure you trust the person providing you suggestions. This doesn’t mean they have to be a trained designer. Sometimes, having a a non-technical trained person review your work can give you some of the best “non-technical” answers. Also, it’s important that you give them a good platform to communicate it. 

What are some of the best platforms to receive feedback? There are definitely various apps out there that provide great collaboration tools. One of our favorite that we use at RT HQs is Invision. It’s a great way to view the design, leave notes and test out the product! 

1. A message that doesn’t connect with your market, employees, fans and users. More than likely, you have a following of people wearing your shirts because they are particularly interested in what you do. They might be employees or customers, but either way, they believe in what you’re doing. Make sure the message you intend to get across, gets across. Successful brands are consistent! We’ve seen more times than you can imagine off the wall designs that are not congruent with the brands message, lifestyle or values. Don’t find this out when it’s too late. Seek honest feedback and take it graciously. 

2. A design that is not consistent with the brand or other designs.  Just because you’re a designer doesn’t mean you should design everything - especially if it’s not consistent with your brand. We’re not saying don’t go outside the box and get creative, but if you typically design rocket t-shirts and this time you’re trying to throw in a monkey, just don’t do it. Stick to your rockets or things that are parallel. This is not to say don’t experiment with different trends or other styles of printing like tonal, sim process or foil. If you’re ready to try something new, check out these 20 ideas to try on your next custom screen-printed shirt. 

3. A low quality art file that could produce a distorted image.  There are plenty of resources available to produce high resolution files that are good for printing. Here are 3 videos to guide you through the process - they go over the basics of good t-shirt design, editing artwork for screen-printing and creating high quality art. There are also plenty of to-scale templates that will help you visualize what your design will look like once printed. Set your proportions accurately and visually create what you want to see in the end. Real Thread has an art team that can provide assistance. If you need help in this area, we would be happy to help. 

2. American Apparel 5495 Flat

3. American Apparel 5497 Modeled 

4. American Apparel 5497 Flat 

5. American Apparel TRT 497 Modeled 

6. American Apparel TRT 497 Flat

7. American Apparel 5454 Modeled 

Although, these are all American Apparel templates - we highly recommend other quality brands like Next Level and Canvas Apparel.  They offer a variety of outerwear and fleece. 

Here are 4 great times to gift a super soft custom branded t-shirt: 

1. During the on-boarding process. You know that new person you just hired? Yea, they are probably really excited about their new job! This is an excellent time to give a little “welcome to the team” gift. They’ll feel more apart of the culture as they start their new journey! Remember, employees, new and old, are some of your biggest brand advocates! 

2. With the change of seasons. Depending where you are, you’ll experience seasons (even if it’s just for a few weeks out of the year .... Florida, ahem.). Giving out t-shirts is great, but what about the colder months when those t-shirts are likely traded in for long-sleeves and heavy coats? Why not provide branded gear for all the seasons - Tanks for summer, t-shirts for spring and fall and hoodies for winter? If you gift apparel for the right seasons, it will likely get worn. 

3. As a birthday, holiday or work-a-versary gift. This might seem a bit odd, but it could work. Although everyone loves and appreciates bonuses, especially around the holiday season, it could be fun to wrap that bonus check in company swag as opposed to an envelope or paper that will get tossed. If it becomes a “thing”, people will become really excited when it comes their turn. If it’s an exclusive shirt you only get after X years of working for the company, the anticipation will grow strong. You could also include your employees and offer a chance for them to submit the next design! 

4. When the company is doing well. Again, bonuses go a long way, but company swag last forever. If your team or company is doing really well, especially financially, giving a small thank you token will drive the team to keep going. If you can recognize wins (no matter the size), your employees will feel valued and appreciated! 

2. They communicate a company lifestyle. Custom printed branded t-shirts give employees a way to identify with the company lifestyle. This is everything from the attitudes and the way of life of the organization, to the interest and hobbies throughout. They quickly answer unasked questions!

3. They inspire and unite internal teams. It breaks down barriers and brings teams together under the banner of your brand. Everyone wants to be be apart of something bigger. Give them the tool to find their place within your company. The more stoked your employees are, the the more driven they will be! 

4. It’s a cool gift to show you care. Joining a new team can be intimidating, so why not give new employees, during the on-boarding process, something that will make them feel apart of the team immediately! So, how about your other employees? Well some other ideas might be to hand out company apparel to teams performing exceptionally well, a gift during the holiday season with a nice bonus check or even warmth with the change of weather! 

2. Gradient blends - It’s a gradual spot color blend using half tones. Each color fades into a new color. This is different than a typical SIM process print where there would be a lot more overlapping of colors and gradients.

3. Tonal inks -  It’s a print using water based inks to achieve a hue somewhat lighter or darker than the color of the garment. It creates a very subtle print and continues to produce some of the best looking shirts!

4. 1 or 2 color designs - As simple as these designs can be, they stand against the test of time. They are classic and will never go out of style! Options are endless as far as simplicity goes - illustration, lettering, etc. By using water based inks, you’re left with a super soft print, so go big or small just keep it simple.

5. Multiple shirt styles - There’s an abundance of products to fit anyone’s style! We’ve seen mostly crew neck short sleeve t-shirts, a lot of flowy scoop neck muscle tees for women and of course, hoodies have been hitting the presses with the cold weather just around the corner. 

6. Fabric blends - The traditional fabric blends “100% cotton”, “poly/cotton” and “poly/cotton/rayon” will more than likely never go out of style. Over the past couple years, printing on Tri-blends has continued to increase. The fabric composition %’s might change to achieve different looking t-shirt blends, but if you understand how printing on blends works, you’ll always achieve fantastic results.

2. How will I use the shirts? There are a number of ways you can use your custom printed t-shirts: customer acquisition, team building, giveaways, free trial sign-up, holiday gift, sell a new style, etc. Figure out what you and your users needs are, then meet them.

3. Am I familiar with the various shirt styles, fabric blends and printed results? There are plenty of options when it comes to blanks and styles. Some of the most popular options are American Apparel, Next Level Apparel and Bella and Canvas apparel. Fabric blends play a huge role in the outcome of your print. Decide the look you want, then find a shirt that will provide the perfect outcome!

4. Do I have all my design details ready?  It’s your shirt, make it what you want. However, keep in mind there’s more planning that goes into the design then just designing. You’ll need to know the placement, image size, pantone colors and have send the right file type. Here’s a t-shirt printing checklist that will keep you on track. 

5. When do I need my shirts by?  Standard turnaround times can vary, but here it’s 10 business days. Additional services like adding hem tags or folding and bagging can add a few days. Sometimes it’s best to set an in-hands date for yourself and then work backwards from there giving yourself plenty of time to successfully complete each step of the process. 

There are two tag types: Sewn in labels and tear-away tags. 

1. Sewn in labels have to be removed by a sewing machine. 

2. Tear-away tags can be easily torn out by anyone. Check this out ... 

Removing tear-away tags is totally free and Next Level Apparel offers a few of our favorite styles with that option: 3600, 6210, 6240, 3633, 3200, 3533 and 6633.

2. Create new challenges.

Try designing something you’ve never done before. If your common theme is to design simple standard spot color designs, try designing something more challenging using simulated process printing. This detailed printing style is for color intensive images with a lot of blending and gradients. You’ll have fun pushing yourself while learning something new!

3. Set public goals.

Having deadlines, whether they are self-created or given, drives motivation. If they’re not met, there’s potential of letting a lot of people down. Make them realistic, not arbitrary, so the weight is taken more serious and you’ll find priority in being productive. Sometimes the crunch can produce the best results! If you want to launch a new series of tees, make a public announcement. This will hype your users and keep you on track! 

There are plenty of other ways to stay motivated: learning and listening to how other designers and influencers are making it happen, browsing other printed examples or checking out t-shirt printing trends. 

2. Print a design that’s 1 or 2 colors. The more colors you print, the higher your cost will be. Each color is printed on a different screen requiring additional time and work to setup the order. Keeping your design to a 1 color, in comparison to a 3 color, could save you easily $2.50 per shirt.

3. Use negative space to achieve an additional color. This is a great way around #2 (see above). Add a “color” to your design using the shirt color without driving the cost up. 

4. Use price breaks to your advantage. Sometimes just by adding a handful of shirts can jump you to the next price break saving you almost a dollar per shirt! If you’re at 90 shirts, consider adding 10 more to reach the next bracket and save big! 

5. Find a shirt with tear away tags. If you want to print custom tags, more than likely you’ll want to remove the manufacture tag. Save up to $2.00/per shirt, for sewn-in tag removal, by choosing a product with tearaway tags. We do not charge to remove tearaway tags! 

7. Choose a free Pantone color. We offer 70+ standard ink colors which are available at no extra charge in both our water based and discharge inks! Save this PDF, so you can choose a free ink color when working on your design!

8. Send in artwork that’s ready for print. Make sure you outline your text, submit an unflattened vector file (ai or eps) or a photoshop file (psd) that has been prepared in layers, scaled for print and saved at 300dpi. If we have to go in and make these changes, an art fee could apply.

3. Print tags on the inside neck of the shirt that are custom branded! 

4. Download this template first > 14 free tag layouts and save yourself design time. 

5. Customize your shirt with a hem tag. 

6. Customize your shirt with a hang tag. 

7. Have your shirts folded and bagged! Keep them safe during transit while also making it easier to hand out, send to customers. etc. 

 8. Print the same design on different colored shirts! 

 9. Spice it up with foil printing! 

10. Or try tonal printing! Both equally cool effects. 

11. Learn about printing on blends and how they can create awesome looking shirts. Then do it. 

12. Get inspired. Check out these 8 inspirational design ideas before designing your next shirt! 

13. Calculate your size breakdown. Just plug in the total # you need!

 14. Go big! Try a variety of sizes to see what works best for you.

15. Print a photo on your shirts! 

16. Mock-up your design on high res photos of a shirt to see if you like what it looks like. Then try it on every shirt color in the file to see what you like best! 

17. Need a break? Send us your ideas and we can create a custom t-shirt design for you! 

18. Learn how to properly prep your files for screen-printing! 

19. Get your t-shirt as fast as possible. Follow these 3 tips first!

20. Download this Custom T-shirt Design Kit to get started! 

2. Identify Basic Principles of Identity Design in the Iconic Trademarks of Chermayeff & Geismar By Sagi Haviv, Tom Geismar, and Ivan Chermayeff (via How Design) 

3. Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build An Incredible Career by Scott Belsky (via 99u)

4.   The Creativity Challenge Design, Experiment, Test, Innovate, Build, Create By Tanner Christensen (via Swiss-Miss).

5. This Year Will Be Different  The Insightful Guide to Becoming a Freelancer by Monika Kanokova (via Monika Kanokova). 

What’s entertaining is that all of the relationships that we have built, that have led us to where we are today, have come organically. Our relationship with the fine folks at French Paper Co., who donate all of our packaging materials, was born out of us engaging with them on Instagram. We were able to connect with the crew at Mama’s Sauce through a workshop they gave at Creative South ’14. Busy Beaver Button Co actually came through a cold call and now they donate all of our buttons. Element Three, our full-time employer, built our site at no cost after seeing how passionate we and several other team members were about this project.

When this idea was hatched over a text message, we saw potential, but never this. These key relationships have had an immeasurable impact on us beyond their donations. Our sponsors, coworkers, and friends have helped shape our brand tremendously. Each, in their own way, has inspired us to think bigger and to view this beyond just a passion project. They have lent us instant credibility by publicly supporting us and allowing us to borrow from their brand recognition. They have promoted us on blogs, social media and at conferences, boosting our sales with every mention. They have helped us craft an amazing product while leveraging their own impressive abilities at the same time. And we haven’t even touched on the amazing artists who have donated their artwork for our cause. 

So how can you leverage relationships to help build and elevate your brand? The answers are pretty straightforward and, once again, probably sound like words of wisdom from a parent to their child. • Be nice to everyone - You never know who you are meeting, plus mean people suck. 

• Stay true to yourself - Being authentic and straightforward is crucial for building trust. 

• Don’t be too proud - Keep your ears and eyes open to suggestions, other people have good ideas too. 

• People are approachable - You are probably more like the people you look up to than you realize. 

• Have a voice - Make yourself approachable and interact with your audience. 

• Welcome help - There’s more to your brand than just you, plus everything is more fun with friends. As Inch x Inch is less than a year old, it feels a little strange to be in a position to share these insights with you and, for that, we are grateful. We are thankful for the outpouring of support we’ve had so far and look forward to carrying this momentum into other aspects of our brand. Follow along as we continue to practice what we preach, connecting with artists from around the world to be our featured artists and expanding our site to interact with an even broader audience. http://inchxinch.org/ @INCH_x_INCH

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It’s not news to anyone to suggest that a successful brand is one that can be experienced. This is the age of a calculated experience—UI/UX defined, perfected and dissected into separate tasks, both decidedly too valuable to be the responsibility of a single person—all in a single generation of the web. However, as brand touch points multiply, the user experience as executed by a brand remains inconsistent and fragmented. These mantras we’ve built for ourselves, the ideologies we check back with and compare our brands with in order to measure our success have become outdated. A successful brand views user experience as a starting point, rather than a single piece of the puzzle.

User experience as executed by a brand often lacks the perspective to create the experience necessary connect with its consumers in a meaningful way. Handed down from the re-invention of web design, user experience finds itself relegated to a subset of the website—a single touchpoint of a brand. Burrowing the user experience so deep within the brand creates an inconsistent and fragmented impression of the brand. Moving the user experience to the forefront of brand management by definition spans every interaction between brand and consumer. Making the experience a brand priority allows it to grow with the expanding territory of devices and social media, in one consistent voice.

As the calculated experience is being perfected in the web and interactions space, the consumer is becoming increasingly accustomed to a seamless transition from one platform to another; from checkout to delivery; from app to plate. The need for a superior user experience is quickly moving from supplementary, to necessary. Customers have a greater number of choices, and more and more channels through which to pursue them. The consumer environment is such that the integrated and consistent solution always wins. 

(image source: http://weheartit.com/entry/86380979 )

Real talk: Cinnabon. We’ve all had a life time of cinnamon rolls, some better than others, some probably better than Cinnabon. Someone says cinnamon roll, you could take it or leave it—probably go for the banana bread instead, to be honest. Someone says “Cinnabon” and the dreams of pulling apart the warm, melting dough and endless frosting are seductive. Eating a cinnamon roll is a snack. Eating a Cinnabon is an experience. From the irresistible smell that drags you in despite a short connection time and a distant gate, to the stomach ache and sticky fingers holding a plate that’s been scraped clean—the experience is engineered. Building the brand around the experience—the anticipation, the indulgence and the mess—rather than just the product itself, and relating every touch point back to the experience creates a reliable and consistent brand. Entire environments are built around the first time you pulled your first piece off a Cinnabon. That experience is recreated—beginning with quality control, to the collateral and right down to the paint choice—until it’s an experience you can rely on, assured that no matter where you are in the world, you’ll find consistency at Cinnabon. It embraces the entire experience, the good, the great and then the very, very ugly, and still leaves you with fond, though admittedly selective, memories and anticipation for your next visit.

User experience encompasses every aspect of a brand, from the product, its features, ease of use and reliability, to the customer service, packaging and marketing. It sets your organization on a path from which all brand touch points can originate, and continue to relate back to. It turns a mediocre pastry into a family event, a cup of burned coffee into a national pastime—it’s the difference between a good brand and a great brand, a fleeting brand and enduring brand. As the digital age continues to diminish the barrier to entry for nearly all markets, and drives the competition up, a superior user experience is the mark of a successful brand. 

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A special thank you to Meg for writing such an inspirational piece on how user experience plays such a vital role in the overall success of a brand! Check out all her amazing work - we promise you’ll be impressed! 

2. Host a social media contest. We see these a lot, but we wouldn’t if they didn’t work. Just make sure to keep the instructions simple. If you ask your user to do to much, you will see less interaction and the contest could potentially flop. Post a photo of the giveaway, ask your fans to “like” it and tag a friend. Tagging friends help spread the contest and grow brand awareness. Set your goals ahead of time and decide what it is that you would like to achieve! Make sure to set a time limit to the contest and always announce the winner. 

(source: https://instagram.com/p/3cCpZ5Hp38/?taken-by=ugmonk)

 3. Send out to prospects. You will have to invest a little more energy into something like this, but the return will be worth your time! Start small and choose a handful of companies, people, etc. that you would like to work with. Package up your giveaway along with some other goodies and send it out! Make sure to include some sort of call to action (perhaps a special deal or discount) in the package along with your contact information. Send the package to someone specific and follow up in a week if you haven’t heard back. As a bonus, place a special hand written note on top! 

4. Sponsor an event. Growing your business might mean spending more money sometimes especially if it means getting in front of the right crowd! Instead of traditional advertising, in hopes of hitting the right people, get more microscopic and sponsor an event where you can get directly into the hands of the people you want to meet. For instance, throw a free t-shirt in the giveaway bag! The payoff can be big especially if you are there representing yourself. People can have immediate interactions, ask questions and even place orders on the spot! 

5. Play a game. If you attend a lot of events and/or conferences, break up the monotony of breaks in between sessions with a little fun! Host an activity where people can win something, but make sure it’s immediate (not a raffle) to keep the excitement levels high. Remember this might be their first experience with your brand. Leave them with a fun memory! 

 6. Give it to your employees.This one should probably be at the top of the list! Your employees are going to be your biggest fans (hopefully, haha). They have the ability to influence the circles around them! They know someone that knows someone else. You get the point, right? If they buy into what you’re doing, chances are the people around them will too. Give them something to show off and throw in an extra for their friends. 

7. *BONUS* Send a giveaway to your customers! It’s great to gain new customers, but it’s even better to hold onto the ones you have. People remember their experience upon first finding you as well as walking through your process. After you give them the best possible experience, follow up with a thank you note and a small gift/giveaway that represents your company well! If they’ve enjoyed their experience, they will be your best brand advocates and share the good news. 

Recently my studio and I were asked to rebrand and repackage the product LunchMail. It is a simple product that encourages and inspires children through positive notes you slip in their backpack or lunch sack. Think of the product as a tiny high five or hug for your kids to help give them confidence throughout the day. Tangibly, we were merely packaging little pieces of paper. But emotionally, we were packaging something much more. 

This is why the packaging was so important for this particular product. If we just threw all the paper notes in clear plastic wrapping and crossed our fingers the emotional value of this product would be lost. We wanted to help tell a story and add value to this special experience. We wanted the product to have a sense of whimsy and evoke the positivity of the brand message. Packaging is all about reinforcing that brand experience. The experience you create is just as important as the product you sell.

Take the Chipotle burrito for example. Yeah, Chipotle burritos are delicious, they are the Meryl Streep of fast casual foods. But, 9 out of 10 times after I eat one, I kinda feel like I need to consult a physician. So why do I keep coming back time after time? Yes, we all agree they are delicious and generally convenient but I feel there is more to it. The ordering process at Chipotle as well as the control we have in building our burrito can be intoxicating and the presentation or brand experience adds monumental value. 

(image: Chipotle’s Facebook) 

Think about it, after you design the perfect burrito, Chipotle congratulates you by wrapping (or packaging) your lunch as if it was a shiny silver gift. Chipotle hands you this clean, shiny, metallic present that is begging to be opened, unwrapped and played with as if on Christmas morning. Would this experience be as strong if our burrito was just thrown on a greasy white paper plate? Or handed to us on an old paper towel? No, the presentation and packaging makes this experience. So I ask you this, do we love eating Chipotle burritos or just really enjoy receiving presents?

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