Wouldn’t it be great if conversations about your business were starting up all over town? That people you haven’t hired are representing your brand and spreading it to potential new customers? I’m not talking about starting a scandal. I’m talking about using custom tee designs to get people talking!
Did you know that at 48HoursLogo you can launch a T-shirt design contest? It works similar to a logo contest (more on that below), and will become a powerful marketing opportunity for your business. Many times companies will just smack their logo design on a t-shirt. That can work if the logo is interesting enough, but any logo can be enhanced to become an attention grabbing fashion statement!
T-shirts are great marketing tools because they encourage word of mouth promotion. If your logo is combined with a unique design or powerful statement, people will be compelled to engage the wearer. Another benefit is that shirts will be worn many times. That means once you get a tee out to someone, it will be seen by hundreds of potential customers during the next couple of years. Keep in mind that can be multiplied exponentially when you print a larger number and pass them out in your town.
My wife sings in a choir, and they recently held a weekend-long conference. To help offset the cost of the conference, they sold t-shirts with the logo on the front and a message on the back. I’m wearing the shirt right now as I type this. When I go out today, people will see the shirt, the message on the back, and I am instantly a point of contact for the choir. Someone that was there that weekend will see me and may spark up a conversation. Those who weren’t there will see the message on the back and may make a connection with it. A t-shirt can create opportunity for your business to reach a larger audience.
CUSTOM T-SHIRT FOR MANY OCCASIONS
Just like the choir did, shirts are a great way to let people know that you have something going on! I’m sure you’re familiar with seeing tee shirts attached to charity events, fun runs, fundraisers, and other special events.
I remember taking my church group to camp one year. I had designed a shirt for the teens that combined the logo with an illustration, white ink on a blue tee. I took a picture of them together and was overwhelmed by the sea of blue in front of me! It was roughly 50 kids, but together wearing the same shirt made a powerful statement about unity. All that day I saw how groups of teenagers in my blue shirt stood out among the rest of the kids at camp (800+).
If you have employees working for your business, get them some custom designed shirts to wear! From restaurants, to painters, to boutiques, seeing your logo and message on the people doing what you do will make a memorable impact on viewers. Seeing a painter on a ladder wearing an eye-catching design featuring your logo will build a strong link in passerby’s minds.
START A TEE SHIRT CONTEST TODAY
If you’ve ever completed a logo contest with us then you are already familiar with the process. From the Homepage, simply click “Start A Project” in the upper right hand corner.
That will take you to the Start A Design Project… page where you will first be asked to select what you would like to design. There are three categories, and T-shirt Design is under the Print category.
The brief will then change a bit from the Logo Design brief. You will need to fill out the Project Title and a Project Description. There are also options to upload documents and images with the brief.
TIPS FOR RUNNING A TEE SHIRT CONTEST
My first graphic design job while in college was with the art department at a large garment printing shop. I loved the experience and learned a lot while on the job. Honestly, I can’t look at t-shirts the same after that. When I’m out shopping with my wife or anytime in public, I am drawn to t-shirts people are wearing, what it says about them, or how it was designed and printed. With this in mind, I’ve got some tips I would like to share:
- Consider shifting the focus of the design from your logo to your message. Shirts are a great way to highlight messages. Use that space to feature your vision, your tagline, or any saying and keep your logo secondary.
- Remember that colors equal cost. A design with eight different colors will cost more to print that a design with one. If you need a colorful shirt I recommend using two to three colors, keeping in mind that the shirt itself will count as a extra color. It’s a cost-effective trick to get more impact for your money.
- Check on this with your printer, but in most cases print shops will not print a design over a seam or collar because it can damage their equipment. If you need to do this with your design, it may have to be printed on the shirt while its in pieces before its sown together, and that can get really pricey, really quickly.
- Any designs with special effects, like gradients or shines, can count as extra colors and bump up your cost.
- Take advantage of unique print locations. Most designs are on the front center of the tee, usually in a 12” x 14” rectangle. You can also print on the back of the shirt, either left and right sleeve (or both), and lower on the hip of the shirt.
GAZE UPON TRIUMPH
Here are some recent examples from the 48HoursLogo portfolio that showcase some great uses.
MPI Club | by Gayan
This design looks great and celebrates an anniversary for the MPI Club. I love how it uses three print locations. The Tradition Never Dies tagline looks great on the sleeve.
CrushIT Gear | by PRN123
CrushIT is an athletic line of apparel. They’ve focused on baseball fans with this design, which incorporates bats, a baseball, and a catcher’s mitt. They way the bat pierces the ball is aggressive and powerful.
Firebrew Bar & Grill | by fontstyle
This shirt is great for employees of the Bar & Grill to wear. It has the logo in the Left Crest position on the front, and a large design on the back highlighting what makes them special. The back design is strong and attention-grabbing, but only uses four colors (white, red, burgundy, & yellow)! This shirt is a great example of using the logo as part of a larger, promotional design.
Be Joyful | by creativehead
When I talk about using the t-shirt contests for fashion, this is what I mean. Now the contest holder has a unique, one-of-a-kind design to offer their customers! It is also limited to three colors, but that doesn’t stop it from spreading it’s joyful message!
Montreal Fire Deptpartment | by leors
Not really a logo that you could use for the Fire Department, but awesome artwork to represent firefighters and their hard work! Any fireman in that department would be proud to wear this shirt, plus it would be great to sell as a fundraiser – I’m no firefighter, but I would wear that!
T-SHIRT CONTESTS
Consider how you could use t-shirts to help promote your business. Would it be extra advertising when your employees wear them? Are you participating in a special event as a way to connect your business to the community? Do you need a fundraiser idea? There are many great reasons to use a custom t-shirt design for your business. Make sure your money is making an impact, you don’t want to go through the process of getting t-shirts made only to end up with a product no one wants to wear.
Plus once you’ve completed the project with 48HoursLogo.com, you will receive a T-Shirt Package similar to the Logo Packages (EPS, PDF, JPG, PNG). This means that you can re-print the designs with your printer and not need any new artwork.
Start a tee shirt contest today! Our Design Community is excited collaborate with you!
What’s your favorite tee shirt you wear?
Wouldyou wear a tee for your business?
Let’s talk about it in the comments!
©All artwork shown is copyright of their respective owners.
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If you dig this article, check these out:
- Use the “Our Gallery” feature to improve communication on your contest!
- We would like to feature your business on our blog! Get the details here.
- Got questions about downloading the Logo Package? We’ve got answers.