Designing T-Shirts: Layout Tips And Tricks

Designing a T-shirt is a creative and fun activity that can also be profitable if you decide to sell your designs. Whether you're creating a T-shirt for a brand, a special event, or simply for yourself, there are several steps you should follow to ensure a successful outcome. Firstly, it's important to plan your design and think about what it will represent. This could be a company logo, a personal illustration, or even a photo. Once you have a concept, consider the colour scheme, keeping in mind the contrast between the ink colours and the shirt colour. Lighter-coloured shirts tend to work better with darker ink colours, and vice versa. Adding dimension to your design and balancing its elements are also key to making it visually appealing. You should also determine the placement of the design on the T-shirt – will it be centred, on the top left, or a wraparound image? Before finalising, create a mock-up of your design and don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion.

Understand the types of printing techniques

There are several printing techniques to choose from when designing a T-shirt, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the most common ones:

• Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing: This method uses a special printer to spray water-based inks directly onto the T-shirt fabric. It is ideal for complex designs with multiple colours and can be used on various fabrics, including cotton, polyester, and cotton/polyester blends. DTG is perfect for small orders as it requires no setup costs, but it may be costly for bulk orders.
• Screen Printing: This technique applies ink indirectly to T-shirts through a mesh partly blocked by a stencil, printing one colour at a time. It is effective for simple designs with a small number of colours and large quantities of orders. Screen printing is cost-efficient for large print runs but may not be suitable for intricate designs or high-resolution images.
• Dye Sublimation Printing: This method prints the design in reverse on transfer paper and then heats it to transfer the dye onto the T-shirt. It works best with synthetic fabrics like polyester and can cover the entire shirt. However, it doesn't bond well with cotton and can be expensive.
• Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) Printing: HTV uses vinyl plastic-based sheets that are coloured and cut into the desired shape. The design is then applied to the T-shirt using an iron or heat press. HTV is perfect for simple graphics and text-based designs, such as sports jerseys, but it is not suitable for large-scale production or dark backgrounds.
• Plastisol Transfer Printing: This is an indirect screen printing technique that uses a plastic-based transfer sheet to apply ink to T-shirts. It allows for special finishes like gloss and texture but is not suitable for photographic images or large orders.
• Airbrushing: Airbrushing is a manual technique that uses a small spray painting tool to apply paint to the T-shirt. It allows for artistic freedom and custom designs but may not be suitable for intricate details or large orders.

Pick a colour palette

When designing a T-shirt, the colour palette is a crucial consideration. This involves choosing the fabric colour, which is the base colour of the T-shirt, and the print colours, which are used in the graphics or images on the T-shirt. It is important to keep in mind that print designs are based on the CMYK colour model, so the colours you see on your laptop screen may differ from the printing ink colours. Therefore, when working with a graphic designer or using software such as Photoshop or Illustrator, it is recommended to change the colour modes to CMYK colours. Alternatively, you can ask your printer if they can help convert your designs from RGB to CMYK.

When choosing a colour combination, it is essential to consider every aspect of your business, including your target audience, their age group, and interests. While it may be tempting to choose a trendy colour, it is generally advisable to stick to your brand colours or a palette that represents your brand personality. For example, if your brand palette consists of silver, blue, purple, teal, and black, you may opt to pare it back to just two to three shades for your T-shirts. This is because, while an array of colours might work well on social media channels or brand packaging, it may not always translate well to clothing. Many people tend to favour simpler pieces over 'loud' clothing, so the goal is to make your T-shirt as wearable as possible.

Additionally, it is worth noting that the colour of the fabric can affect the appearance of the ink, so be sure to request samples from your printer if you plan to use a coloured fabric. This will ensure that your fabric and design colours complement each other.

Browse design concepts

This is the most creative yet daunting task. You might already have a few ideas about what you want to do, but in any case, you should take some time to browse the internet for the latest T-shirt design ideas. Dribbble, Behance, and Pinterest are some of the best websites for design inspiration.

• Company's logo: This is great for branding, and companies like Adidas and Calvin Klein have been selling T-shirts with their logos for years. However, if you’re a startup with a Wordmark logo, your target audience might not prefer wearing your brand name on a T-shirt. You can consider this option if you have a cool Pictorial Marks logo or a Mascot logo.
• Relatable quotes: People love wearing T-shirts with relatable quotes. You can print something funny or motivational or incorporate a hashtag that aligns with your brand’s niche. For example, a fitness brand can print #eathealthy or #stayfit, and a travel company can print #wanderlust or #exploretheworld.
• Event T-shirts: If you’re planning to give away T-shirts during an event, you can mention the name or location of the event on a T-shirt. But again, do check with the event organizers to get permission to print their event details.
• Typography: When choosing a font for your T-shirt design, it’s important to prioritize readability. The most popular choice of T-shirt fonts is sans-serif fonts, such as Helvetica or Arial. But you can also use other stylized fonts, like rustic serifs or chubby retro, to convey a certain mood or tone.

Whatever you choose, just make sure you test the design on different backgrounds to ensure it remains legible.

Decide the style of the t-shirt

When designing a t-shirt, it's important to choose a style that is comfortable to wear and appeals to a wide audience. For example, collared or round-neck t-shirts are quite popular and considered a suitable fit by people of various ages. However, crop tops or tank t-shirt designs aren't as popular and are also considered inappropriate for business.

The same goes for choosing the t-shirt fabric. You need to pick something that's comfortable to wear and doesn't irritate the skin. Cotton is a popular choice as it's soft and breathable, but you can also opt for a blend of cotton and polyester to get both softness and durability.

If you're designing a t-shirt for a brand or company, a simple design in the centre of the shirt may be the most effective. Don't forget that you can also use the back of the t-shirt to include a branding slogan.

When deciding on the style of the t-shirt, it's also important to consider the placement of the design. Would your design work better as a centred image, an image on the top left of the t-shirt, or as a wraparound image?

If you're designing a t-shirt for a special event, you'll want to choose a style that fits the theme of the event. For example, if it's a family reunion, you might want to choose a style that's more casual and comfortable. If it's a bachelorette party, you might want to choose a style that's more fun and flirty.

Mock up the t-shirt

Now, it’s time to actually start designing your shirt! This is where you choose the actual layout of your design and mock it up, meaning you’ll preview what it’s actually going to look like on a t-shirt. At this stage, it’s important to find a plain t-shirt mockup image to guide your design. This will ensure you’re working with the correct dimensions, spacing, and scale. If you are working with a company that prints the t-shirts for you, they will often have their own tool to do this.

Mocking up your t-shirt is usually the last stage in the design process before you get it printed. So, be sure to carefully consider how your overall composition works together. Have you given your text and graphics plenty of negative space to breathe? Is the spacing between all your design elements even? Does your layout look balanced and pleasing to the eye? Asking yourself these questions—or asking others for feedback—can make or break your final product.

Before you send your shirt to be printed, make a prototype by printing the design and ironing it onto a plain shirt. If you plan to use software with a high capacity for manipulation (such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Gimp, Adobe Illustrator, or Paint Shop Pro), you can use a standard image and radically transform it to fit your needs.

Creating a vector outline on Inkscape is an especially effective way to resize a photo if necessary.

Complete a final mock-up of the design. It’s best to sketch your ideas out before putting them on your t-shirt. Try out several different designs and colour combinations. Keep in mind colour contrast and dimension. Make sure the image is balanced and cohesive.

Frequently asked questions