The 5 pro tips to get better results when designing custom t-shirts
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 6:41 pm
A favorite t-shirt is something that you would never want to discard, regardless of the holes, rips, and stains. These favorite tees become our signature, while for others, they work wonders as a free advertisement. Although comfortable fabric, our favorite color, and the perfect size all play important roles, mainly it is the design that clicks straight to our mind. The design is the first impression that makes us fall in love with custom t-shirts. If a design relates to our personality, then we end up with it for a lifetime. Since the designs of t-shirts are the most important aspect of a t-shirt, we will go through the top 5 tips that can help you with a successful t-shirt design.
The Size matters
Size matters a lot when it comes to designing custom t-shirts. With a standard size for all your designs, your t-shirts won’t end up with an x-factor that makes people fall in love with them. Size mainly depends on the nature of the designs and the t-shirt size. For instance, circular and square-based designs look better in smaller sizes. Likewise, a small size design will be lost in an extra-large t-shirt. A ladies’ t-shirt will lose its feminineness if a large image is printed on it. The type of garment is another thing to consider while deciding the image size. For example, t-shirts with front pockets have a maximum height of 10 inches, and some toddler t-shirts are only 6 inches wide.
The Bottom line: Size can make or break the result of your designs.
Placing it right
The placement of a design is not just about the correct location. It needs specific measurements of where to place your design within that location. Beginners can use a grid system to get the best dimensions and locations for the design placement. The use of grids will also help you in setting the proportion of each element in the design.
The Bottom line: Don’t place your head-turning attractive designs in the wrong place. Imagine that a beautiful design printed on the belly will turn heads for all the wrong reasons.
Adding depth with typography on your custom t-shirts
Typography refers to the visual component of a text. It is the way to print or display text. When it comes to t-shirt design, typography becomes the art of selecting fonts and arranging text sensibly and aesthetically. For an appealing design, you need to add depth with text that complements the design and the target market. For example, if you are designing t-shirts for a corporate client base, you should avoid using “Comic Sans.” The thumb rule of typography in t-shirt designing is not to use more than three different fonts at one time.
The Bottom line: Although some standard fonts work for all the designs, your love and consideration for your work should reflect in your designs. Explore your options. Fonts starting with A and B will tell us how far you have explored to come up with the best for us.
Shades of your custom t-shirts
The shades you use to create a design is an element that instantly communicates a personality is color. It is proven scientifically that each shade, tint, and hue evokes a different emotion. That’s how important the colors are. Another point is that the color of designs should complement the fabric color, so it is best to use the tee color as a background for your designs. Type of fabric, printer, and customization, all play significant roles in deciding colors for your design. You have to think aesthetically. However, economic aspects are also important. For instance, the more colors you will use in printing, the more expensive it will get. For all things to come out best, you must dive deeper into the theories and cycle of the colors. Complementary colors, tonal ranges, black and white, and using simulated procedures are the ways to achieve a look of full color with few spot colors only.
The bottom line: Colors relate to emotions, so don’t play with people’s emotions. Stick to two or three colors, and you will come up with a very aesthetic design. Most top brands do the same.
Quality of the image
Quality of image is a common problem with the art files that you prepare. These files are input into a printer or embroidery machine. If they are “low resolution” then the results will never come out good. If the image file doesn’t have sufficient pixel information necessary for good printing quality, you will not get a vibrant design on your t-shirt. Most web images are too small. They typically are fixed at 72 dpi, which is not a full size thus not printable. The ideal image size for t-shirt printing is 200 dpi or higher. Another issue with low-resolution images is that they are compressed one or more times. We can see the effects of that compression in the printed tees.
The Bottom line: Crappy image files turn only into a printed t-shirt which is less crappy but crappy they are.
The most important thing to make eye-catching custom t-shirts is to acquire the best canvases to create your designs. Your blank t-shirt should have the fabric that complements your customization method. Printing, direct to garment (DTG), embroidery, all these techniques align with different fabrics to come out as vibrant and durable designs on the t-shirt. For the best personalized t-shirts and custom t-shirt printing, you must buy your blanks from ApparelnBags. Use coupon code TEE15 to avail of up to 15% discount on blank t-shirts. Free shipping is also available at a purchase value of $149 and above.
The Size matters
Size matters a lot when it comes to designing custom t-shirts. With a standard size for all your designs, your t-shirts won’t end up with an x-factor that makes people fall in love with them. Size mainly depends on the nature of the designs and the t-shirt size. For instance, circular and square-based designs look better in smaller sizes. Likewise, a small size design will be lost in an extra-large t-shirt. A ladies’ t-shirt will lose its feminineness if a large image is printed on it. The type of garment is another thing to consider while deciding the image size. For example, t-shirts with front pockets have a maximum height of 10 inches, and some toddler t-shirts are only 6 inches wide.
The Bottom line: Size can make or break the result of your designs.
Placing it right
The placement of a design is not just about the correct location. It needs specific measurements of where to place your design within that location. Beginners can use a grid system to get the best dimensions and locations for the design placement. The use of grids will also help you in setting the proportion of each element in the design.
The Bottom line: Don’t place your head-turning attractive designs in the wrong place. Imagine that a beautiful design printed on the belly will turn heads for all the wrong reasons.
Adding depth with typography on your custom t-shirts
Typography refers to the visual component of a text. It is the way to print or display text. When it comes to t-shirt design, typography becomes the art of selecting fonts and arranging text sensibly and aesthetically. For an appealing design, you need to add depth with text that complements the design and the target market. For example, if you are designing t-shirts for a corporate client base, you should avoid using “Comic Sans.” The thumb rule of typography in t-shirt designing is not to use more than three different fonts at one time.
The Bottom line: Although some standard fonts work for all the designs, your love and consideration for your work should reflect in your designs. Explore your options. Fonts starting with A and B will tell us how far you have explored to come up with the best for us.
Shades of your custom t-shirts
The shades you use to create a design is an element that instantly communicates a personality is color. It is proven scientifically that each shade, tint, and hue evokes a different emotion. That’s how important the colors are. Another point is that the color of designs should complement the fabric color, so it is best to use the tee color as a background for your designs. Type of fabric, printer, and customization, all play significant roles in deciding colors for your design. You have to think aesthetically. However, economic aspects are also important. For instance, the more colors you will use in printing, the more expensive it will get. For all things to come out best, you must dive deeper into the theories and cycle of the colors. Complementary colors, tonal ranges, black and white, and using simulated procedures are the ways to achieve a look of full color with few spot colors only.
The bottom line: Colors relate to emotions, so don’t play with people’s emotions. Stick to two or three colors, and you will come up with a very aesthetic design. Most top brands do the same.
Quality of the image
Quality of image is a common problem with the art files that you prepare. These files are input into a printer or embroidery machine. If they are “low resolution” then the results will never come out good. If the image file doesn’t have sufficient pixel information necessary for good printing quality, you will not get a vibrant design on your t-shirt. Most web images are too small. They typically are fixed at 72 dpi, which is not a full size thus not printable. The ideal image size for t-shirt printing is 200 dpi or higher. Another issue with low-resolution images is that they are compressed one or more times. We can see the effects of that compression in the printed tees.
The Bottom line: Crappy image files turn only into a printed t-shirt which is less crappy but crappy they are.
The most important thing to make eye-catching custom t-shirts is to acquire the best canvases to create your designs. Your blank t-shirt should have the fabric that complements your customization method. Printing, direct to garment (DTG), embroidery, all these techniques align with different fabrics to come out as vibrant and durable designs on the t-shirt. For the best personalized t-shirts and custom t-shirt printing, you must buy your blanks from ApparelnBags. Use coupon code TEE15 to avail of up to 15% discount on blank t-shirts. Free shipping is also available at a purchase value of $149 and above.