How to Design a T-Shirt Logo

T-shirts are a great way to advertise your business, your little league team or even your family reunion. With the right logo, your t-shirt can be the center of attraction. It only takes is a little bit of creativity and a good idea to design a t-shirt logo.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Choose your colors. Keep in mind that the busier the color pattern the more difficult it is to read the logo. Therefore, if you're going to design a logo that you want people to read, choose no more than two or maybe three colors.

2. Select a readable font. While fancy fonts look pretty up close, they are difficult to read from afar. Reading a t-shirt often occurs in passing. Whether you’re walking into or out of a store or walking down the street, your font has to be large, clear and easily readable by anyone passing by.

3. Pick a graphic. Similar to choosing fonts, graphics have to be clear, large, and viewable. Fine details on a logo can get lost on a small logo image. It might be necessary to forgo fine details in favor of large viewable and less detailed graphics.

4. Digitize the logo. Once you've designed the logo for your T-shirt, digitize it. That means if the image was hand drawn, scan it so that it is computer readable.

5. Check the logo dimensions. Use care not to design a wonderful looking logo only to find that it distorts when resized to fit on the t-shirt. Keep track of the logo’s dimensions to ensure it renders properly on the t-shirt.

6. Find a reputable T-shirt printing company. Unless you're going to make your own t-shirts by using an iron on transfer, it's best to do a little research on the internet to find a reputable t-shirt printing company.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to carefully double-check the proof before the t-shirts are printed.
• Always check the online company’s return policy in the event you are not satisfied with the work.

Resources

• T-Shirt Designs
• Custom Ink

[vampirebarbie]

on 12/27/2009 Pretty cool i deign custom tee's myself i do logos and i have the person (usually girls buy mine, i also cut them while they stand there wearing them so they are always custom tee's i cut fringes on them, lines and more they come out amazing!!! Jessica Simpson....

[beanybomb12]

on 12/21/2009 I am a kid with some mad skill in logo creations, so I find this pretty cool. Thanks for the advice.

[paulettemotzko]

on 11/7/2009 I am not sure how you managed to put something on my "I did this" portion of my profile page, but I think that type of marketing is very tacky.

It makes others think that I am part of a get rich quick scheme.

Please remove it off that segment of my page.

Paulette Le Pore Motzko

[treasuresyw]

on 9/19/2009 Cool. Thanks. I have a friend that's an artist and I want her to design something that I will get put on a shirt. I thought your article was well written and very interesting. Thanks again.

[junad]

on 8/28/2009 Very good advice. There are a ton of ugly t-shirts out there that could use this.