THE DESIGN PROCESS: HOW IT ALL WORKS

Not all of our clients have a design in mind when we start the process. So if you’re in the same boat, don’t worry! We have an in-house art studio who can handle the creative side of things, all we need from you is a brief.

Here’s a run down of the process and how it all works:

1) Step One - The Meeting
Our Commercial Director has a meeting with the customer in order to get an understanding of what they are after - sometimes there will be an event or anniversary coming up that they want to commemorate, but more often than not they have seen that their counterparts are having huge amounts of success with their retail lines and want to do something similar. We’ll get an understanding of all of the important things like what, why and when, and produce a brief.

2) Step Two - Solutions
Our team will sit down together and discuss possible solutions for the customer. We’ll consider the appropriate product lines for the target market, match colours and come up with a few ideas. Our design team will then start drafting out a range of possible designs to match the brief.

3) Step Three - Design
We’ll research the client as much as possible to get an understanding of their organisation, potential audiences and generally get a feeling for what they are about. Then our team will draft out a range of images that capture the brand and then look at combining them together along with colour, text and positioning. The best designs are often simple - but simple doesn’t mean boring. Take the The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary for instance! It’s catchy, memorable and makes an impact.

We worked with the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary to design T-shirts celebrating their 30 years of saving donkey's

Portmeirion uses an iconic quote from the TV series The Prisoner, which was filmed in the enchanting village, paired with an image of character ‘No.6’’s face printed on the chest.

This design for the Natural History Museum is a particular favourite here and with customers. We created this ‘follow the footsteps’ kids t-shirt which looks great, and also provides some fun facts about our dino-history!

4) Step Four - Presentation
We’ll relay all of this back to the customer. This will include suggesting garments and designs for each garment, positioning and custom re-labelling. We’ll also discuss packaging solutions and offer a range of display options to deliver maximum impact.

5) Step Five - Digital Sampling
We’ll make any adjustments and refinements, and once the designs have been agreed we’ll create digital samples for both the garments and the packaging. The customer then confirms the order, and we get to work.

6) Step Six - Production
The order is passed to the account manager who oversees the garment production. They’ll process the order, instruct the team and keep track of the garments as they go through the different areas of the factory. Once the order is complete, it gets dispatched for next day delivery.

A range of product and packaging designs from Kingfisher Giftwear.