Month: May 2023

Categories
Creator success Design tips

How to Design Trendy Summer Merch

Summer is rapidly approaching and it’s time to get your summer merch ready! We’re talking totes, slides, tees, tanks, you name it!. 

 The following is a solid list of guidelines for creating trendy summer merch:

Color palettes. Unless you live somewhere chilly (like Alaska), or are a surfer (see below), go minimal with black. Summer is bright, not bleak! You will find endless advice online about how to combine white with various clothing items like shoes, accessories, slides, etc., so be mindful about your color palettes. White will go with almost anything depending on the style.. 

  • Candy Pastel Palettes.  Besides classic white, a fantastic alternate is a pastel palette, which goes with pretty much anything, including neutrals. If you’re an Instagram user, you’ve no doubt also seen minimal pastel pics gradually taking over in the last year or so. Watch for this trend to take over this summer. 

Product types: On your Spring Store, play around with different types of tees for different types of fans, from classic fit, tanks, v-necks, boyfriend tees, there are lots of different options. 

Bold and decorative typography: Summer is hot! And your merch font should be too! Typography encompasses scripts, graffiti styles, handwritten fonts, etc. Think footloose and fancy-free. If you’re not able to visualize it, check out this example.

  • Daring. If this is more your jam, use large and bold t-shirt designs to create impactful slogans. 
  • Strong & vivid. If you opt for this font route, you can accentuate your illustrations and graphics or create typography designs using decorative fonts.

When it comes to bold and decorative typography, it’s not just about being strong with the lettering but also about being super expressive. Hit it hard on the nose. In the world of bold, subtlety lives elsewhere. Employing these traits in your T-shirt designs (and all merch) will make people remember your brand. Think hard on how the colors and forms of your design aid the message you want to convey.

Surfer Prints. Surfers unite! Whether you’re a beach bum or just like tees with cute quotes, you can achieve the bohemian look a few different ways. Here’s an example of where black can work when paired with bright colors combinations. 

Tropical look: Don’t want the beach thing but still want to give your fans the tropical or “on holiday” look without even leaving the comfort of home? Floral print along with a splash of color is the way to go.. 

Psychedelic Look: Swirls, intense colors, free-flowing lines, paisley prints, and eye-catching graphics like kaleidoscopic patterns––along with messages of peace, love, nature, or other positive messaging in typography that is “groovy”––play a fun role in the psychedelic design trend.

  • Tie-dye is closely related enough to this style and is still on trend, so ride that popularity wave through Summer ‘23. 

Punk Aesthetics are back!  It’s a Punk Summer! You know the look! Tattoos. Piercings. Metal studs. It’s back big time, if it ever even left. Don’t overlook this trend because there’s serious mining to be done here. A punk design might include disorderly fonts, collages of mixed media, newspaper clippings, or anything else that shows off the raw and powerful style of punk. 

Surrealism. You know the place between reality, dreams and the unconscious mind? There’s a market there this summer. And it will most likely increase in today’s “reality” of AI and the Metaverse. Experiment with escapism and unimaginable landscapes. Your T-shirt doesn’t need to be the work of Salvador Dali, but by getting familiar with the art style, you have another weapon in your design arsenal. Surrealism is about appearing to not have a specific design intent. Let your imagination flow freely.

Mixed Media. We’re supposed to only have 2-4 hours of screen time a day. Yeah, right. Who does that nowadays? The truth is we are so intertwined with the digital world now, it’s about leaning into the future. What does this mean when it comes to designing merch? Fun illustrations. Brilliant colors. Odd patterns. All with the intent to stimulate that sense of imagination, sense of wonder within your fans, reminding them how much magic and creativity we all have within our own souls. You can choose to do this by mixing media:

  • Watercolor paintings combined with typography
  • Collage of graphic elements & photographs
  • Embroidery & screen printing
  • Hand-drawn illustrations combined with digital elements
  • Multi-layered designs using overlapping elements & transparencies
  • 3D designs & elements with flat graphic design

Tip: You can discover great mixed media designs & art pieces on Pinterest. You may find creating Pinterest boards for this trend and all the other ones you like in this list very useful.

Whether you place your summer designs on T-shirts or other popular products like slides, totes, hats and tumblers, take advantage of these trends! 

Was all or some of the above too overwhelming? Spring has a top notch design team to help you with merch design services. 
Check out our blog for more creator success tips.

Categories
Design tips News Trend

Tips for Creating Best Selling Pride Merch

We’re holding our first annual Pride Design Challenge—with prizes awarded to the best-designed Pride merch. 

Here’s the lowdown:

  • Contest is open to all creators—anyone can participate!
  • Challenge runs from 5/10 – 5/31 (winner announced 5/31)
  • Winner is chosen from a panel of our professional designers
  • Must use the word “Pride” in your product titles 
  • Prizes include:

Launch products that celebrate Pride Month to be eligible to compete and boost sales. [Stat amount] of Pride merch was bought last year!

Now let’s talk merch design! Pride Month is right around the corner. Here’s a refresher on tips for creating designs your fans will love:

  • Cater your message to your fans’ interests. “Pride Month” is a broad category. Which messaging will resonate with your fans, specifically? What is in line with your brand voice? You’ll want to have visuals and slogans that will speak to your fans’ interests. To determine what that is, interact with them directly on your socials, either through polls or by asking feedback in the comments––it helps build a relationship and makes fans feel like they helped create the merch that they are going to eventually buy.
  •  Get Inspired! This is the fun part! After determining your message, it’s time to execute. Check out our pride shop for inspiration and ideas. If you’re having “designer’s block,” you can find a designer to create for you. For top-quality designs that are affordable, check out the professional design services being offered exclusively to Spring creators.[link] Be sure to explain what you want in a clear way and provide as many details as possible (such as your aesthetic, preferred font style, color scheme, etc). 
  • Choose the products that will best showcase your design. Once your designs are finalized, you’ll need to place them on products! What will look good? Is your design big and bold, best for a t-shirt or hoodie? Or is it small and simple and best for a hat or tumbler? Lastly, which products will actually be useful to your fans during Pride Month? Tees and pendants are great for events and marches. Spring has an expanded catalog of products for you to choose from! Be sure to order a sample, so you can see the product the way your customers will and then you can use that sample to promote your merch to your fans in social content. 
  • Start selling! Creating and selling merch is the key to creator success and with Spring, these steps are easy. If you want tips on how to generate more sales, check out our blog on creating and selling merch. 

Give your fans merch that showcases their Pride. When your brand is in line with their values, customers become loyal fans that generate revenue for you while spreading the word about your brand. 

Let’s get this Pride Design Challenge started!

Categories
Creator success

The Value of Having a Custom Domain

Why is it so valuable to have a custom domain for your store? Before we dive in…let’s take a step back. What is a custom domain? 

Most every social media campaign has a link leading the user somewhere to do something (usually to buy merch). That link is a web address, or URL. Whether it’s for a promotion, contest, giveaway, or a landing page to promote your mech, a URL is what directs people there. 

A major component of your URL is the domain name. Simply put, a domain name is the unique part of the web address, sandwiched between the necessary parts of https://www and (dot)com. This domain can be random or customized (your name or your brand name).

When driving fans to your business, wouldn’t it be better if your link was purposeful and identifiable to you versus a random string of letters and numbers?

Of course. Still, here are 3 more specific reasons custom domains have value, followed by 4 ways to get the most bang out of your domain:

  1. Your BRAND needs to be the first thing seen. Purchasing a domain name is the smartest decision you can make for brand recognition. A custom domain helps promote you and your brand. Website and campaign-building platforms tend to use generic names related to that platform. EX: Your company’s name is Grape Dew. Instead of a generic URL like http://1.www.godaddy.com/123abc, your campaign’s URL might be http://giveaway.Grape-Dew.com/123abc. By seeing the brand name in the URL, customers are associating the name of your brand with the link they are clicking, thereby building in their mind brand consistency and product identity. And for those customers who get confused or tend to be more leary than others, at the very least having a custom domain tells them they are in the right place. Which brings us to:
  2. Trust. Unfortunately, we are living in an age where it’s not surprising to hear about this “scam” or that “identity theft,” etc. The inevitable result is reluctancy by potential customers to click on links. If a link is clearly connected to your business, this greatly decreases skepticism. 
  3. Make your brand DISCOVERABLE. Here’s a quick rundown just in case you’re unclear: On websites, the root domain is what search engines see. Your search engine optimization (SEO) is greatly improved by having a custom domain, and here’s why: Let’s say a user is searching for something very specific and relevant to your brand, but you have a generic domain. You won’t pop up. However, a custom domain will. The benefits don’t end there. Your site will then become ranked higher. And the more campaigns you run with the same custom domain, the higher your search ranking will be. Every time you run a new campaign with the same domain name you previously used, you now have an even greater chance of being seen at the top of the search results! 

4 ways to get value out of your domain name:

  1. Include your Spring store website in the domain name. The value of a domain name comes from the website in the name. Your brand and your Spring store website should be in your custom domain name. When your domain name includes your website, it increases your options on what you can link to and what you can do with your domain name. 
  2. Use your Spring custom domain in your custom email address. When you use your domain name in your email address from a custom email account, it doesn’t just advertise your website, it adds to your email address a level of professionalism and makes it easier to send branded communications. You can also manage your custom domain email accounts from your personal email by having them automatically forwarded to your personal email account. 
  3. Forward your domain name to social media. You don’t want to keep telling people, “Find me on Twitter” or “Look me up on IG.” Forward your domain name to your social platforms. Ex. Facebook.JohnDoe.com, Twitter.JohnDoe.com, etc. This keeps on brand across the board, all platforms, and all mediums. If you want to know how to forward your domain to socials, each platform has a different set of steps. You will have to google the steps for each one. In the end it’s worth it! 
  4. Pick as valuable a domain name as possible. The ideal domain name is determined by you and your brand. Assuming you have a handle on your brand and who your audience is, pick the domain name that will most connect with them and be the most relevant to them, increasing the overall value of your domain. Ex: If you’re a swing dance instructor, Swing-Dance-Instructor.com is better than Dance-Instructor.com, and Dance-Instructor.com is better than Dancer.com, and so on. Get as specific and as relevant to your audience and brand as possible. 

As you can see, brand identity is important and a custom domain name is a major component of that. If you’re a Spring creator, we’ve made it easy to have a custom domain. You can go buy one yourself and connect it to your Spring storefront or you can buy one directly in Spring. So register that custom domain asap and Happy Prospering!

Categories
Creator success Design tips

How to create the perfect logo for your brand

Think of a logo as a promise your brand makes to your customers, followers, and fans. Why? Your logo is making a visual statement about who you are as a brand. It better be an accurate representation! How many famous brands do you recognize just by the logo? Most, if not all. That’s because a great logo communicates a message that is understandable and clear. 

However, it can be tricky to create a logo that perfectly matches your brand. How do you blend your business ideals with a logo design that not only helps your business stand out/be memorable but also fits the brand? Don’t worry, Spring by Amaze can help with our Design on Demand services offered by affinityX. But more on that later. 

First, here are some tips on how to create the perfect logo for your brand: 

Do some soul searching about your brand

Many people think they need to start with a logo and then develop the brand. That’s actually backward. Know your brand first and the logo will follow. First, you need to get to know yourself. Your brand is an extension of you who are, so ask yourself the tough questions about what you want to put into the world. If you truly understand who you are and what you’re about, it will help you understand the feelings you want your company to evoke. What do you stand for? What is the “why” for creating? Don’t rely on making money – that’s a (great) by-product. What is your mission? You’re on the right track if you can answer why you’re doing this and the answer isn’t to “just make money.” When you know the why, what does it look like in the form of a visual presentation? Now you’re ready to imagine your logo.

Simple is always better

We mean it. Simple IS always better. You don’t want to complicate the visual representation of your brand. You want to be instantly recognizable and not get lost in the fray. Complicated logos tend to succumb to that. 

Go minimal. You want to go as minimalistic as possible, especially if you include your brand name in your logo. Don’t clutter up the space with unnecessary words. Any letting on your logo should be easy to read and short. 

Keep it clean. What do we mean by clean? Your visual should have empty space. If you’re unsure if an element needs to be there, remove it. Sometimes simple shapes are all you need. An example is a camera company that just uses a circle and two brackets. 

Be literal. For the best impact, be simple, literal, minimal, and clean. For a great example, check out this Spring creator and their logo “Work for your beer.”

If you’re stuck, you can hire a design professional to help you arrive at a minimalistic, yet instantly recognizable logo. 

Land on your vibe 

Remember, your logo is what will tie your visuals together. It’ll be on your channels, your site, and your merch. Logos are part of what gets fans to emotionally connect with a brand. How do you want your fans to feel? What vibe do you want to give off? Playful? Intense? Excited? Or would you rather be all business and keep it practical? Whoever your ideal customer is – based on the emotion your brand evokes – pick the right colors, iconography, and typography that will strike an emotional chord. 

Be memorable

Your brand name is important even if it’s not in your logo. Some brands opt to have their name in the logo. If this is the route you’d like to go, your name needs to be memorable, short, and simple. Something goofy, for example, is memorable. Who’s gonna forget the name NerdFace? Being memorable means your customers can easily repeat the name to others. But having a memorable name and recognizable logo generates more residual benefit than just being memorable. It also saves you marketing costs. Word-of-mouth takes over!

Trust your instincts

This may sound abstract but allow us to go a little Obi Wan on you for a second. Temporarily toss the spreadsheets, polls, and reports to the side. Have you ever heard a name or seen a logo in your head and it just felt right? You just know, right? Take a piece of paper and write down the name of your brand. Then write 10 words that represent your mission and your values. Next, bust open a thesaurus and make those 10 words as specific as possible. Finally, find your font, your colors, and watch your logo come to life. You will be looking at your brand’s visual identity. Be Luke, close your eyes and trust the force!

Test logos with family & friends

Not everyone can afford focus groups, but if you can, do it! Let’s assume you can’t afford it. You want to find out what your audience responds to. Make sure to ask friends and family (or a test audience if you have the budget) very specific questions so you can learn what logos/names your audience is attracted to. Identify the emotion behind the attraction, which will then inform your final logo before launch. 

SEO can matter

You may be tempted to roll your logo out the second you arrive at your perfect branding. Pump the brakes one last time. Is this a common name or similar logo to anything else? Double check. It’s worth it. You want to stand out and this will be one less headache you will thank yourself for. 

It’s time to get creative!

It can be daunting to design a logo, but your brand logo is crucial to your success as a creator. It will go on your channels and your merch. Remember—your logo is a visual representation of who you are, what you do, and why you do it. That’s a lot, right? Don’t worry, Spring by Amaze has got you covered with Design on Demand Services offered by affinityX. You’ll get a professionally-designed logo for an affordable price so you can start using that perfect logo asap! 

And as always, reach out with questions anytime to creatorhelp@spri.ng.