How we designed our branded hoodies

At Launch we love a bit of branded merch; caps, water bottles, tote bags, t-shirts – you name it! But we felt one thing was missing… hoodies!

Branded merchandise is a great way to..

Increase brand awareness
Create long-lasting advertisement
Help grow a brand
Create a personal touch
Show appreciation to employees!

Read on to find out how we created our hoodies.

The design process

Brainstorming
To begin the process of designing our hoodies we started with some brainstorming. Here we looked at inspiration to determine what style we liked best, we carefully considered colour options – what would stand out nicely, but also what would be most ‘wearable’, and then we discussed what detail we wanted to include in the design as well as the scale of each element.

We decided on a navy hoodie, with a large type-led design on the back to demonstrate who we are as a business and what we offer; highlighting key words and phrases in a bright, accent colour.

Putting pen to paper
Once we had gathered our initial thoughts, the team put pen to paper and sketched out a couple of different designs. We then voted on which design we preferred.

Designs go digital
It was then time to transfer our chosen design to digital form in order to get a better idea of composition, sizing and colour, as well as deciding on the exact copy to best represent us!

Refining
Once we had created a version 1 we were happy with, it was time to refine it; looking closely at the detail such as font styles and weightings to ensure a clear heirachy, adjusting the sizing to achieve our desired look – small and subtle on the front, and big and bold on the back; a perfect balance!) We also explore which Pantone* was best to use to replicate our brand colours.

We got a few test prints done so we could carefully consider which was the right Pantone – we chose number 6 as it felt the brightest and most eye-catching.

Once we were happy with our design, we mocked it up on an image of a hoodie to get a better feel for what it would look like in the flesh, and to ensure we were happy with the placement of each element.

(Don’t forget to spell check too!)

*Pantones are a standardised colour matching which is used widely around the world. They help designers and printers to specify and control colour for printing.

Printing and delivery
Once the printer had received our designs they sent a proof over for us to check, and with a few tweaks we were a-go! A week later we received the hoodies in the post, just in time for us to take part in the St Albans Pancake Day Race!