
There are a number of factors that contribute to the success of your print on demand store, and to the popularity of your product offerings. At the end of the day, though, a lot of what differentiates print on demand companies is the graphic design. As such, it’s important for print on demand store owners to keep an eye on the latest graphic design trends, ensuring their products look stylish and contemporary.
Knowing the latest graphic design trends can be especially helpful when designing for “patterned blanks,” like the new tie-dyed T-shirts we’ve launched at Gooten… but more on that later!
5 Graphic Design Trends for On Demand T-Shirts
1. Custom Illustrations
Year after year, illustrations prove incredibly popular on print on demand products… and 2022 is no exception. If you’ve got an iPad and are gifted with digital drawing, illustrations represent a great way to adorn your custom apparel.
As for some specific illustration trends, here are a few options to consider:
- Thin-line drawings, featuring dark borders around bright colors, have been gaining in popularity over the past couple of years.
- Playful appearances from original/non-IP cartoon characters are often welcome, too.
- Drawings of geometric shapes, arranged in eye-catching patterns, are another big trend, and can look really great on print on demand T-shirts.
2. Animation
Something else that’s been popular among print on demand websites lately is the use of animation. There are tons of graphic design software suites that will allow you to take existing drawings, such as those cartoon characters we mentioned above, and turn them into animated images or GIFs.
While you can’t actually include animation on custom apparel, it can nevertheless be a fun way to add a bit of kinetic energy to your website, potentially raising enthusiasm for your print on demand products. An alternative idea is to incorporate popular GIFs and memes in your t-shirt designs.
3. Chaotic Typography
With traditional typography, letters are carefully arranged in such a way that they are very easily readable. Chaotic typography is something a little bit different. With chaotic typography, the letters may be arranged in unusual or creative ways, requiring the reader to look closely to determine what’s been written.
Chaotic typography opens you up to a lot of really wild, visually striking design ideas. For this reason, it’s been a popular option for print on demand T-shirts and other custom apparel.
4. Metal Textures
Another major graphic design trend is to use metal textures to draw the viewer’s attention to key parts of the composition. In particular, there’s been a notable uptick in designs that involve gold textures or accents. For instance, gold “foil” textures can be a great way to add some splash to your designs.
5. 3-D Designs
A final graphic design trend that’s worth noting: The use of 3-D images. There are a lot of graphic design tools that make it easy to convert an existing 2-D illustration into something 3-D. This can be a really great way to make your images pop, whether on print on demand T-shirts, mugs, totes, or whatever else.
Graphic Design Trends for Tie-Dyed Custom Apparel
One of the reasons why we are so excited to discuss these graphic design trends is that they represent some great ways to use our latest product offering: Tie-dye t-shirts! We launched our tie-dyed lineup just in time for the spring season, presenting a vintage favorite in a number of funky patterns and color options. You can check out the Gooten catalog to see the style options for yourself.
The graphic design trends we’ve mentioned here can all look really sharp against a tie-dyed backdrop. We welcome you to explore some of the options available from Gooten as you seek to add some vibrant new options to your own print on demand lineup.