1. Plan from the beginning and much of the work could be done for you. Are you guilty of trying to pull off a last minute T-Shirt Miracle?  Plan ahead and you can actually save yourself time and money while making the whole project more effective.   Why not begin planning and designing your T-Shirts right along with your event promotions.  Many T-Shirt  shops will “give” you the design they have created for your shirts as long as you are printing the shirts through them.  Why not use this free resource to your advantage?  This way you can expand on the T-Shirt design, use it in multiple applications and multiply the effect of your message!
2. Don’t just make a T-shirt, Make a Point What is the purpose of the T-Shirt? Is it to communicate the theme, a scriptual concept, create curiosity, promote an event or just display your group identity?  Its a simple question, but many people don’t take the time to ask.  Make a short list of the mandatory wording and another of optional wording.  Evaluate every word and try and make it as effective as possible.   This is a great time to get feedback from your team and the students.
3. Know your audience? We all know how fast youth culture changes, so Instead of gravitating to what you think they will like take some time to do some recon.  Scope out some stores or popular websites like Pac Sun, American Eagle, Old Navy or whatever stores your students shop at.  These places spend millions to find out what will sell, so use them as a recourse when it comes to designing your T-Shirts.
4. Wanna Date? No you don’t.  Generally, including a date on your shirts will just make them obsolete faster, so unless you have a specific reason for including a date its best to leave it off.
5. Use the right designer Usually it pays to go to a professional designer.  They will have more dynamic design solutions and a better understanding of all the variable that make a design connect with the audience.  Most good T-Shirt shops will be able to provide a designer or even free designs as long as you print your shirts with them.  There may even be pre-made templates, if you don’t need to recreate the wheel, it’s best not to.
6. Use a quality printer A good printer can be your best friend.  Ask around for referrals from people who are happy with their printer.  If you are using someone for the first time make sure they have a money back guarantee, I hear too many stories of people who end up paying for shirts that they can’t use because they arrived late or were printed wrong.  Once you find a good printer, stick with them, as the relationship grows and a true friendship develops communication gets better and the end product improves.
7. Get the Quantities Right Prices for printed apparel are based on quantity of each print run, so take your time and do your best to order your quantities accurately.  You don’t want to end up needing to do a costly re-order later or end up with too many shirts, so it pays to be accuarate.  Order just a few extra just to be safe.
8. Hype the new shirts! Create an unveiling, let the staff wear the shirts before they are available to the students or even use them as incentive for early event registration. Whatever you do, make sure it’s a BIG DEAL!  Make sure all the presentations like posters, slides, videos, and web all reinforce the theme.  The more the design is seen and the message is repeated the stronger it becomes and the more sought after the event and the shirts will become generating the excitement and enthusiasm your looking for!

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