Joseph_GHey -- what do customization and real estate have in common? The answer is location, location, location!
In other words, it's sometimes less about your design than where you place it on a shirt or other garment. Some locations grab attention, others will be missed, and sometimes you can make a statement simply by where you put a design.
Don't believe me? Why not compare a standard, centered design on a hat with one placed at the left panel?
Centering a logo or design is a practical choice -- it looks natural and is usually more visible. Conversely, by moving away from that, you'll get something eyecatching and stylish. So, which should you pick?
What's the Best Placement for Designs?
When it comes to the "best" designment placement, technically there are a lot of right answers -- because it depends on the garment and what the custom clothing is being used for.
However, the big question is whether you want something conventional or stylish. When sticking to conventions, there are a range of best practices. But when choosing something stylish, you might break the mold a little -- although there still a lot of things you should avoid for practicality reasons. After all, no matter how cool something might look, if nobody can read it, what's the point?
The balance between convention and style will often come down to the industry.
What is the Correct Placement of Logos?
When customizing a t-shirt, most companies place a logo at the left chest then a larger logo (often with additional information) on the back. For a polo, it's often just the left chest.
Very rarely, SOME businesses will place a design only on the back. Specifically, this might be done by companies whose employees usually face away from people, as is the case with plumbing and construction. The move is done solely as a cost-saving measure because it makes more sense to also have something on the front. (In other words, if you have a construction company AND an extremely tight budget, this can be a solution. However, if money isn't tight, doing both a left-chest and back is more practical.)
As for hats, a custom cap design is usually centered. Keep in mind that centering a logo on a hat will give you more space for that design. (And a bigger design is an easier-to-read design, which can be a HUGE deal with custom hats.)
When might you want to do something different with a logo?
In the case of hats, going with a left panel design is becoming increasingly popular, especially on the Richardson 112 trucker cap.
If your business or brand is trendier, you might experiment -- especially if you're selling or giving t-shirts to customers. After all, a logo shirt that works for your team members will seem odd on anybody not working for your company -- meaning that left-chest and back combo won't work for most businesses (with breweries being a rare exception).
Design Placement for Resellers
Whether starting a t-shirt line or selling merchandise for a band, the conventional choice is a front image placement -- usually a big one, too.
The front of a shirt has a lot of real estate and it usually makes sense to fill as much of it as possible. And a wide design will look more natural than a tall one.
Custom Design Placement for Events
For events, conventional design placements usually win out -- and that's either because certain information needs to conveyed or sponsors need to be thanked.
Your standard event t-shirt will feature a front design and a back design (with the exception of things like personal events, such as milestone birthdays).
The usual choice is a full front design that promotes the event itself. This might include the date.
Meanwhile, the back design is all business -- it'll have sponors, details, a schedule, and maybe a list of names.
Given that custom event shirts are focused on promoting an event (and possibly worn ahead of time), it's important that a shirt does a good job of highlighting that event and getting people interested.
US Flag Placement on a Shirt or Hat
As a general rule, always go with the left sleeve you add a US flag to a shirt (the one exception is law enforcement). Likewise, the canton (aka star field) should always face forward, like the flag is being carried. '
If you want to add a US flag to a hat, once again the design should be on the left side with the canton facing forward.
Cool Design Placements
If you want to go unusual or fun, try designing on a long sleeve. They give you a LOT of space for a long message, such as a slogan. You could also do your company name or website's URL. (Just stick to a single color! Otherwise it can be hard to read.)
Another unconventional option is a side placement. There are a few drawbacks to this choice because a person's arm will often cover the design and it's a "blind" placement (meaning there's no practical way to line up the placement on a shirt, so it can vary shirt to shirt). In addition to that, it won't be an option on every shirt -- after all, a side-seamed shirt will break up the design.
As mentioned a few times now, a left panel placement is a modern, stylish spot on trucker caps -- in short, it's very much on-trend. The only drawback is you won't have as much space, which limits what might be put there (ie, watch out for too much info!)
More Logo Placement Tips
Feeling inspired? Why not test out some ideas in our design studio?
Need more pointers? Here are a few useful articles: