Here we are, Dec 12, and the War on Christmas has finally run its course. Whew! I pumped out 17 unique designs in about 5 weeks, which is a lot longer and with a bigger output than I thought I would be able to manage. But Christmas looms with all that entails, and so I'm wrapping it up and putting a bow on it. Not to mention that we are very near the cut-off for online ordering with delivery in time for the big day.
My self-imposed and personally challenging schedule of a new design every two days during this Design Drive really enabled a lot of skill development for me. This is especially true of my handling of text/type. Compare and contrast the first design in the series with the last, and that development can be clearly seen:
Help was had along the way from Rhys and Jesse from their podcast, Canadian Politics is Boring. They very generously shouted out the War on Christmas series on their November 21 episode, A Town Called Asbestos. That resulted in two customers that I'm aware of, both from Alberta funnily enough, who purchased some items. Thanks, guys! It really meant a lot to me.
Now it's time to take some of the lessons learned from the Drive and apply them to a new series. This one will focus on Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, Southwest BC, and BC more generally, and will be targeted at the tourism market. The goal is to come up with around ten solid designs that are tailored for an all-over print style on a t-shirt, get a few each printed, and then start approaching local consignment stores and high-end gift shops in the touristy parts of town. I've given HugePOD a try by ordering a print-all-over hoodie and I'm impressed enough with the price and quality to give them another try with print-all-over t-shirts. They are around $10 each, plus shipping that gets cheaper per item when you order more items, so say $15 or so per shirt. I can easily see such a shirt selling for $30. That's not a huge profit when the vendor takes a cut, but I think it's a necessary next step for further exposure and information feedback about what does and doesn't sell.
Below is an example of one of the approaches I will be using in these BC-centric designs, a kind of cartoonification by hand (i.e., not a simple filter) of photographs of iconic BC scenes. For this particular image of an amazing view of the Southern Gulf Islands, I just need to come up with some words to make it more engaging. The original photo, found on Wikimedia Commons, is presented below the design.
Stay tuned!