What Colors To Choose While Designing A Shirt

Your design’s aesthetic and the dynamic between its constituent parts will be profoundly affected by the color scheme you select. A basic understanding of color theory and how it relates to t-shirts will help you choose the colors that will work best for your design.

Understanding how colors interact and have an emotional impact is the subject of color theory. Use these key points as a quick reference guide to mastering the art of color design:

Colors can be classified as either “warm” or “cool”

Generally speaking, reds, yellows, and oranges are considered warm colors. Greens, blues, and purples are the coolest hues. To express emotions like enthusiasm, joy, or rage, use a warm color. Calm, relaxation, and grief can all be conveyed by using a cool color scheme.

• Warm t-shirt design
• Cool t-shirt design

You can increase the contrast by combining contrasting colors, or you can reduce it by combining similar colors

Contrast is greatly increased when using a warm and a cool color together, as opposed to just 2 warm hues. The same goes for contrasting light and dark or boring and vivid. Highlight important details by increasing contrast, and less important ones by diminishing them.

• High contrast design

The names given to color schemes are based on the affinity between the hues

Blue and orange are opposites, hence they are considered complementary hues. Red and orange, for example, are neighboring analogous colors. Light and dark versions of a hue, like green’s various tones, are examples of monochromatic colors. Choose only one of these color schemes to use throughout, and the effect will be soothing.

• Complementary t-Shirt design
• Analogous t-Shirt design
• Monochromatic t-Shirt design

The expense of printing in multiple colors

Before we dig any further into colors, it’s crucial to remember that doing so can increase or decrease the final printing bill. With screen printing, the price per garment depends on how many colors are used in the design. This is because each color in a screen-printed item requires its own custom-made mesh screen.

Direct-to-garment printing, digital printing, or sublimation vs screen printing does not limit the number of colors that can be used. Similar to a home computer printer, digital printing uses inkjet technology. There are several other considerations beyond color that may lead you to select one print method over the other.

Remember this as you work on your design; reducing the number of colors in your screen printing order can help you save money.

Using the color of the t-shirt in your design

The use of color in your t-shirt can improve its aesthetics and/or reduce production costs in a few different ways. T-shirt design is one of a kind because you have to work with the shirt’s color, but there are innovative ways to accomplish so.

One strategy is to incorporate the shirt color as a positive area. To get this effect, you need to make the foreground parts of your design see-through. A sample of this strategy is depicted in the following design, which comes from our collection of fraternity design templates.You can also read Understanding the Process of Bra Manufacturers in USA from Design to Production.

Both the main text and the mountain illustration have been made see-through so that the fabric color can be used. To get the same result at a reduced printing cost, you can make it look like your shirt design placement uses more colors than it does by doing. There’s another reason why this is so effective in this scenario.

The high contrast region is created by placing the darkest color (the shirt) near the brightest color (the background). A clear visual hierarchy is achieved through the use of lower contrast among the secondary design elements.

If you want to make a more impactful use of color in a t-shirt design, consider the following;

• Color schemes that are monochromatic or provide a similar range of shades are the simplest to adjust

You can avoid visual chaos and create a more contemporary aesthetic by reducing the number of colors you use in your design.

• Choose highly contrasting hues

When employing a color scheme with numerous hues, it’s best to use a wide range of tones from bright to dark so that details don’t get lost.

• Think about the t-shirt’s color with the rest of your palette

While most people use the darkest color in their palette for the shirt, a more versatile option is to choose a mid-tone and contrast it with a lighter and darker ink.

• Make your main point the area of the highest contrast

This can be accomplished by the use of not only complementary colors like light and dark but also complementary colors like warm and cool.