Newbie t-shirt design

[Chaotik]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and this is my first post but I've been reading threads for a while and my impression of you all is that you're all great at giving excellent design critique and advice.

I am a college student studying graphic design for the first time and I love it. I saw an opportunity to test out my skills when I found a flyer in my dorm complex announcing a t-shirt design contest. So I decided to give it a shot.

The design is supposed to represent the 8 different halls that make up the Cascade Complex in which I live. The color of the T is limited to white. The winning design will be printed and sold to Cascade residents (college kids)

And so, without further ado, what do you think?

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5126/cascadetshirt2xg6.jpg

[budafist]

Firstly, contests are general not encouraged around, here but I guess you live there so it's about supporting your community?

What do you win if your design wins?

Crit:

I don't think using a graffiti type font automatically makes it youthful.

I'm a little older than the age bracket, but I wouldn't buy it. If you saw this in the shops would you go "wow, that's a cool design, I want to wear it"? People in your age bracket can be extremely fickle and picky about what is cool to wear. Have a look at t-shirt designing for your age group in general and go from there.

Brainstorm some concepts and how to represent this complex. Does the architecture/landscape have a disctinctive shape? Is the area well known for anything? At the moment, it's very generic.

[PrintDriver]

Buda, this is a 'school spirit' contest. There are times when people need to take off their NoSpectacles....

I do second you however. Why would a college student want to wear this?

[odizzle]

I'm a college student and no offense, but I wouldn't buy this shirt. I think it's a good start, but you may want to try a few other ideas out. As far as this design, the two things that jump out at my is "complex" shrinking the further to the right it goes doesn't look right and at the bottom, the black type going over the red shapes makes it hard to read. Instead of trying to fit it right under the cascade boxes, I would just move the whole thing down to where it all fits without having to squish any of it.

[frankster]

What are the shapes of the 8 buildings on a map? That might be quite fun to play with.

[Chaotik]

Well, that wasn't too bad. Then again it was kind of what I expected it to be. I love how it's so easy to get an objective opinion here. I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you how hard it is to get one from your family or your girlfriend. Also, the constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I only have until the 4th to turn in a design so I'll try a new concept and post it soon.

budafist, it is a cummunity thing. Also, as far as I know, the only thing I would "win" is my design being featured on a t-shirt which will be worn by my peers. Does it really matter if I "win" anything else when that's all I care about?

Thanks for the help :)

stay tuned~

[budafist]

Do you at least get a free shirt?

[Chaotik]

Do you at least get a free shirt?

I'm not sure. I neglected to ask that question when I requested the information. I hope so :D

[tZ]

I haven't done any clothing design but I think the principles apply in any design format? – limit the font choices. Unless… you have a purpose(beyond aesthetic) for placing many contrasting ones there. You need a concept – simply put. Playing with type isn't a concept its a decorative element. Until you can relate the type to a higher idea everything you do will just be decoration. Think about the message and how to communicate it with clarity – don't decorate! – clarify. This design doesn't represent 8 different halls – the objective – or so I see it…

[budafist]

Ha! I just assumed that there were 8 boxes in that design and therefore
represented the 8 halls.

There are 7 boxes in the word CASCADE. Oops. I thought that was the concept.

You need a concept. A smart one. tZ is right, all you have done is tried to decorate some text. That would be fine if the typography was spot on and well designed and composed. But it's not.

Sit down and brainstorm as many things that you can think of that pops up when you think of the Cascade Complex. Think as wild and out there as you like. Now is the time to be creative.

[Chaotik]

Well I would have liked to be able to post this sooner but I haven' had as much time as I thought I would. By the time I get any feedback for this, the judging will already be complete. However, I would still like any input you have to offer. Even if this doesn't win, I gave it a good effort and I'm here to improve. So here it is ... my final design:

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2907/cascadedesign3finalqw8.jpg

-8 stars representing the 8 halls in the school colors.
-Mountain scenery reflecting our landscape.
-The academic year noted in a banner at the bottom.

[budafist]

Well, this is better than it was - the stuff in the design actually means something to the location/client.

But I still don't think it's something that your age group would wear. Have a look in your wardobe. Do you have anything that looks like this?

[Irine]

When we start to work on something, out teacher always tell us to look around first. Looking at shirts that are designed for your age will help you.

But i agree it`s better than the first.

- I understand how hard it is to do it exactly for what you want...especially if you never did it b4....I am dealing with it too.

[Chaotik]

As long as it's an improvement, I'm happy. Like I said, it would have been great to have more time. But that's the "real world" everyone keeps talking about. You know... deadlines and stuff. :rolleyes:


Thanks for the input. I look forward to getting to know you all better. I'll post when I know the results of the contest.

[Typically]

eeeek gradients. i hope they aren't screen printing this.

[Chaotik]

eeeek gradients. i hope they aren't screen printing this.

Nope. They won't be screen printing it because it didn't win. That's ok tho, I'm just starting out so I have plenty of time to get better. Thanks again for all the replies.