Leah Anderson
Project Purpose/Objectives
Logo Bling Designs is a small business that supplies t-shirts, jewelry, and teaching materials to teachers of the Let’s Play Music program. The client has no professional design experience but has an eye for design and has created all the designs for the shirts she sells. My role was to survey the Let’s Play Music teachers, make t-shirt designs, create promotional material for Logo Bling Designs, and mockup the final designs on t-shirts. Through my client’s feedback and my mentor’s direction, I created a refined finished product.
The Project
I created six shirt designs, two website banners, and two Facebook ads.
The banners and Facebook ads were created to match the look of the client’s previous banners and advertisements.
The shirts are all music-themed and have hidden music notes and puns within the designs. The phrases and styles were chosen after surveying the target market.
Challenges
I wanted each shirt to be unique and creative – more than just plain text on a t-shirt. I struggled the most with the “It’s a great day to teach tiny musicians” shirt. This shirt was highly requested, and I wanted it to appeal to the teachers. I made many drafts, and the client took over and put her spin on it. I struggled with this because I wanted to create a design she was satisfied with. Since the client has experience making shirts, she also asked for many edits and tweaks.
Project Processes
When creating a new design, I would start with inspiration. I made a Pinterest board to gather ideas and see what styles are popular. After getting ideas, I would create multiple sketches for a single shirt design. If I got stuck in this phase, I would try creative tactics like mind mapping to approach the design differently. Once I had a sketch I was satisfied with, I created many variations in Adobe Illustrator and sent it to the client to see what they liked. I also made a mockup for each shirt.
Overview
Each week, I spent time sketching, creating designs in Adobe, and reaching out to the client. I also learned new skills, such as text warping, making a radial design, and making mockups. My mentor was able to help me generate new ideas, work through program glitches, and guide me to helpful tutorials. This project helped me learn to work with a detailed client and problem-solve in Adobe. I also learned that I have the ability to make professional and clean designs that are worth selling!
Insights
I struggled to know who my designs were for. Was my target my client or the people she sells the shirts to? After working through this project, I realized that sometimes you follow what the client wants. If you have ideas that will help them sell their product, don’t hold back, but still, remember this is a project you’re completing for them, not you. I didn’t agree with everything the client wanted, but I still had to do what they asked. I also realized creating t-shirt designs was more difficult than I thought, but I’m glad I was able to give it a chance.