print on demand business

5 Best Graphic Design Tips for Building a Print on Demand Business

The print on demand (POD) business industry is growing popular with time. The success of such a business model attributes to the fact that entrepreneurs do not need to invest in inventory. POD suppliers such as Printify customize and take care of your every order to shipment and delivery. It allows you time and resources to work on your creativity and relationship-building with your clients.

Graphic designing is central to the Print on demand business. However, not many small businesses budgets can afford to hire experts. Therefore, you need to be self-reliant and make the most of the technology and how-to guides available on the internet. 

This article will give you five great actionable graphic design tips while building your print on demand business, but before we jump in, let us look at some of the basic things to consider while creating designs.

Who Are Your Buyers?

Competition is rising, and you need to give your customers a reason to buy your products. Instead of selling your items to everyone, find a niche and cater to a specific group of people. Producing and marketing items based on target audience-specific needs can help your brand build a strong relationship with the buyers. It will also help you find inspiration for your designs. 

For example, if your products cater to parents and babies, you can build your own baby blanket to sell cute, custom-made pieces. Always,

  • Figure out your target audience
  • Fix on them
  • Choose Your Colour Palette
  • Follow a consistent style (or fonts in text-only) 
  • Keep it simple and elegant

Read Printify’s article on Graphic Design tips for POD to see how your audience fits into graphic designing.

print on demand business

What Products Will You Sell?

Before starting with graphics, decide what items you will avail on your online store. A good way to make this decision is by following sales trends. Here are some statistics for the most trending products of 2022:

  1. According to a 2021 research article, casual and loungewear sales spiked by a 49% increase in buyers. 
  2. The athletic clothing market, estimated at $155.2 billion in 2018, is expected to grow to $257.1 billion by 2026.
  3. Customers below 25 are huge streetwear fans, making it one of the most emerging fashion trends in recent years.
  4. IBM reports that 70% of the US and Canadian markets demand sustainable and eco-friendly products.

Given the statistics, choose products backed by research to succeed in the marketplace. You can design your own tank top and sell it as athleisure or casual wear or sell eco-friendly products such as phone cases or lunch-boxes with great designs. Always align with the fashion trends for your print on demand business.

Validate your concepts for performance during the design stage with AI-generated attention analytics

5 Graphic Design Tips For Non-Designers With a Print on Demand Business:

Once you have selected your product and decided on your target audience, you need to create designs personalized to your brand. Here are some insider graphic designing tips for a growing print on demand business:

1. Research Typography 

Typography plays an important role in designing and creating a brand identity. Typography is the technique of positioning letters and words to make text:

  • Readable, 
  • Understandable, and 
  • Aesthetically pleasing to the reader.

Font style, look, and structure are all part of typography, which tries to evoke particular feelings and communicate your message. Serif fonts regained popularity in 2021 as they offer clarity, elegance, and catchiness. On the other hand, Geometric Sans-Serif like Proxima and Nova give designs a minimalist and easily recognizable look. If you’re unsatisfied with the premade fonts available, you can explore the calligraphic Procreate brushes available for free and create your own custom typography. Look into typography trends to decide the best presentation to express your brand and your message on your product.

print on demand business

2. Do not shy away from white space

White space or negative space is not your enemy! Do not overdo designs to fill your canvas and remove all the white space. It snatches the clarity of the design and readability from the text. There are two ways to use white space:

  • Active white space is when the white area in your design is used intentionally for an appeasing layout and formation.
  • Passive white space is the blank area that automatically falls between letters, text lines, and borders to make it legible.

3. Consider Branded Memes

Trending memes are great graphic design content as they often attract buyers for gags and sarcasm. If you’re looking to use memes as visuals for your product, make sure to use relatable memes. For successful branding memes for products:

  • Use memes that don’t lose meaning quickly: avoid using memes about a specific event.
  • Use memes that are easy to understand: general topics such as needing coffee, being tired, or wanting a holiday.
  • Stand-alone memes that convey without context unless you are catering to a specific group of people. For example, you can use a Stranger Things meme, but only Stranger Things fans with tv show context would be able to see value in it.

4. You Can Use Quotes!

Don’t think visuals do justice in conveying your message? The good news is items with relatable quotes, jokes, or inspirational sayings are an ongoing trend for years. The trick to using quotes in your design is to find texts specific to your niche and give it an appealing look with the brand’s fonts, color palette, and typography.

5. Beauty Lies in Simplicity and Geometry

Overdoing any design is a turn-off, and while free-flowing designs are fun, they can be hard to create. Geometric shapes are back in trend, making it easy to create simple designs to convey your messages. Using geometric shapes in your illustration can be beneficial in the following ways:

  • It helps create consistent design every time
  • Easy replication into new visuals 
  • Gives symmetry
  • Allows precision in the design and eases using your color palette
print on demand business

To Sum It Up

Graphic designing for your brand can be daunting; however, plenty of guides available on the internet can help you get started. You do not need to waste your start-up budget on hiring a graphic designer with expert tips and the right tools. 

The print on demand business model frees up entrepreneurs from the worries of managing orders and inventory. Do a little research on design tools, as some are cheap, easy to use, and come with presentation templates. With a bit of curiosity and creativity, you can make great designs for your customers, even if you’re an amateur. With a bit of curiosity and creativity, you can make great designs for your customers, even if you’re an amateur. 

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