Why are there so many ugly T-Shirts?

I'm offended there are so many awful T-Shirt designs!

How hard can it be to make an excellent T-Shirt? Undoubtedly difficult.

An excellent T-Shirt design:

  • Makes its wearers look good and feel good when worn.
  • Is wearable day to day in social settings where T-Shirts are acceptable attire.
  • Is meaningful to it's wearer.

It's difficult to design an excellent T-Shirt.

However, I believe by following a few simple rules many awful T-Shirts can be avoided.

Comfortable

Pick a base T-Shirt that is comfortable to the wearer. This includes a comfortable material, comfortable stitching, and comfortable sizing.

I recommend 100% cotton for all T-Shirts.

Single image on the front

Focus effort on a single good image on the front of the shirt. Ideally the image is beautiful on its own and on a shirt.

Avoid letters and words, the image should be iconic on its own.

Corporate logos should only be used as the image if they are classy enough to stand on their own, and people are proud enough to be associated with the brand.

Generally the image should avoid high levels of detail since this is hard to print. Use thick lines to contrast.

Consider how the logo conforms across different body types and where it draws attention on the body of the person wearing it.