Not really sure how to post an image of the product but if you'd like to take a look, let me know. Be aware, I do understand that these designs are simple, but I took the pictures because of the experience I want customers to have.

nobody is going to go out of their way to view your products.

just post a link to the image hosted somewhere (imgur.com etc...) and it will post the image.

Starfish:
Rasta Board:
Limes:

Thanks @dobi, something new to learn everyday.

sorry man, but these are just poor.

just looks like photos slapped on shirts for no reason w/ selective coloring / awkward cropping.

look around at other brands and ask yourself why would ANYONE buy these over what is already a saturated market?

i would advise against printing these, just being straight with you.

I appreciate your input. I printed a couple of these designs and people bought them, do you think posting them on someone rather than a mock would do it more justice? The images are photos I took, but I see where your coming from.

I would be pretty interested in seeing a photo of someone wearing this.

Everything about this is pretty strange.... the images...the placement...the technique. I get that you're going for an island/beachy vibe, but like Dobi said this looks like images just slapped on a shirt with some rough fades.

return of JUD?

there is no way this can be real...

@mattgirouard explain..
@matt borchert yea, like I said, the physical product didn't come out as rough as the mocks. I'll get some pics of them on people so yous can see how the designs flow.
@atomicchild JUD?
@yellowdog I'll get em up ASAP

Here they are printed:


Your website is pretty bad, man. Your twitter and facebook buttons dont go to your twitter or facebook pages for me. And the products page is impossible to navigate. Your website says you "are producing your first run of product this week" but nobody has any clue when you wrote that. I mean that instagram photo of the shirts was posted on July 11th but your website still says you're making the shirts. If I wanted to buy a shirt right now, I cant find a way to do it.

These look like your materials and now something needs to built with them. I like the feel/vibe you are going for with this: Beach, positive, relaxed, etc. So its good that you know the theme you want to go with. Stick with that and stay consistent. The beach theme never really dies so you could have potential with that. There is definitely a market for that. I like how you are using the bright colors (but not overly bright/neon) which also helps with the feel good, positive beach vibe. Stay consistent with that too. For the "Limes" design, I would maybe have those placed/masked within some kind of lettering (perhaps your logo). The logo looks needs some work. Its clean and simple, but a little too simple. Needs some kind of design element to it. Looks like maybe an existing font. I would go for custom/original lettering. Maybe play around with the number 3 instead of writing it out. Not sure if you do graphics yourself, but I would hire an artist and let him/her know your ideas and what you are going for. Work with the artist to bring your vision to life. Simple is great, but you dont want to go too simple. Have some sort of artistic stroke/design to it.

Assuming this is real and not some Murder City like fake account:

By the looks of this you're not only just starting out with your company but you're starting out with designing as well. Two options: 1) Get serious about running a company and hire pros for the designs where you can play the art-director. 2) Get serious about designing and start developing. You said it yourself: They're not award winning.

You can't have both at this point.

you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

bingo.

I even shudder when I see some of the tees I posted on here back in the emptees days.

Everyone thanks for your comments, some of things said were things I was tracking and just haven't had the time to complete. @cityhall @swillhouse saints I appreciate the critique and am tracking on the items you suggested.

@johnny keko yea I'm a novice on both fronts but I'd rather do it all myself to save money and so I can keep learning about techniques and what styles work and what doesn't

CloudThr33 said:@johnny keko yea I'm a novice on both fronts but I'd rather do it all myself to save money and so I can keep learning about techniques and what styles work and what doesn't

I understand what you're saying. I was only trying to make clear it might be too early to even put in all that effort and money into your clothing company while you're still learning about design and trying to sell mediocre or even bad designs how harsh that may sound. It's not a bad idea to focus on one thing at a time and at this point it might be wise to focus on your designing skills before even considering starting a tee brand. I think you're way ahead of yourself to be really honest. That was my point.

The two options I was giving was stated from a point of view of the current situation. It's ok to do it all by yourself. For example, Benny Gold did it all by himself, it's just that when he even considered selling his designs on tees, he was already a very skilled designer and confident enough about his own designs.

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

Yes but I didnt tried to sell them or print them.

Tim said:

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

Yes but I didnt tried to sell them or print them.

Anyway. The way you reacted was uncalled for and unnecessary. There's a way to be straight up forward and diplomatic, then there's a way to be rude. Your reaction was just that, rude. 'Your designs don't look good' would've been enough and honest but not rude.

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

Yes but I didnt tried to sell them or print them.

Anyway. The way you reacted was uncalled for and unnecessary. There's a way to be straight up forward and diplomatic, then there's a way to be rude. Your reaction was just that, rude. 'Your designs don't look good' would've been enough and honest but not rude.

The harder it is the more he will learn from it. Thats how I learned stuff

EDIT. Typed this medium/long reply but it's not worth my time. Just go ahead Tim, do whatever you like.

@tim yea bro, I've only sold 35 and have a couple more people looking to buy..I guess I'm not on your level with my shitty designs. I do appreciate your critisim, even though it wasn't constructive at all.

Tim said:

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:

Johnny Keko said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

How did your designs look like when you just started out? I bet they look like crap.

Yes but I didnt tried to sell them or print them.

Anyway. The way you reacted was uncalled for and unnecessary. There's a way to be straight up forward and diplomatic, then there's a way to be rude. Your reaction was just that, rude. 'Your designs don't look good' would've been enough and honest but not rude.

The harder it is the more he will learn from it. Thats how I learned stuff

Quit being a prick. You aren't helping this thread.

If you've sold 35 you're definitely able to make sales the right way, I mean I'm guessing these are just iron on prints correct? I think you have a solid future if you can really get some quality screen printed designs and really tap into your selling skills.

You put no heart or soul and time in to it. Looks like a photo taken from google. Site is awful hard to navigate. I could list a thousand wrongs than rights. If I were you I would give up now. Facebook page " Another failed brand "

@matt borchert I've always been a good salesman, that's why it may seem like I'm trying to do something ahead of my design skills. I know I can market my product, I am constantly trying to improve designs and get some insight from more experienced people.

@sashabloom you and Tim are the reason I keep going, so when I get big and your still bringing people down on forums like this, I can shrug it off and just feel bad for you. Thanks for your critisim though, though like Tim, not constructive at all. Why are you even posting if you have nothing constructive to say?

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

Ahh, the irony.

Back on topic:

Have to agree with everyone else in this thread (bar the prickish comments). There are numerous problems with the designs youve posted, conceptually, technically and aesthetically. We could list the faults and throw in ideas but it kinda misses the bigger problem here. If you are not noticing the issues with your designs, you either lack experience or lack the ability to bring your ideas to life. If you are new to designing, I commend your efforts. And if you are serious about creating a solid foundation for a successful brand, for now, I'd outsource the design work. If its the latter, I would honestly stick to hiring others, and focus your attention on the other aspects of running a brand.

Anthony Smith said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

Ahh, the irony.

Back on topic:

Have to agree with everyone else in this thread (bar the prickish comments). There are numerous problems with the designs youve posted, conceptually, technically and aesthetically. We could list the faults and throw in ideas but it kinda misses the bigger problem here. If you are not noticing the issues with your designs, you either lack experience or lack the ability to bring your ideas to life. If you are new to designing, I commend your efforts. And if you are serious about creating a solid foundation for a successful brand, for now, I'd outsource the design work. If its the latter, I would honestly stick to hiring others, and focus your attention on the other aspects of running a brand.

This is a tee designer site much more than a site about running a clothing label specifically. This site is especially focused on illustration, which your designs don't incorporate. Personally, I don't care for the designs. I wouldn't wear them. I don't get them thematically, I don't care for the composition or concepts.

All of that said, it doesn't really matter what I think (or what the people on this forum think). I've been just as unimpressed with stuff I've seen this site go gaga for and I've definitely seen some stuff I find really gag-worthy do well commercially. I've also seen designers I consider very talented enjoy little to no commercial success. What is your goal here? Do you want to impress a bunch of designers or do you want to launch a label and sell a bunch of product?

If all you care about is the latter then worry less about what Mintees thinks and more about what you're going to be able to sell. I do think having good designs helps you sell, but I've also seen tons of examples of people with totally crap designs who sell a ton of product.

Selling 35 tees won't pay the bills, so if you want this to be your day job you need to figure out whether you can sell 35,000 of them or 350,000 of them and to who and how. That's what I would be focused on if I were you.

CloudThr33 said:@sashabloom you and Tim are the reason I keep going, so when I get big and your still bringing people down on forums like this, I can shrug it off and just feel bad for you. Thanks for your critisim though, though like Tim, not constructive at all. Why are you even posting if you have nothing constructive to say?

I wouldn't sweat it too much. I don't think I've ever seen a single positive comment from SashaBloom.

Anthony Smith said:

Tim said:you should visit a doctor, if you dont see that these designs are absolutly shit you have some serious issues with your eyes.

Ahh, the irony.

Back on topic:

Have to agree with everyone else in this thread (bar the prickish comments). There are numerous problems with the designs youve posted, conceptually, technically and aesthetically. We could list the faults and throw in ideas but it kinda misses the bigger problem here. If you are not noticing the issues with your designs, you either lack experience or lack the ability to bring your ideas to life. If you are new to designing, I commend your efforts. And if you are serious about creating a solid foundation for a successful brand, for now, I'd outsource the design work. If its the latter, I would honestly stick to hiring others, and focus your attention on the other aspects of running a brand.

Seconded. Regardless of how the designs look, you seem to be able to push your product. With better designs (whether done by you after honing your skills or through outsourcing to other designers), I think you'd be able to sell much more. Anthony's advice is golden. In any case, you're taking the negativity better than a lot of newbies around here, which is great. No brand looks the same as they did when they began.

i think the designs look great i would wear em .what is your website i would like to check it out. dont worry about what anybody says , if you have something that sells well go with it .after all that is the main goal to make money . network with some fashion bloggers they will help you get the buzz you need. btw mintees has alot of negative people .some try to help but the majority try to bash . but just do you and make money.

pay some designers, they'll bring your concept to life.

slapping a photo on a t shirt is not a t shirt design, read up on the history of t shirt design.

if you don't know the ingredients to make a pizza how will you ever make a pizza.

be honest with yourself and customers.

To make money you have to spend money.

Liv said:i think the designs look great i would wear em .what is your website i would like to check it out. dont worry about what anybody says , if you have something that sells well go with it .after all that is the main goal to make money . network with some fashion bloggers they will help you get the buzz you need. btw mintees has alot of negative people .some try to help but the majority try to bash . but just do you and make money.

Somebody give this dude a smack up side the head.

Majority of the contributors on mintees are professionals and do this for a living so they know what theyre talking about, i mean yeah some bash, but they can design good shirts, so to tell him to "dont worry what people say" is probably the worst advice you could give him.

When we look at your Collection of designs... all you have produced a Single T-Shirt that says Almost Famous in a Stencil Typeface from DaFont, but you try to act as if your some sort of book of knowledge on the clothing industry... I dont want to come off as a I AM GOOD DESIGNER, because im definitely not... but praising this dude for these designs... which are ultimately Shit is definitely not going to help with anything... Ok im done haha.

well, not all tshirt designs here on this forum are "illustrations" as Meredith said.

I agree with Anthony. There goes a saying in advertising, that "a good product will always sell itself". If you can sell these outside your normal support group (i.e. friends, relatives, parents, etc.) then you have some serious marketing/selling/persuasion skills. But like what Antz and Dobi have said, focus on the product first. Marketing is an aspect that comes second after a good product. Well, at least that's what I believe. I do not agree with being a prick, though.

There's nothing wrong if he wishes to learn design and make the brand as he goes along. You guys are killing his creativity by just saying "hire a designer" blah blah blah...maybe he wants or NEEDS to fail a couple times to get back up.

But I will agree with the general consensus and say the designs aren't upto scratch but just try and not fall into that sense of security where you think people will understand your design and the effort you put into it. Try and sell it every single time, make sure there's no shortcuts. They need to understand the design straight away and feel what you're trying to suggest to them. So just keep every design in line with your brand theme/idea and learn new techniques, follow trends and styles so you can set yourself apart.

GL HF

I like the solid foundation that you are building upon for your brand, and I don't see the market your targeting dying down anytime soon. Although just like everybody else is saying, build upon your designs, you can stick to your simple and clean look without having to over doing it.

If you are really passionate about designing, then I say go for it and design what you envision your brand to be, although if you want to put out a brand and focus on mainly running your company hire some professionals and do it right.

Thanks for your ideas, criticism, and honest opinions. In fact, I do understand these designs NEED work..this is why I am here, to gain a bit of knowledge from professionals who have made shirts, sold them, and are profitable. My intention wasn't to offend some of the posters, though some really seemed like I had offended they're intellect, for which I have no response.