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Artwork Analysis
By admins | March 5, 2010
Ok, we have no idea how we found this, but check it out. No doubt many of you will recognize this as “artwork” which is, the graphic element of fashion design.
This image is what the factory will receive in order to create a print for t-shirts, or really any apparel item that needs artwork printed. We found this image here, with the title, Create A Complete Apparel TechPack. The article has tons of valuable advice, especially for a newbie to apparel graphic design. Although, the title is odd since this is not an apparel techpack at all (no fabrications, no specs, no sizing, no trims, no construction details, etc) this is simply the artwork page for a complete techpack.
Now, this particular designer covered many bases and even laid out separate screens for each color, which thankfully we have almost never had to do. However, we did see some oversights. First and most obvious, the artwork has no title, no number, and no colorway number, labeling your work is crucial especially if the item goes to production. Second, there is no image of just the artwork with dimensions and measurements. The author gives great advice by saying that you should proceed as if your printer is a six year old and be fully detailed, yet the placement info was lacking. The only measurement was from collar down and that was marked as, “approximately 2 inches” in fashion a measurement can never, never, never, be approximate.
There is mention that the artwork will be used for a variety of sizes. If so, on a XS this print will be more a full coverage print but on a XXL it will be a smaller placement print and placing it 2 inches down for the larger size will look bizarre. The artwork should be adjusted for size or the placement should be varied. Another concern is the use of a foil print. Which is a fun accent for a junior’s tee but because of it, the artwork should be applied after the factory wash, or at the very least, inside out during wash, and again there is no info for this detail. Finally, we don’t see what the actual print is except for the foil color mention. Is it water based, rubber, heat transfer, pigment, what? If it is a standard water based screen print, than the light off-white color is going to be distorted since the pink ground color is darker. Is that the intent of the designer or should there be a flash under it to improve the lighter color? Again, there is no mention of these issues in the details.
Oh yeah, one last random comment. Did anybody notice that the garment is labeled American Apparel, yet the company is clearly Vanilla Star? Since when can Vanilla Star afford domestically made product? And since when do they not produce their own pieces? Hmmm we’re hoping this was just the graphic designer’s guess. But really, by the time you get to the point of developing the artwork the actual garment shouldn’t be a mystery.
Overall we thought they gave a ton of great advice, and a very thorough tutorial on how to create graphics for apparel. What did you think? Anything you would do differently? Any advice we gave you disagree with?
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: fashion, graphics | 3 Comments » 
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March 5th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Great piece! People never address the role of graphic designers in apparel design. I thought they did a pretty thorough job but you made a lot of excellent points as well. Also, somethings that I never think of, like the wash issue. The American apparel thing is odd too, not sure where that came from.
March 6th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I find that some art departments are incredibly detailed in their techpacks while others do little beyond blowing up the design and adding Pantone numbers. It is interesting that the original article was by a third party graphic company, so their perspective is quite different and they left off all details that relate to the garment and final production. I definitely agree that the white color is going to be an issue.
(The link is a great resource too.)
March 8th, 2010 at 10:20 am
This makes me smile, because I have an Art Director! No artwork worries for me!