Aren’t graphic t-shirts amazing? In some ways they are like wearable art.
You can always tell something about someone’s personality by the t-shirt they choose to wear.
It’s a visual expression of what you like and what you value.
And that’s why they are so popular, from vintage shops
to sport stores, from band t-shirts to demonstrating your support for a brand.
Hola! My name is Nina and I'm from the Canva Design School
Today, I'm going to show you how to design a t-shirt using Canva
Okay, for anyone who has watched one of these videos before, you know, at Canva,
we love a template.
Start at the home page and just type ‘t-shirt’ into the search bar.
This will pop up a whole range of templates
that are ready to go, made by designers at Canva and the Canva community.
Anything with a crown on it is for Pro Users only
anything without is available to anyone.
This selection is constantly updated, so it’s a great place
to come back and see what’s trending.
Scroll down until you find something you like.
Oh, this is new, I like it.
Just click on the design
and it will open up in a new tab.
On the left there will be a bunch of other templates.
If you love one of them even more
just click on it and it will change.
Everything is editable as well.
For instance I can change the text here.
And you change the color here.
Nice, that’s much more me.
When you are happy with it just click on the share button here.
Select ‘Print your design’
the one with the little delivery truck.
And choose t-shirt.
This will show you what the shirt is going to look like thanks to Smartmockups.
You can change it here to show it on different models.
Male, female, even toddlers and babies.
One of the coolest things is this preview is live.
If I change the color in the editor it will instantly update on the preview.
Isn’t that great?
Okay, it’s looking a little low at the moment.
I’m going to select everything and drag it up.
There, much better.
Choose what color t-shirt you want, what size, style and how many.
The price at the bottom will change depending on your choices.
I’ll let you into a little secret
the more you order the cheaper it is.
Everything you print comes with a 100% happiness guarantee too.
If you’re not happy with it,
we promise we’ll make it right.
Click continue and you can add your delivery address and payment details.
and that's it
How easy is that?
In under 2 minutes I’ve got a t-shirt,
that I helped design, on its way to me.
It’s amazing.
Okay, what about when you don’t want to use a template?
Back to the homepage and again put T-shirt into the search bar.
The very first one in the search results is a blank t-shirt design.
Click on that and it will open up a blank page.
Now, I have a friend who owns a cafe
and they want something for their staff to wear while they are working.
Like a casual uniform.
I’ll begin with a blank t-shirt template.
This time I’ve been given the logo from the client.
Their cafe is called Half/Half.
It’s a super busy local cafe serving amazing coffee and breakfasts.
So, I’m thinking about the cafe staff and a shirt that’s going to show where they are from
but also be really graphic.
I love the logo and I’m thinking I could split it up,
so it becomes parts 1 and 2 of the logo story.
So maybe the name here — so it’s obvious, the customer knows where they are.
And then something graphic on the back, for the customer to see while the staff member is walking away.
Okay, this is looking pretty good.
Let’s see what it looks like on a model.
Just click here on the print t-shirt button.
Change it to the pages you want on the front or back.
Okay,
looking good… But hold on.
A white t-shirt for a busy cafe serving food… maybe that’s not the best idea.
Let’s change it to a black t-shirt.
You can see straight away I’m going to need to make some changes to the logo color.
On the front I’ll need to change the black to white. And the same on the back.
Let’s have a look at that now. Much better.
This is looking great, I’m really happy with it.
I just know
the owner of the cafe is going to love it too.
Or, at least hope they are going to love it.
Before I order the shirts, maybe I should check with them?
In Canva, getting live feedback from others couldn’t be easier.
I just head up to the ‘share’ button again, but this time I’m going to add in their email.
Alternatively, I could change the link sharing and make it so it’s publicly available.
I can choose to give them editing access, commenting or just view only.
I want their feedback but I don’t want them messing with my design,
so I’m going to allow them to comment. I copy the link and then text it over to them.
Okay, moment of truth. I really hope they like it.
Oh, wow, here they come.
I love how you can see their profiles pop up.
Even watch their cursor and see where they are focusing on.
So far so good. They seem to really like it.
What a relief.
Okay, the final thing I wanted to show you is how to use Smartmockups in a slightly different way.
Now, I have another friend in a band
and they’ve been thinking about some merch for their live shows.
Something for their fans to purchase after seeing their gig.
So I think I might put something together for them and see if they like it.
Again, I’ll begin with a blank t-shirt template.
Now, this band is pretty heavy
and has a devoted fan base, so I can be less conservative with my element choice.
Let’s type this into the search bar.
And I choose to only see ‘graphics' here.
When you see something you like, drag it over to the editor.
Think about things that will resonate with the audience.
Might be time to find some lightning bolts.
Nice. Okay, this graphic is working.
Now I need to find some fonts that are going to work.
I’ll type their name in here. Now I can go and search for some fonts that might work.
I’m going to type in ‘Blackletter’
that should give me some gothic letterforms that will work well.
For the second part of the name I’m going to choose a different font.
The more you use Canva the more you’ll learn typefaces and you’ll start to collect favorites.
I’m going to search for ‘Tan’
I’ve used that before and I think it will provide a nice contrast to the blackletter.
Okay, this is starting to feel really good.
I want to show the band what it looks like, on different body types, so they get a real sense of the final t-shirt design.
This way they can give their approval in Canva
and we can make any adjustments right in the editor before sending it to print.
Go to the share menu and this time choose the download option
and download the design as a JPG or PNG image.
Click the Uploads tab, and upload your downloaded design back into the editor.
Drag it to the editor and click on the image.
In the toolbar above the page, click on ‘Edit image’.
Look for Smartmockups from the editor side panel.
Click on ‘Select all’ to see all mockup options.
Scroll down and you’ll find a whole range of fashion options
with models out in the streets or in photo studios.
It’s what we call in-situ — it stands for in-situation and shows the product where people are likely to come across it
in its natural environment.
I can choose a bunch of different models and examples by simply dragging in the image again from the upload tab.
While I’m here I might put it on a mug as well.
You never know,
the band might go for it.
When I have a few options for them to look at, I again go to the share menu
and add them into the design or download it and send it to them via email or DMs.
And that’s how easy it is to make and print t-shirts in Canva.
Whether you’re an upcoming fashion designer, marketing whiz or an entrepreneur,
I hope these tips will help you design eye-catching t-shirts.
Before you know it, you’ll be wearing your new creation
and everyone you meet will be asking you where you got it!
and that's it, I hope you've learnt a thing or two
and now you're ready to design your own t-shirt in Canva
See you next time!