If you’re investing in promotional products, you’ll want to be sure they have an impact – and one of the best ways you can set yourself up for success is by designing a truly great branded item!

Not sure where to start? Lucky for you, our internal design team has come together to share their tips and tricks on how to create promo that packs a punch!

Tip # 1 - Keep it simple

A clean, simple design with a strong focus on your key message or product will always be the most effective option. Overcrowding a design with too many colors – or worse, with too many words or images – only serves to create confusion and reduce the “curb appeal” of your item. Don’t let your message get lost in the mix! Choose one strong, key idea or product that you want to promote, and hone in on that. Your message will come across so much stronger, and that’ll make for a highly impactful marketing effort!

Tip #2 - Prioritize Readability

If you want your products to generate as many impressions as possible, it’s essential that your marketing is highly visible and easily recognizable. That’s why it’s so important to choose easy-to-read fonts when at all possible: when you choose a clear font, it’ll be highly readable –even in a very small text size!

Sans-serif fonts (i.e., the letters without the little lines, sometimes called “feet” on their ends) are often considered to be more readable than their serif counterparts. In fact, fonts with these and other kinds of “flourishes” are generally seen as being more difficult to read, so it’s best to steer clear of them. It’s also wise to choose a font with distinguishable characters. For example, the uppercase letter L, the lowercase letter l, and the number 1 should all have unique features that set them apart from each other. To improve readability, you should also ensure that your text color and background color have a high contrast.

Tip #3 - Balance creativity with functionality

It’s no secret that brands pursue novelty to make their promotional products and other marketing materials stand out - but what good is an outside-the-box promo design if no one wants to use or wear it? We’ve said it countless times, but the key to a successful promotional product is that it needs to be useful to your audience and applicable to their lifestyles. The reasoning is simple, high-use items generate high impressions, and items that aren’t used or worn will either sit in the back of a closet or won’t be kept at all. We’re not saying you shouldn’t be creative – but you should always keep in mind that it’s just as important to be practical.

Tip #4 - Match logo style and placement

Many promo items offer a variety of imprint locations, and different logo placements will be more or less suited for different kinds of designs. Take a hoodie, for example - with most hoodies, you have the option to add your logo or design in the “full front” location (i.e., the center chest). This is where you have the freedom to showcase your large logos, full slogans, or more complex designs. This choice will give you maximum visibility and maximum creative freedom.

However, if you choose to customize the right or left chest imprint area of your hoodie, you’ll be working with a much smaller space. These areas are best suited for simplified logos, or short text (such as your company name).

Another important thing to remember is to always take into consideration the amount of space you will have in a specific imprint area. If you try to cram in too much, the result will be a design that is difficult for your audience to read or interpret. Remember that your promo products may only have a few short seconds to make an impression out on the street, on the subway, or wherever your audience brings them, so you need to make sure your designs are clear and your message is easily understood.

We hope these tips will help you to maximize the impact of your next promo product! If you need any more assistance along the way, be sure to contact us and we’d be happy to help you along your promo journey.

Happy designing!