Apparel Design
My clients were Pirina Law Firm and Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, they contracted me to design some merchandise for their Save LA Campaign. The merchandise sales would help fund and provide housing for unhoused and unsheltered families. I had creative freedom on this project with the theme of Save LA and spreading awareness of the unhoused and unsheltered community of LA.
Design ideas layout for client numbered for easy selection
Design idea layout for client black and white numbered for easy selection
My role was to design some rough designs and mockups for the client to see. I provided my design ideas and we began the process of elimination to find the design that fit the campaign the most. Once the design was finalized I started sizing, color separating, and ordering blank shirts for screen printing. Finally, I did mockups of the design for presale, social media, and emails.
A problem was creating a design that everyone can wear for daily activities but also have the Save LA movement behind it.
An insight that impacted the project was collaborating with a local brand called Hot Rod and using their signature LA logo which helped boost more eyes on the project due to their history in LA. Also having the burning palm tree to represent LA needing help was a very strong message and fit the project statement.
The final outcome was an immaculate design that got screen printed, advertised all over LA, and loved on social media.
My process was first finding things that represent LA from images, or getting inspiration from LA fashion designs. I did a quick font, color palette, and garment color search that I thought would help the design to pop and be eye catchy when someone is wearing it. I then started doing rough mock-ups and sketches in Adobe Illustrator, the process was rapid due to only having 3 weeks to finish the project. Once the final design was chosen I got the design sized, color separated for screen printing, and mockups ready for advertising.
The final design was a shirt, a crewneck, and a hoodie. On one design the back was our famous LA palm tree on fire to represent La needs help. The front was “save” in a groovy font arched over Hot Rod’s signature LA logo with a rose going through the LA.
The design was a success due to it being something you can wear every day but the design also has a meaning behind it and was for a good cause. I am very proud of how quick this project was even if there were sometimes when I had to problem-solve my way out of the situation.
