The time has come – we officially and proudly present the theme of the 2024 Design Contest: Pride (LGBTQIA+).

Be inspired by Pride Month, during which artists and representatives of the community creatively and actively ensure greater visibility. In this way, they raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights, show how important, exciting, and beautiful diversity is, and strengthen the representatives of the community in the long term.

Tag it! The competition keyword: pridedesigncontest2024

Out on the town: Style & Inspiration

Subtle yet powerful: LGBTQIA+ Designs

A large part of queer history had to take place behind closed doors. Beyond the public eye, in the smoky darkness of speakeasies and illegal clubs. Fortunately, this is no longer the case everywhere in the world today, but subtlety has not been completely abandoned.

Pride Awareness: Love & solidarity

The LGBTQIA+ community has come a long way towards visibility and equality in a very short space of time. Nevertheless, there are still countless obstacles to overcome every day, from widespread harassment to unfair legal discrimination. If you want to support the community, you can hit an important emotional nerve with art and design. For example, you could create an illustration with a strong message against discrimination and marginalisation.

Vintage aesthetic: historic Pride designs

There is no question that the treatment of LGBTQIA+ representatives in history has been disastrous. Out of necessity, artistic subversion was born, and continues to inspire today. You can find it in designs that pick up on past styles and reinterpret classic gender symbolism and vintage aesthetics. Always with an eye on the future; a more progressive and equal future.

Say cheese: Pride & fun

Funny designs are always very popular. The potential downside: You might fear that you are being disrespectful to the fight for equality as soon as you approach your design with humour. But don’t worry, as long as you don’t make fun of the LGBTQIA+ community and its representatives, humour is a great way to attract attention and make people think.

Motifs & design elements

The rainbow flag

The best-known symbol is the rainbow or Pride flag. Its creator, Gilbert Baker, wanted to create something that would raise positive awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community. Baker’s Pride flag consists of bright colours that reflect the vibrancy of the community. The colours represent the diversity of the community, the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Use different rainbow elements and motifs in your designs, soft pastels, and bold, bright colours, flags, and unicorns to raise awareness for Pride.

If you would like to find out more about the Pride flag and its history, click here and here.

Celebrate the LOVE

The biggest and most important theme of Pride Month is love itself, because: love is love! Create colourful designs with elements that represent and celebrate love. Combine your creation with a strong statement to emphasise your message.

Diversity & inclusion

LGBTQIA+ designs should reflect the diversity within the community. It’s not just about rainbows and dazzling colours, but above all about the different identities, genders, and sexual orientations. Be sure to incorporate the broad spectrum of diverse experiences and stories into your design.

Authenticity

To create an effective and powerful design, the history and representation of queer people must be recognised, understood, and respected. This can be done in ways that are celebratory, historical, edgy, subversive, playful, funny, moving, or even dark.

Involvement in the community

Get involved in the LGBTQIA+ community and gain an insight into the dynamics and needs of its representatives. With the appropriate designs, you will raise awareness and actively support their demands and concerns.

Mix up the colours

Whether you decide on a very specific style, use only individual elements, or simply follow your feelings and create your very own Pride world: It’s all up to you. From punk, rock or pop-inspired motifs to funny or cute kawaii designs to cool summer vibes à la Club Tropicana – let your creativity run wild and experiment with different styles.

The most important thing to remember is no matter what style, design or message you choose, always be respectful of the community and its representatives! Any designs that show signs of discrimination or disrespect will be rejected and excluded from the competition.

As always, the following rules apply if you want to take home the prizes:

– You may only submit ONE design.

– Your design must be uploaded within 4 weeks (28 days) of the contest start date.

– Tag your design with the keyword pridedesigncontest2024 so that it will be considered by the jury.

– Designs uploaded before the start date of the contest will not be considered by our jury.

To avoid the most common mistakes, you can find our design contest dos and don’ts here.

Already have a great, empowering design idea in mind? What are you waiting for?

To the Contest

We wish you the greatest success with your inspired experimentation and design. And very importantly, don’t forget to add the competition keyword to your design and submit it by 05/21/2024! We are already looking forward to all the creative and strong ideas!

The post Design Competition 2024 – Pride (LGBTQIA+) appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.

It’s been a while! How about adding a sprinkle of competition to your life? A step up in the Star Academy? Then the 2024 Design Contest is exactly what you’re looking for. We’re more than ready to see all your inspiring designs. You’ll find out everything you need to know here.

1. Why should I take part?

Every day we see your breath taking, creative designs. It’s time to channel that creativity into a little competition and give your creations the chance to get a proper marketing boost.

Push your creativity to new levels and sharpen those additional skills you’ve been wanting to practice! Plus: the more creative your content, the more likely you will be able to move up to a higher star class, increasing the visibility of your designs and sales.

Oh, and not to mention the cash prizes, campaign features, and vouchers to be won, but more on that later…

2. How can I take part?

Here’s the low down, short and sweet:

• Each participant may only submit ONE design. If we receive several designs from one person, our jury will only consider the first design.
• Designers of all star classes are eligible to participate
• The participating design must be uploaded within 4 weeks (28 days) after the start of the contest
• The participating design must be tagged with the contest keyword to be considered by the jury. The keyword will be announced with the theme of the design contest and will also be available on the design contest page
• Designs uploaded before the start date of the competition will not be considered by our jury
• For a fair competition: We reserve the right to exclude AI designs that we can directly recognize and classify as such from the competition
• Further information can be found in the attached terms and conditions (see below)

The contest starts with the announcement of the design contest theme and lasts 4 weeks (28 days). We will update this page as soon as there’s news about the contest. You will find the most important information at the top of the page. So make sure to check back regularly!

And as always: by taking part in our design competition, you automatically accept our conditions of participation and our privacy policy.

3. How are the winners selected?

Step 1: Our design experts will review each and every design of thousands of submissions. Then they’ll select the top 20 based on the following criteria:

• The effect on the product: does the design come out well on a Spreadshirt product?
• Relation to the topic: how relevant and appropriate is the design for the competition?
• Very important – creativity: is the design unique and original?
• Art is about skill: does the design show solid creative skills?

The jury will award points for each criterion on a scale of 0 to 3. This means that a design can receive a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 12 points from each jury member. To determine the total score, the points awarded by all jury members will be added up. This will determine the top 20.

Step 2 : From the selected top 20, the 10 top-rated designs automatically make it to the second step of the voting. The three winners will be determined by an internal vote by Spreadshirt employees. The first three places go to those whose design received the highest rating. The top 10 designs are also determined according to the rating results.

When announced, you’ll find all the winners here: The Top 20 finalists and the winners of the Top 10 will be announced publicly both on this page and by e-mail.

What are the prizes I can win?

• The top 20 finalists will be presented on a promoted page on our website and in the newsletter
• The top 10 will win a $25 Spreadshirt voucher
• The top 5 will also be featured on Instagram
• The top 3 winners will be featured on our blog and win these prizes
• 1st place: cash prize of $150 AND a feature in one of our biggest campaigns, the T-shirt of the week!
• 2nd place: cash prize of $100
• 3rd place: cash prize of $70

See Terms of Participation

Are you already as excited as we are? We can’t wait to officially announce the contest theme and discover all your creative designs. As always, feel free to ask us any questions or leave comments on our forum or in the comments below.

The post Grab your pens, the 2024 Design Contest is here! appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.

Do’s: 3 tips for your participation in the design contest

To get rated well and stand out against the numerous creative submissions, here are three things you should pay close attention to:

1. Your design should be unique

A design competition is all about your creativity and ideas! The use of stock photos and typography à la “Times New Roman” is therefore not recommended. You should also steer clear of other people’s ideas. Discover your own creative flair – that way you won’t be infringing any usage rights or other regulations.

We want to create the fairest possible conditions for everyone. Therefore, please submit a maximum of 1 design per contest.

Regarding AI designs: Trust your skills here too and don’t let the machine take over. Designs that we can clearly recognise as AI-generated will be excluded from the competition. However, you may use image generators for individual elements of your design. Just use them sparingly!

2. Use the keyword for your submission

To successfully take part, you must tag your design with the keyword of the current contest. You can find this on the contest page. Make sure you only enter the tag, without any special characters! So, if the tag of this year’s competition is exampledesigncontest2024, you must use it exactly as it is:

Right: exampledesigncontest2024

Wrong:

exampledesigncontest2024.

example Designcontest2024

example design contest 2024

and so on.

As we are looking for creative and, above all, new ideas, tagging designs that have already been uploaded will not count as a submission. Only designs uploaded during the contest period and tagged with the keyword will be considered in the contest.

3. Pay attention to the quality of your design

Take the time to check whether your competition design is of the necessary quality. This means: Is your design properly formatted, does it have sufficient resolution and the right contrast, etc.? You can find out more about the quality criteria here under the reasons for rejection.

Don’ts: The most common mistakes

The jury repeatedly encounters the same mistakes, so we have summarised the most common one’s for you here.

1. The design and product do not match

Here’s an example: We are looking for designs with the theme of school enrolment. You create a great graphic and publish it with the competition keyword – on a baby shirt. The problem is clear: babies don’t go to school yet! Your contest design and the chosen product don’t match.

The solution: Publish your design on a product suitable for children.

As you can see, sometimes less is more. Instead of publishing your design across the board on all sorts of products, you should carefully select the products that match the topic, the target group, and your design.

2. Your design does not fit the theme of the competition

Another example: The theme of the competition is “Vibrant colours”. You create a great graphic in black and white. Your design cannot win because it doesn’t fit to the theme. Another example is the Gothic Aesthetics Design Competition 2023: Submissions with images of cheerful elves, unicorns and colourful bubbles simply don’t fit in here (unless you design a very, very angry elf on a grumpy unicorn).

3. Your design is not well positioned

This error is very common! We also see it time and again on the marketplace, which is why you can take these tips to heart for your showroom in general.

The last example: You have created a detailed design on the theme of “Plants & Flowers” and place it as a tiny print on a T-shirt. Regardless of whether you do this by mistake or just cannot make your design larger because you have not formatted it correctly, in the end your design is not as effective as it could be and most likely won’t sell very well.

The contest procedure

You can read all about the process and your participation in the contest on the blog. You can also find answers to many questions in our FAQs.

Do you want to give free rein to your creativity in the 2024 design competition? Then visit the website now and find out about the current competition theme.

See Current Contest

The post Dos & Don’ts for the design contest appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.

Quarter 2 of 2024 is upon us. But what do we have in store? You can find occasions to celebrate, remember and learn throughout this calendar. This little preselection of holidays is just waiting for your design ideas:

• World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21st (Global)
• Earth Day, April 22nd (Global)
• Pride Month, June 1st-June 31st (Global) ‍
• Mental Health Awareness Month, May 1st-31st
• Mothers Day, May 12th
• Memorial Day, May 27th (US)
• Father’s Day, June 16th (US,CAN)
• Juneteeth, June 19th (US)
• World Environment Day, June 5th (Global)
• International Yoga Day, June 21st (Global)

More exciting events are waiting for you in our calendar. Have a scroll through the next three months and discover suitable occasions for your designs.

 Need some more drive to get you going? Our articles on 10 Graphic Design Trends you should know, and the top search terms from April to June 2023 will be sure to get you on the right path.

Still have some burning questions? Get in touch with us on the forum or in the comments section below.

The post Most Important Occasions: April to June 2024 appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.

Colour and Pattern trends for Spring/Summer 2024

Congratulations! You’ve almost survived the cold of winter. Just before spring gets here and warms us up, preparing us for some summer lovin’, we’ve put together a list of colour and pattern trends for you to consider for your upcoming design ideas. Get ready for a taste of what are sure to be the hottest colours this season, as well as some unique patterns and prints to keep in mind as you let your creativity bloom.

 The colour of the year

Pantone 13-1023, perhaps better known to most as “Peach Fuzz”, has been crowned by Pantone as the official colour of the year for 2024. They describe it as a “velvety, peach tone whose all-encompassing character enriches the body, soul, and spirit”. Now doesn’t that just sound like a big hug? This light and delicate shade was chosen as colour of the year as a representation of authentic human connection, and the feeling it evokes. With a name that reminds you of the warmth and gentleness of human touch, this soft hue emphasizes the need for genuine connections beyond the world behind screens and technology. At the same time, this light shade between pink and orange fosters a feeling of deep cosiness and the hope for a peaceful future.

An exciting mix of vibrant, joyful colours

• Shades of vibrant and pastel blue: Horizon Blue (PANTONE® 16-4427 TCX), Strong Blue (PANTONE® 18-4051 TCX), Chambray Blue (PANTONE® 15-4030 TCX), Vibrant Capri (PANTONE® 15-4722 TCX) and Aquatic blue – Marlin (PANTONE® 18-3932 TCX)
• Shades of nature-inspired green: Bistro Green (PANTONE^®19-5408 TCX), Fresh Green -Tarragon (PANTONE^® 15-0326 TCX) and Mint (PANTONE^® 16-5938 TCX)
• Shades of refreshing and bright yellow: Spicy Mustard (PANTONE^®14-0952 TCX), Charlock (PANTONE^® 12-0530 TCX) and Lemon Yellow (PANTONE^® 12-0736 TCX)
• Shades of dark and cherry red: Fiery Red- Fiesta (PANTONE® 17-1564 TCX) and Rooibos Tea (PANTONE® 18-1355 TCX
• Shades of fruity and apricot orange: Sun Orange (PANTONE® 16-1257 TCX) and Orangeade (PANTONE® 17-1461 TCX) and Apricot Pink- Desert Flower (PANTONE® 15-1435 TCX)
• Shades of lilac: Pastel Lavender Lilac (PANTONE® 14-3812 TCX) and Smoky Lavender – Burnished Lilac (PANTONE® 15-1905 TCX)

The classics

• White shades: Brilliant White (PANTONE® 11-4001 TCX)
• Fifty shades of grey: Rainy Grey – Northern Droplet (PANTONE® 14-4104 TCX) and Shadowy grey – Quiet Shade, Boulevard (PANTONE® 18-3906 TCX)
• Earthy beige tones: Moth (PANTONE® 13-0611 TCX), Brush (PANTONE® 16-1317 TCX) and Mushroom (PANTONE® 14-1305 TCX)

The big 6 for the upcoming season

• Blue, sky and royal: The colour of the skies, and the colour of the ocean. These tones evoke a feeling of foreverness, of serenity and calmness.
• Fifty shades of green: The colour of nature. All shades of green such as pastel green, mint green, and lime green bring about a sense of freshness, peace, and abundance.
• Radiant cherry red: This intense shade of red is the epitome of passion and determination. It’s hard to look away and provides a bold and fiery touch.
• Apricot or peach? (Peach Fuzz – Colour of the Year): Warmth and Energy. Comforting and warm yet vibrant and energic. Shades of apricot orange and peach provide a feeling of a warm summer and human connection.
• Pastel Lavender Lilac: A light, pastel shadow of purple, representing sophistication and mystery. It brings about a feeling of elegance and tenderness.
• Pale yellow: This tender shade of yellow, with its warmth and brightness and classic representation of happiness, also conveys newness and springtime freshness in its lighter tone.

Print and pattern trends for Spring/Summer 2024

• Playful geometry: Inspired by the typical 80s design style, this trend incorporates geometric patterns and playful shapes (think freehand geometrics, kaleidoscopic mosaics, irregular block prints)
• Vibrant bloom: It’s not the spring/summer season without some flowers, right? This trend includes oversized florals, floral doodles, and overall bright and bold flowers. Combine this trend with the big 6 colours for a trendy floral design.
• Monotone cut-outs: Monochrome is in this season, and is characterised by using different shades of a single colour hue. This trend offers a clean and simple yet visually cohesive and harmonious look. Using monotone in your design you can shift the focus onto texture, pattern, and silhouette.
• Summer tiles: Giving off all the summer vibes. This tile pattern trend, filled with intricate ornamental and Moroccan style tiling, add a unique touch and stunning details.
• Palms of summer: Palm trees – a classic representation of summer. Classical tropical patterns such as tropical foliage, tropical plants, and leaves, provide an unquestionable summer vibe.
• Earthbound: Let’s dive headfirst into nature. Textures which take its inspiration from natural elements, such as marble and stone, or rocky edges and contours, bring a design back down to earth.

Now you’re all set with the colour and pattern trends you need to know for the spring/summer season this year. Be sure to refer to them when creating wonderfully fresh designs for the season! Want to learn about graphic design trends for 2024 as well? Check out our blog post all about it here. 

The post Color and Pattern trends for Spring/Summer 2024 appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.

Thanks to the ever-evolving nature of trends in design, it is crucial that you are always up to date, because before you know it the trend will have come and gone, and you will have missed your chance to make the most of it. Customers notice trending topics, and understanding and utilizing relevant trends sends a message that you are ahead of the times, and more importantly that you care about your audience. And because trends and technological advancements often go hand in hand, it just makes sense that your designs are optimized for the latest platforms and technologies. Don’t know where to start? Not to worry – in this blog post we’ve summarized the best and boldest graphic design trends of 2024 to help give you some inspiration to create your best designs yet. We’re going to cover everything with AI and 3D techniques, to Barbie-esque vibrant colour palettes and vintage-inspired Retro Pixel Designs.

Ready to get started?

The Top 10 Graphic Design Trends of 2024

1. AI-enhanced design practices

AI has already been a hot topic of debate, and perhaps even more so in the world of art. Be that as it may, AI is not going anywhere and will continue to trend in 2024. Many designers argue that AI destroys the integrity of art, but try not to view AI as the enemy but rather as a supporter for your creativity and productivity. Making the most of AI can be done by using it to optimize your work processes, rather than to replace it. For example, utilizing tools such as automated image resizing or background removal can save you enough time to focus on design conception and to finish off works with that ever-so-important human touch. A great example of an AI sidekick for designers is Adobe Sensei, which is powered by machine learning and built to elevate and optimize your creative flow. It makes your life easier by taking over tedious tasks, personalizing experiences and opening a new world of possibilities, all within your favorite Adobe apps.

2. 3D Art – 3D hyper surrealism

3D art has consistently been a trend in the graphic design world for a long time and will continue to trend in 2024. It is a design style that can be utilized in particular to create visually engaging scenes, characters, and objects, to highlight the details and textures of the design. 3D art can also be combined with other design elements such as typography, photography, and illustration to transform it to another style of graphic design – 3D hyper surrealism. In merging hyper-realistic and surreal 3D designs with bright colors and experimental fonts comes a huge potential for bold self-expression and playful creativity.

3. Vibrant & Candy colour palette

Thanks to the pink-explosion created by the release of the Barbie movie last year the ever-trendy vibrant colors is definitely going to see an increase in popularity in 2024. Bright, colorful graphic designs with a wide range of contrasting colors are particularly eye-catching and visually stimulating, and Barbie’s signature pink will continue its reign as a trending colour this year. Use it in combination with other vivid and playful colors and shapes.

4. Future Fusion – Holographic design & abstract gradient

An unlikely pairing creates a unique aesthetic with future fusion. Combining futuristic designs with a down-to-earth basis. Dark aesthetics with shimmering elements and digital fonts bind innovation and humanity. For example holographic surrealism, inspired by science fiction, add a luminescent quality to designs through its iridescent colors and metallic sheens. Pair this with abstract and artistic gradients, which are gaining popularity, and you’ve got a dynamic and captivating design. We are definitely going to see a rise in different variations of gradients in 2024.

5. Risograph & Grain Risograph

Originating as a printing technique from Japan in the 80s, Risograph & Grain Risograph are set to trend in 2024, with the grainy texture adding depth to minimalist designs in a familiar way. Grainy textures give designs a realistic, vintage look without taking away from the integrity of the original design, which makes the Risograph-effect especially popular when creating retro or vintage designs.

6. Maximalism – the more the better

More is more when it comes of maximalism, and this design movement is an explosion of colors, objects, shapes, and patterns. Add some funky fonts, tell a story with your elements and keep your viewer engaged for even longer. Bound to make a comeback in 2024, maximalism is unapologetically loud and inspires visually rich and stimulating designs.

7. Retro Pixels

How about another quick blast from the past? Pixel art is back in trend, a nod to the nostalgic world of classic video games in the early digital age. Infusing these playful, old-school elements with modern, high-quality techniques gives new life and potential to pixel art, and in turn represents how the old-school classics are too good to simply let go. Be prepared to see more and more retro pixels used in everything from websites to posters.

8. Nature-inspired aesthetic – colors of nature

In a world of pandemics and climate change, there has definitely been an increase in attention to health and the environment. This has inevitably led to an increase in organic and environmentally friendly products. With that we’ve seen a trend towards more earthy tones and colors, such as natural greens and browns, as well as sunny yellows. 2024 will see an increased focus on nature and the natural beauty of the planet, with the graphic design trend taking inspiration from its elements through textures, patterns, and colors.

9. Geometric shapes (inspired by retro designs of 80-90s style)

Characterized by simplicity, bright colors, and inspiration from the 80s-90s style, the geometric shape graphic design style is often used for branding or social media posts. Simple shapes such as circles and squares in combination with the right colour scheme can send a clear message through visuals which are easy on the eye and yet somehow bold at the same time.

10. Experimental and bold typography

Enough with the tidy, straight-edge fonts. In 2024 we’re welcoming more playful fonts that wave, slide, pop, and drip before our eyes. Experimental typography are not identifiable by name or style but rather encapsulates a more creative energy which is expressed through funk lines, 3D elements or textures. Incorporate more liquid, metallic, or bold colored typography to your designs to keep up with the trends in 2024.

Want to learn more about previous design trends from 2023? Check out the spring and summer trend report from 2023.

Feel like being up to date with the current colour & pattern trends as well? Check out our blog post on Colour and Print & Pattern Trends for Spring/Summer 2024.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us right here in the comments or in the forum.

The post 10 Graphic Design Trends you should know in 2024 appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.