How do I create a product?
To make it easier for you to get your ideas to market, we've introduced our Product Designer web interface. Using the Product Designer design path, you are able to design products directly on our web portal without having to use the .ai design templates. Long story short, you can design your products via the web rather than having to design and export using Adobe Illustrator.
Please make sure you review our Do's and Don'ts article before you create designs.
Layout
When you click to create a Product Designer-enabled style, you'll be taken right to the web interface where you can start designing.
At the top, you are able to provide the Design Name for your product as well as find out more information on the style you've chosen.
To the left are the Tools for creating designs.
The right side will be Preview mockups (if available*) and configuration options to complete your product offering.
Proceed will save your product and allow you to sync to your web integration (if applicable).
Design Name
First things first, you will need to name your product in order for it to get created and saved. Design Names must be original, though slight variations are okay. Names are limited to 30 characters, with no special characters - spaces are fine.
Some styles will have multiple tabs that contain different design panels. This is to make it easier to understand what panels coordinate with which parts of the product. Blue caution icons to let you know if any panels are blank or do not contain design elements.
Tools
On the left, you will see the Tools available to create design elements, including uploading images, creating shapes for colors, and choosing a background color.
Note: Images need to be .jpg or .png formats and in RGB color mode
You can click >> to expand the panels on the left side for additional information and functionality.
Note: Choosing a Background color applies this color to all panels. The Background layer cannot be deleted, but you can "remove" it by changing the color to White if you have chosen a color that you later decide against.
On the right side, you will see tools that Duplicate layers, Select Color, and Sample Color.
Tip: When using the color selector, you can change color input by clicking the input selector button:
Filling Panels with Artwork
When adding your artwork, we recommended going outside of the Trim line, i.e. outside of the panel shape. This way you will ensure full artwork coverage of the garment.
The art will automatically be cut to the panel shape when printed, so there is no need for you to create or place your art exactly to the panel shape.
Example:
Notice how this color block extends beyond the Trim lines of the panel
The art placed on the canvas will automatically be cut to the panel shape when printed. You can see this when you deselect the art on the canvas.
Layers
As you add more images and shapes, they will start to populate the Layers panel on the left. If a layer is higher on the Layers panel, it will be displayed on top of the layers below it.
Tip: You can click-and-drag on layers to reorder them
Zoom
You can click on the + or - buttons to adjust zoom level on the design canvas, but depending on your browser you can also pinch or scroll to adjust your zoom. The compass button will re-center the canvas.
Before finalizing a product design, we advise to zoom in close and do an inspection on your designs to avoid possible issues like hairline spaces between images/patterns or designs not completely filling the design panels.
Configure
On the Configure panel, you are able to set your Size Run and choose Trim/Thread options (when applicable).
Please keep in mind that once these options are chosen upon first making a product, they cannot be changed or added. That is, if you decide to not offer a size XS and uncheck that size when you first create a product, you will not be able to add it to your size run after the product is initially created. Likewise, if you choose White for the thread option, for example, you cannot change this to Black later on.
You can, however, create a new product with a similar design and choose a different trim color for it - in effect expanding your product offering.
Previews
Certain styles have Preview mockups available. You can see these by clicking Preview on the right side of the Product Designer as you're creating your design. This will help you get a good idea of placement of design elements and how your product will look.
Note: We are actively working on releasing Preview images to our styles, but they are not yet available for our complete assortment. We know that these images are a valuable tool in not only designing your products, but also selling and marketing them. We are in the process of creating mockups for more styles, releasing them as soon as they're ready, and more will be added soon.
Product Uploader (Design Templates)
At the bottom left of your screen, you will see an Adobe Illustrator icon that will take you out of the Product Designer interface and to the Product Uploader design path. This is where you can download design templates for product creation via Illustrator. You'll also upload your design exports here to create your products, if you prefer this method or already have templates you're working with.
Tip: If you do not see this enabled for your account, please send a request to [email protected] to enable design templates. They are not enabled by default.
