Thinking Like A Killer

This thought is inspired by that old detective / crime trope:

“To catch a killer, you have to think like a killer”

From Sherlock Holmes to Silence Of The Lambs – the basic idea is that the detective has to put himself ‘in the mind‘ of the killer – and in doing so, finds it much easier to solve the crime.

Because if you think like the killer thinks, you can predict what the killer does next.

So could this same principle work when it comes to creating designs for T-Shirts – in particular for Print on Demand platforms like Amazon, Etsy or Redbubble?

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Why Good Design (Alone) Won’t Cut It Anymore

There’s a lot of  AI ‘cope’ coming from artists and designers – as they try to deal with the upcoming AI armageddon.

But it’s not all bad news – because your design skills aren’t what really generate sales anyway.

So what is?

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Snowclones For T-Shirts: Smile If… (X)

For several years I’ve been using the term ‘Plug-In Phrases’ to describe simple, fill-in-the-blank phrase templates.

Phrases like:

• Ask Me About (X)
• I’d Rather Be (X)
• Introverted But Willing To Talk About (X) 

I’ve written about them extensively – including many emails giving examples of specific phrases, exactly how to use them, why they work etc etc.

It’s one of my favourite ways to generate new, funny ideas – and this method is responsible for my all-time bestselling design.

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3 Reasons To Create Things That Make You Laugh

Last week I created a particular design purely because I thought the concept was funny.

And as I was putting it together I could hear the voice in my head saying, “this is wasted time… no one is going to buy it… it’s too weird… there’s no demand… ” 

But I ignored that voice and plowed ahead anyway – because I had this drive to create it, in spite of all those legitimate reasons not to. 

There really was no evidence I could point to – no proof of people searching for this phrase (it was completely new/original) – no existing designs that bore any similarity – and no numbers, BSRs or trend data that would suggest anyone would ever even see it (much less buy it).

And here’s 3 reasons why I think you should do this too (create things because YOU like them);

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Funny Acronym Ideas (FAI)

One of my most-frequented websites when working on new ideas is OneLook.com

It’s basically a big ol’ dictionary that displays related words, phrases containing certain words, and a whole lot more.

One of the things it can do is ‘expand’ words – so you can put in a word – and get back phrases that spell out that word…

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One (Easy) way to come up with better pun ideas

Today – I have a website to share that can help you come up with better ideas. 

So – if you’re just getting started creating designs for products –  and have no idea what to design around – read on for a neat exercise to help you prime your idea muscles.

You know the whole ‘sharpen your axe first’ thing? That’s good advice.

Far too many designers get caught in the weeds early on – obsessing over ‘research’ and ‘keywords’ and ‘niches’ – and missing the more fundamental principles of what makes for a great design:

Humour, a strong concept, and the right design approach.

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Why T-Shirt Designers Should Put Faces on Things

People love faces.

We’re naturally attracted to things with faces.

(take for example the ‘faces in things’ instagram account).

It’s why mascots and characters are so popular, and why they show up in so many brand and company logos.

(which reminds me of another fun twitter account I follow – the weird and wonderful mascots of Japan).

Given the innate appeal of mascots and characters – it’s surprising that so many T-Shirt designers ignore this – and instead rely on illustrations and graphics that are ‘faceless’.

I see a lot of designs that feature bland, generic graphics – silhouettes or lifeless objects of some kind.

That’s fine in certain situations – but if you want to really connect with your audience – you should consider ‘characterising’ your illustrations.

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