January is usually a busy time for us as many business owners and marketing managers decide to start new campaigns, refresh their work clothing, reinvent their logos and branding, take on additional staff and generally have a bit of a freshen up in the New Year.
It’s most common that our clients tend to know roughly what garments and colours they are looking for when it comes to embroidered workwear and teamwear but often we are asked for help in selecting not only which items would best suit their business needs but also which colours would work. Here are some of our top tips when choosing the right colour garments for your branded workwear.
Pick colours that are 'stock' colours
It’s a bit of a no-brainer if you are looking at cost saving options to say go for a ‘stock’ colour. This means choosing a colour that is readily available that the manufacturers sell ‘off the shelf’. The idea of a polo shirt or branded shirt in the exact Pantone colour of your company colours is a great vision, however the costs are high as well as the minimum quantities you would need to order. In order to match an exact pantone colour a white t-shirt would need to be dyed to create the desired shade required. This involves a lot of unnecessary costs. And because there is such a complicated process involved you will find that anyone who supplies this service will usually require a minimum quantity of around 500 pieces or more per garment (and sometimes per size)! That means you could end up with 500x Small t-shirts, 500x Medium t-shirts, 500x Small polos and so on…
We would recommend that you find a manufacturer that offers the closest colour garment required without having to go through this great ordeal.
Pick colours that are available across the majority of the range
Some manufacturers limit the available sizes in some of their colour ranges. For example, you’ll see that the AWD JH003 is available in a huge range of colour options but some of the less popular (or more obscure) colours come in fewer size options.
The Heather Grey/French Navy comes in sizes from XS through to 5XL whereas the Burgundy/Gold colour combination only comes in XS to XXL.
It’s important to check which sizes the colours come in to ensure you can meet all the requirements of your staff.
Pick colours that are available in all styles
Much like the sizing issue above there are usually a lot more colour options in unisex styles than any of the more fitted styles such as lady fit, slim fit or kids.
If you are looking for branded uniform to suit all styles it is important to check that the colour you like is available in all styles too. A lot of companies tend to stick with a unisex style to ensure there are no issues but if you are looking for more fitted styles for some members of staff we can help advise which colours and garments are available across all styles.
Pick colours that work with the industry they are being used
It kind of goes without saying but you’d be surprised! We would always recommend picking a colour garment (as well as quality) that works with the industry you are in. For instance, if you are a landscape gardener or looking for clothing for builders a white t-shirt is unlikely to get through 1 day without looking grubby and therefore making your brand look grubby. Whereas a darker garment (black, navy, greys etc) is much more likely to stay looking more presentable through the course of a day when working and meeting clients.
Similarly if you are working in an environment that requires you to stand out then perhaps a darker garment wouldn’t be the best option compared to something bold and vibrant like a red or royal blue for example.
Pick colours that compliment your logo and brand
If you are going through a rebrand then looking at garment colours is a good idea before you finalise your colours. This allows you to find the right garments in the right colour options that will work with your branding and logo.
If your logo was designed by a graphic designer then most companies will have 2 versions of their logo; your standard logo and then an ‘inverse’ version used for darker backgrounds. On the right you’ll see the SP Workwear logos – you can see there is a colour change to make the logo work on darker backgrounds.
Here at SP Workwear we wear both light and dark garments and we can simply swap which logo colours we use to compliment the colour garment we are wearing.
Obviously a blue garment would not look great as we have blue in our logo, however a darker blue like navy does work. Similarly, our logo would not look great on a red or yellow garment as they would clash with the blue in the logo.
We can help advise on colour options to suit your logo. We can also ‘invert’ certain colours in your logo to make them work on lighter or darker garments.
Whatever your plans are for your next project, campaign, clothing order we can help advise on all of the points mentioned above. To discuss your next clothing project call SP Workwear on 01628 308810 or email [email protected]
