Being a part of Her Campus UConn for the last three years has been an amazing experience, and has given me so many life skills and great memories I’ll take with me after graduation. The weekly meetings, bonding events, formals, and career workshops have made my time so worthwhile. Though it is hard to pick a favorite part, designing this year’s merch has been so fun and rewarding. Though I had never designed merch before, I’ve discovered how creative I can be. I am excited to share my creative process and look behind the thread of designing Her Campus Merch.
Like Cake, Designs need time to bake.
I would be lying if I said my designs thus far have come to me in a matter of minutes. The designs that make it on the t-shirts, sweatpants, tops, and tote bags I create are the product of many hours of editing and changing a design to make sure I love the final product. At times, I will simply stare at a design I created to figure out what seems off about it so I can make the necessary changes. I say all of this to say, that designs need time to bake! The first design you make will not always be the final product, and that’s okay! You can not get to step seven without first starting at step one, and I learned this very quickly as Merchandise Chair. Allowing myself to come back to designs, change things, and make many variations was key to my creative process.
Simple is always better.
When I began to create my first mock designs, I was looking at extremely complex and detailed designs on Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram from other organizations, clubs, and sororities. I realized quite quickly that while these designs were cool, they would be complicated to replicate in practice. With further research, I found that the simplest designs are often the best ones. For the fall Her Campus UConn t-shirt, I opted for a cream-colored shirt. For the writing, I choose a bright pink color with a bow design. Though simple, the elements paired extremely well together and made for a cute top. I kept the idea of simplicity in mind as I designed new pieces, like our upcoming sweat set and tote bag.
A Shirt sewn with love and meaning
When I draft designs, the colors and symbols have more meaning and depth than you may think. The bow on our fall T-shirt represents the tie we, as members, have to Her Campus UConn. Despite our different backgrounds, majors, and interests, we are all tied to Her Campus UConn. We are united by the connection of girlhood and the passion of writing. I sewed that deeper meaning into the shirt I created, and I hope that our members feel that when they wear it.
Canva Pro is a lifesaver.
I owe all of my design practice and success to the lovely website that is Canva. Canva is an amazing resource for group projects, presentations, and clothing designs! Canva Pro has so many options when it comes to graphics and pictures you may need for a particular design. After any search for elements like a bow, a heart-shaped locket, or a disco ball, I was presented with hundreds of options to choose from. There is so much variation when it comes to colors, fonts, and design that you can play around with to get your ideal look. I spent many many hours playing around the different fonts, colors, and graphics to see what looked and felt right. I highly recommend using this platform to your advantage.
Honest Opinions and criticism go a long way
All of my designs went through an assembly line of people and opinions before they were released to the entire chapter of Her Campus UConn. I would first ask my roommates, friends, sister, and mom what they thought about a variety of different designs. I presented them with many options so they were able to narrow down which ones they liked the best, and then from there I was able to gauge what may be best for our chapter. I would then redo designs and adjust based on their critiques, and then send them revisions and updated versions of the designs they’d seen before. I would then pick the top five to ten designs to send to our Her Campus E-Board, and they would vote on their top two favorites. This process is thorough and one of the most important parts of designing. Having several pairs of eyes on your designs allows you to grow and accommodate the good ideas those around you may have. While you still have power and autonomy over your designs, allowing others to help you is often beneficial to the creative process.
Don’t be afraid to try something new!
As I said earlier, I had no experience designing merch before I started my position as Merchandise Chair for Her Campus UConn. The idea of creating merch caught my attention when applying for the 2024-2025 executive team, so I decided to trust my gut and apply. Seeing other people get excited over new merch, wear it to class, or compliment me for my ideas has been so rewarding, and I am glad I took that leap of faith! Take my experience as a lesson: if you think you want to try something new, you can and should try it out. I look forward to designing even more merch next semester for Her Campus UConn, and can not wait to continue my creative process.