Design Great Stuff: How to Make Merch with Draplin

Step back into the studio with the design legend, and learn his never-before-seen secrets for making his famous posters, pins, patches, and more!

From pins and patches to posters and hats, well-designed merch can be a designer’s dream—if it’s done right. Enter, Aaron Draplin. For the past 15 years, Aaron has been designing the best merch in the biz. Now, he’s sharing the tips, tricks, and trade secrets he’s gathered over a career centered on making great stuff. With his usual straight talk and zero funny business (ok, maybe a little funny business), Aaron will walk you through every step he takes each time he wants to create something new—and might just share some never-before-heard stories of mishaps and mayhem along the way.

From first idea to final delivery, you'll discover how to:

• Choose a design that works
• Find the best vendors to make your stuff
• Create un-mess-with-able files for handoff
• Make multiple merch pieces from one design

Plus, Aaron shares the successes and failures behind his favorite designs, from the spectacular journey of his Space Shuttle design to the woeful tale of an ill-fated yardstick.

Makers of all things are invited to join this class, whether you’re looking to expand the services you can offer your next client, open your own online shop, or make t-shirts for your family reunion. When you’re done, you’ll leave with the insider information you need to choose the right items, work with clients and vendors, and design great merchandise that’s a cut above the rest.

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While entertainment is guaranteed to all students, some experience with Adobe Illustrator is recommended in order to best follow along with Aaron throughout this class.

Looking for more from Draplin? Take his classic logos class, learn how wordmarks work, or discover the 21 workflow tips he wants every designer to know.

• Introduction
• The Deal With Merch
• Getting Inspired
• Tales of Merch: The Shuttle
• Coming Up With Concepts
• Researching Vendors
• Tales of Merch: Crusty Merch
• Designing a Patch
• Designing a Pin
• Tales of Merch: Fancy Stuff
• Preparing for Handoff
• Building Your File
• Revising Your Design
• Tales of Merch: Field Notes
• Reviewing Your Merch Samples
• Tales of Merch: Warnings
• Final Thoughts