Consider and choose what color shirt, style of text and imagery will best represent the band. Always include the name of the band in the design of a shirt. If your band has a logo, also incorporate that into the design. Additional elements you can include in a design for a band shirt are custom artwork, the names of band members, the title of a recent album and the title with dates of an upcoming tour. Traditionally, the name or logo of the band goes on the front of the shirt and the tour dates on the back. Sometimes the name or logo of the band appears on the back and the front of the shirt is left blank. Including tour dates is optional, even if you are designing shirts to sell during a tour.
Use Photoshop to experiment with different arrangements of the elements. You can also print out the text and images, cut them out and pin them to a blank t-shirt. Try a variety of compositions and place the shirt on a mannequin or person to see how different designs look when the shirt is worn.
Several t-shirt design and printing companies have websites that enable you to create your design using a blank template of a shirt. Find an online company with which to do business by comparing prices, shipping times and available colors and font styles. If you want to print on the front and back of your t-shirt or use your own artwork in your shirt design, make sure that the website provides these options. Also find out the company's printing process. Screenprinting yields the highest quality shirts.
Once you decide on a t-shirt design company, go to the section of its website that enables you to design. You should see a template of a blank t-shirt. Select what color you want your shirts to be. Then choose a font style and text effect. Type your band's name and any other text into the template. You can then move the text around until it is in the right place on the t-shirt.
If the text of the band name is original typography or part of a custom logo, you can upload it as an image file. You can also upload any other artwork as an image file. Adjust the size and placement of your images. To ensure a quality resolution, use image files no less than 200 dpi. Adhere to this same process when designing the back of your t-shirt. (See References 1)
Double check your shirt for any mistakes. Decide which sizes and how many shirts you need and place your order.