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Brand Insight: Design By Humans

Posted on | March 15, 2008 |

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Design by Hümans (DBH) is a place for people to submit, discover and buy amazing custom t-shirt designs created by artists from around the world. Based around an ongoing t-shirt design contest, all of the designs you see on Design By Hümans have been submitted by our community. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Design By Hümans officially launched in early July 2007.

A few months back, I was contacted by Jed from DBH who was looking to get the brand out to a wider audience. DBH is already a global brand, but they want to push things further, to take over the world so to speak. He pointed me in the direction of the website and i was instantly overcome with joy as I saw tshirt after tshirt with superb designs on them. Had I found my new vice site?  (I think so)

So, it’s taken me a few months to finally get round to making this post - but it was worth it in the end, and I’ll run you through a little of what DBH do and over the coming weeks, there should be an interview, some details of the new competitions they’re running and much more…

The all important bit, the tshirt review. Jed was kind enough to send through a variety of both mens and womens tees, for me to review and I have to say - I’m very impressed with both quality and design overall. A bigger photoshoot, perhaps more wacky is due in the very near future - I’m just currently very busy at work.

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I’ve scoured the site all over, and DBH uses a variety of techniques for the printing on to their tees - including foils, inks that soften in the wash to give a worn look and more.

Check out the Specialty Inks, the Mixed Media and Classic here. The designs are printed on premium quality tshirts which have a lovely soft texture to them - and once washed, there isn’t much sign of shrinkage - which is always important to look out for. The inside neck has a bit of information and care for the shirt, which personally, I think is a neat touch. Gives a bit of added character to the garment you’re wearing. See this below:

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I’ve chosen to review just two of the shirts that Jed sent, to save space, and to be honest, reviewing 12 shirts - I think I could go on forever. First up “Guard Your Grill” by Eskimokiss.

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100% Ringspun Cotton, Premium Fashion Fit Tee. Super Soft Oversize Waterbase Print with Gold Foil Teeth! Printed on ‘Special Ops Black’

A halftoned pattern of a skull on a black tee? Sound familiar - well yes, we do see stuff like this all the time, but this has an added bonus - flexed up grills with gold foil. Nice touch to round off the tshirt

Secondly we have Robot Attack by LegionOfDoom

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A HUGE amount of intricate detail on this tshirt - the design is out of this world. So much care and attention has gone into creating a montage of “Robots at War” so to speak. The front is littered with cartoon-esque drawings of robots challenging each other in battle - laced with gold and silver foil printing to bring out the details and highlights - I’m loving this tee!

Again, as all tees from DBH are, printed on supersoft cotton with the inside neck giving dedication to the creator of the tee and washing instructions - and like before, a nice touch.

So, in essence, DBH is a site, much like Threadless, but in my opinion far superior - Yes it may not be as well known - but with 18,000 users and rising, DBH produces quality tshirts with super high quality designs every single day. Yes, that’s right there’s new designs every day - does your wallet go that deep?

DBH also has a Tshirt Design 101 section for all you budding artists/designers wishing to submit to their competition:

“For those who are new to the world of t-shirt graphic design and decoration, we would like to open your eyes to the many design possibilities available here at Design By Humans and help get your creativity flowing. Along with standard plastisol inks, below are a few of the other techniques and processes we are currently offering to our designers. Keep checking back as this list will continue to grow and evolve.”

To have a look at the rules and the HUGE prizes, check here - and then getting scribbling!

Earn yourself some free shirts by collecting DBH Dollars

Refer a friend to Design By Hümans and get 2 DBH Dollars added to your account if the referral results in a sale. Also, earn 1 DBH Dollar each time you upload a photo of yourself wearing a tee that you purchased here at Design By Hümans.

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