This article was originally written by Ray Masaki of Lowdtown (http://www.twitter.com/lowdtown) and posted on his blog: http://www.lowdtown.com/

This is a really good question, but the answer obviously depends on what you consider your demographic to be. But one thing that is definitely important regardless of your demographic is that the product should be unique and professional. Try to steer clear of bandwagon products. You might make a quick buck from making a fad product, but you don’t want your brand to look like every other brand that jumps on trends.

For example, for some reason a while back, people were really into those Livestrong style silicone wrist bands. I thought it was cool when Livestrong did it, because it was for a good cause and the first to do it, but when a shitload of bands and brands started doing it, it got super lame. Maybe it’s just me, but I find those things to be terribly ugly, and don’t work well as an accessory to your clothing. I know the intention of those bands aren’t to be a fashion accessory, but I personally feel like your brand loses class when you make people wear accessories that are obviously just advertising (ie. silicone bands that say “I [heart] Brand X”). Similarly, I find laser cut jewelry pretty tacky for the most part unless it’s done well. Good Wood makes really unique laser cut jewelry using good quality wood, and unique wooden chains. They were able to take a simple idea, and put their own unique spin on it, which is dope.

Similarly, I feel like a lot of people are jumping on the old school snap back bandwagon. If you’re going to make snap backs, do it right. I see people buying really shitty wholesale hats, and then doing really generic embroidered designs on them. My favorite snap back brand by far is Quintin. They just did a collaboration with sneaker genius, Ronnie Fieg, and it was one of the dopest caps I’ve seen a while. Quintin uses really unique fabrics, and the cut of the hat is custom as well. I don’t know if snap backs are just a running trend at the moment, but if you’re going to go for them, do it right!

Continuing on the idea of trying to make a professional look on a tight budget, try to think of cost effective ways to customize your product like hoodies and jackets. I think the standard embroidered label adds a bit of professionalism to your products, but try to think of ways you can it make it more unique. Penfield uses embossed leather as patches on their jackets. Getting patches produced is really not too expensive if you find the right sources, and it definitely makes your garments more unique. I think it’s pretty boring when someone just prints up their design on a stock AA hoodie and then leaves it at that. If you add your own label in place of the stock size tag, and add little accoutrements, the products turns out way more special and unique. To me, it adds to the brands value, because I no longer feel like I’m buying Brand X design printed on an American Apparel hoodie, I feel like I’m buying a Brand X product. There is some debate on the issue, because people like knowing what kind of fit to expect especially when it’s an online brand, but that’s something that I’m personally willing to risk. When a shirt is printed on American Apparel, most people have worn AA shirts and know what size to get, but I still prefer removing the tags and labeling it as my own unique product. Besides, if you include an accurate size chart, most people shouldn’t complain… unless they’re too lazy to measure themselves.

If you’re looking into making your company more of a “lifestyle” brand, think of products that can complement your brand’s image. Ugmonk is a brand that everyone should know by now that focuses on minimalism, and the owner, Jeff Sheldon, really has a great attention to detail. One product he released in 2011 was a leather notebook, which worked perfectly with the style of his brand. It was unique, minimal and professional, and all he really added was simple, well-done packaging and an embossed graphic to the leather cover.

Overall, the most important thing is to create unique and professional products that pair well with your brand’s vision. Don’t jump on bandwagons, and create things just to be popular and make quick money. Try to really find and acknowledge the aesthetic of your brand, and find other products besides t-shirts that blend well with your company’s look.

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What items can I sell besides t-shirts?

This article was originally written by Ray Masaki of Lowdtown (http://www.twitter.com/lowdtown) and posted on his blog: http://www.lowdtown.com/blog/

Custom packaging is one of those things that are icing on the cake. I think it’s awesome when I get a package that comes in an awesome box, or custom mailer, but it usually ends up in the trash regardless. The only thing I really care about in regards to packaging is that it’ll keep my purchase safe during shipping, and that it has my address on it. However, I do have some ideas on how to make packaging look good without breaking the bank.

I personally love stickers. I just like sticking them on stuff, and I think it makes boring things look awesome (eg. NY street signs, my sketchbook). People tend to underestimate the versatility and awesomeness of stickers. If you make a thousand of a sticker specifically for packaging, it’ll make your mailer or shipping box unique with barely any work. Plus getting a thousand stickers made is way cheaper than paying for a thousand pieces of custom packaging. Here’s one concept that I had thought of in the past that I didn’t end up using, but I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I was going to design a clear vinyl sticker to look like a wax seal, and stick it on the packaging as if it were mad official or something. I don’t know, maybe that’s a shitty example, but if you come up with a clever idea, use it! Or you can make a logo sticker, and stick that on your packaging, and still use it as a sticker to sell/giveaway as well.

The other thing that I think makes packaging way nicer is polybags. I don’t know why, but when a shirt comes in a sealed bag, it feels way more legit to me. I like seeing the t-shirt folded nicely inside, and opening the bag as if no one has touched it before. They are insanely cheap, and every person with a clothing business should know how to fold a shirt nicely, so it’s definitely an easy investment to make. Plus, it adds an added layer of protection for shipping.

Polymailers come in all sorts of different colors as well. There’s nothing wrong with receiving a white polymailer package in the mail, but paying a couple cents more per mailer and you could get a black, gold, silver colored mailer. It’s not anything too special, but it makes your package just a little bit more exciting to get in the mail. I love the feeling of knowing what the package is even before looking at the address; it makes opening it that much more fun.

Hang tags also add to the professionalism of your package, but in my opinion, are not necessary at all. Unless you’re trying to do retail, having a hang tag won’t really make a difference to me. However, sometimes when I get really custom hang tags, the brand usually leaves some sort of lasting impression on me. Some people use die-cut stickers as hang tags, which I think is pretty cool novel idea. Some shirts I’ve bought even come with hang tags that double as key chains, which is something I would definitely keep if it looks cool. Just one thing to keep in mind, if you’re going to use a tagging gun, be careful. I’ve gotten complaints about the tags leaving small holes, so I prefer not to use them anymore.

An example of an awesome hang tag via: Jordan Metcalf

Those are my tips. If you have the extra money to go crazy on packaging, then go for it. Just consider that your hard work and money may end up in someone’s trash because most people just don’t keep packaging lying around their houses. It definitely does make receiving a package in the mail feel special, but don’t add a couple bucks to your price to justify the packaging cost.

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Custom packaging that won’t break the bank

This is probably a topic that most, if not all, indie brands think about. I know most of you reading this and interested in starting a clothing brand have considered ways to spend less money while still looking professional. Unless you have some sort of substantial backing, chances are that you’re going to try to achieve that professional look by pinching every penny.

Being a well trained designer as well as the business owner cuts down a lot of cost, because you don’t have to rely on another person to do all the miscellaneous design work. Everything from stickers to business cards to hangtags needs to have a prepped design file. Those files are not necessarily difficult to design, but hiring someone to do simple tasks is not very cost efficient. Even if you don’t have the skills to create every t-shirt design yourself, knowing how to use the tools so that you can prep files and design simple things like business cards and flyers is really cost effective. But obviously, if you’re not the hottest designer, don’t pretend that you are. You’re going to end up spending a lot of time on some shitty designs just because it’ll save you money. The product always comes first, so if you’re not satisfied with your design skills, then don’t use them for professional products. Most of your money should be going into the products anyway, so don’t try to save money by hiring a cheaper, less experienced designer or designing it yourself, because you usually get what you pay for.

The same goes with silk screening your designs by yourself. I mentioned this in a previous article, but if you’re not a professional printer, you should leave the printing to the professionals. Sure it cuts down a lot of costs to have your own set up, but make sure you can get the consistency and quality with your prints that you’re looking for. It can also be dangerous if you don’t have the proper ventilation and facilities. Discharge inks, especially, should be used in a well ventilated space, as it creates harmful vapors and it can probably take years off your life if your set up is in your small apartment.

Another tip for creating a professional look in your e-commerce store is to have a more than one color option for your products. It usually doesn’t cost extra to print one design on multiple different colored shirts. Customers like to have options, so if your design looks good on another color as well, don’t limit yourself. However, a common mistake I’ve seen with smaller brands is that they over do the color options. I’ve seen brands release “10 new shirts” but it’s more like two designs with 5 colorways each. I don’t want to be going through your store, and see five shirts of the same design. Another mistake that smaller brands make in an effort to save money, is print a design that is intended for one certain colored shirt, but they print it on many different colors. For instance, if a design is a black print on white and has shading, it’ll look inverted and terrible if you print the same design as white on black.

You should also consider the affordable embellishments that make your brand just a little bit sweeter. Include business cards and stickers with your orders as a little bonus to the customers. Business cards, especially, are incredibly cheap to produce, and it’ll be worth the extra bit of money. I’ve also seen people use business cards as hangtags, which also adds to the professionalism. Folding your shirts nicely and placing it in a polybag, is probably one of the cheapest things you can do to add to your brand’s professionalism. When I receive a shirt in a polybag, it definitely feels much more substantial than just receiving the shirt in a mailer. Just consider what kind of embellishments are usually on a retail item. If your product can grab the attention from a guy in a store, that’s probably the kind of attention to detail you want to consider. Your hopes are probably to get your products eventually into some stores, so start branding your products to be high quality and professional, and people will remember you.

People also seem to respond well to embroidered labels. I think I’m getting a little bored of them now, because everyone seems to be doing it, but I can’t deny that it does make your brand a little more expensive looking without too much overhead cost. If you have any sewing skills, you can even sew the label on yourself which cuts down a lot of the cost. Like the colorways deal, just don’t over do it. I’ve seen some brands with some big-ass obnoxious labels on the bottom hem of their shirts, and it looked like a joke. I think the small and subtle ones are classy and look pretty fresh. A lot of people debate between getting the size tag printed inside the collar and getting an embroidered label sewn in. Even though the printed size tags are often more comfortable, I think embroidered labels just look more professional, so I usually opt for that option.

Again, as discussed in a earlier post, professional and consistent photography is something that is crucial to branding, and often overlooked. Make sure you’re not using your cheap point and shoot, and use a camera with a decent sensor and manual settings, and make sure the lighting is even and adequate. You can even rent a nice camera if necessary. One thing I would usually recommend is to not use mocked up images on your product pages. Sure it looks more consistent, but if someone is trying to buy your product, don’t try to deceive them with a photoshopped version of your t-shirt. It not only cheapens your brand, but it can also look different from the actual product, which will definitely generate some complaints. If you do choose to use mock-ups for your product shots, make sure that the size of the print and the print colors are extremely accurate and true to the actual shirt. If mock-ups are done correctly, it can turn out good, but more times than not, I find that it looks unprofessional.

There’s probably a lot more I can talk about, because I definitely had a tight budget when I first started. I’ll probably continue this series in a part two at a later date. Hopefully some of these suggestions have gotten you thinking a little bit. If you have any of your own tips for getting a professional look on a tight budget, leave a comment below. I’ll be sure to include it in the part two, and I’ll obviously give you credit with a link to your site; I’ll add my little bit of input as well.

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How to achieve a professional look on a tight budget

This article was originally written by Ray Masaki of Lowdtown (http://www.twitter.com/lowdtown) and posted on his blog: http://www.lowdtown.com/blog

This topic was suggested by my buddy and fellow New Yorker, Bryan of Doctor Hazmat, who I incidentally met after first talking to him via twitter. It’s certainly an interesting question, but unfortunately I probably hold a heavy lean towards the idea that technology has greatly helped the t-shirt community. But to be fair, I’ll try to look at both sides of the table.

I suppose when I first started looking into making t-shirts in high school (around ’06 or ’07), there weren’t as many online communities as there are now. I remember trying to find a printer for the first time through the local white pages. It wasn’t that there weren’t services online yet, I was just naive, so I only thought that crappy printing services like Cafepress and Spreadshirt existed. Of course, I was also very inexperienced at that time, so I didn’t realize that there were resources like t-shirtforums and it might have been a little bit before emptees started up.

However, as I learned more about design, and t-shirt design in particular, I became more and more involved in the online design communities, and religiously followed t-shirt design blogs. Technology, and the internet especially, make it easier than ever to market yourself. I can’t even imagine not having the internet as a resource, because I wouldn’t know where to start. I suppose I would try to find a local printer and try to get a better understanding of the processes or get an internship at a clothing brand, but with the computer, all of those resources are literally at your fingertips. With the addition of social media sites like facebook and twitter, as well as running blogs, it’s also easier than ever to market yourself.

To be honest, a way that technology has hurt the t-shirt community is that it almost made it too easy for people to make clothing brands. Any dumbass kid with a pirated version of Photoshop thinks that they can make a t-shirt and post it online nowadays. I wish it were a little bit harder, so that it would weed out all the shitty brands. But obviously, I stood in the position of a shitty inexperienced brand at one point, so I probably wouldn’t have been able to get off my feet without the help of online resources.

Another thing that I’ve been noticing lately is the homogenization of a lot of indie t-shirt blogs. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a problem, but it seems like a lot of the t-shirt blogs cover any and everything about t-shirts. I wish there was a bit more of a filter rather than posting every new t-shirt that’s released. So now, even if you do get coverage on a popular t-shirt blog, not only will it be at the bottom of the site by the end of the day, but also people just don’t care as much about one specific release, if there are hundreds of new t-shirts being posted daily. For that reason, I rarely ever look at t-shirt blogs anymore, and get inspiration from other sources. Just looking at art and fashion in general is a far better resource than seeing what Clothing Brand X just released.

That’s why I find that the older brands like Stussy, Supreme, Staple, 10.Deep, LRG etc. are so amazing. They had to go through the straight up hustle of selling from their car’s trunk or selling at shows and just spreading their name by word of mouth. They didn’t have mintees to post their latest launch on, or youtube to post their hype videos. It’s like when I think about how shitty rap and hip-hop has gotten. I feel like technology has made people lazier. With the internet, it’s possible for jokes like Soulja Boy to get popular, because they didn’t have to go through the hustle of impressing people at open mics and really honing their skills. Obviously it’s not easy to make a name for yourself or your brand regardless of what you do, but technology has certainly made it easier and has made people definitely more lazy… myself included. Gotta step my game up!

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How has technology helped and hurt the t-shirt community?

This article was originally written by Ray Masaki of Lowdtown (http://www.twitter.com/lowdtown) and posted on his blog: http://www.lowdtown.com/blog/

This is somewhat related to my previous post of knowing when to not use a design for your line. I think an extremely important distinction is knowing when something is an awesome piece of artwork, and when something is an awesome t-shirt design. There are many designs that overlap the two areas, but there are others that absolutely do not; not all rectangles are squares. A graphic t-shirt is a form of expression and wearable art, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that if a piece of artwork looks great on paper or the computer, it’ll look equally as good on a t-shirt.

First thing is to consider the audience. Typically, I try to design for myself, so when I’m creating a collection. I have to honestly evaluate if someone like me would wear the t-shirt out in public. We all fall in love with our own labels, so it’s easy to say that you would wear your own stuff out of pride, but it’s important to be able to admit if you wouldn’t actually want to wear something. Again, if it’s something you’re not satisfied with, how can you sell it to your customers? Think about your target audience, and what kind of clothes they are into. Are they into big ass bold prints, or are they into minimal designs? Research is key! Look at other successful brands that inspire you, and see what they are doing correctly. I’m not saying that you should copy another brand, but using another successful brand as a point of comparison and reference is not a bad thing.

Another thing I often consider is the composition of a t-shirt. Not composition as in, what is the t-shirt made of, but imagine the t-shirt as a canvas and consider the composition of an image. As a designer or art director, you have to think about the placement and negative space that the design creates. A couple years ago, people were into oversized prints that nearly covered the entire shirt, but is that the case anymore? Print out the design on a piece of paper at its full-size and tape it on to a t-shirt as a mock-up. How does it look and fit? How does it fall on the shirt?

Considering where design elements compositionally fall on a t-shirt is important as well. Say you have a t-shirt design with a bicycle on it. You probably wouldn’t want the two wheels to accentuate the nipples of whoever is wearing it. Additionally, I find it awkward when prints are placed too low, and accentuate the stomach and torso of the person wearing it, rather than the chest. Obviously, if that’s your intention, then go for it, but generally, most people like having t-shirt designs on the upper portion of the shirt rather than the lower portion.

Also think about the scalability of the design. Unless you’re making multiple screens for multiple sizes, most brands will be creating one screen regardless of the size of the shirt. Ideally, you want the design to look just as good as it does on a small shirt as it does on an extra large. I find that a lot of people design to fit on a medium shirt, because that’s relatively neutral, but sometimes that makes the design look too big and bleed off the edges on a size small and the design looks too small on an extra large. Additionally, if you’re considering alternative placements of the design, rather than just a chest print, think of how the negative space is activated. If the design is placed on the lower portion of the shirt, it sends a different message. If you’re going to place something in the corner of a shirt, make sure it’s intentional, and not just to be different.

I think the best thing to do is get a lot of different opinions on your stuff from people that can be honest with you. Try to be as objective as you can when you look at your own brand, and don’t be offended if someone gives you harsh criticism. Building a brand is all about evolving; don’t be close-minded. I think my best advice on the subject of choosing t-shirt designs to print would be to not fall in love with anything, and have an open mind about editing, or even getting rid of designs that don’t work.

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When is it art, and when is it art for a t-shirt?

I just put up a page for my book recommendations. You can check it out on the very top navigation of the site on the far right. Or you can just click here book recommendations

Also post some comments on the books I missed. I am going to go through and add some more in the next week and want to know of anything I missed.

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Book Recommendations for Clothing Company Owners

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Free Halftone Pattern Overlay

Original article posted at deviant art

Hey Guys,
Thought I would put up a little step by step detailing how to create a cover for Marvel. You don’t have to read the whole thing if you don’t want but, if you do, I hope you find it helpful. The piece was penciled by me with inks by Jaime Mendoza and colors by Danimation. The file is bit large but I wanted you to be able to see all the little deails I bring up in the step by step. ENJOY!

Step 1- PRELIM- This, to me, is the most important part because you’re setting the groundwork for everything else after this. You have to realize that there will be over 100 comics that come out the same month as your issue so you want to do all you can to jump off the shelf and separate yourself from the rest of the books. A few factors have to be kept in mind of course. You have to leave room at the top for your title and remember that the company logo is most likely going to be at the top left with a smaller logo at the bottom right/left as well as the UPC code also at the bottom right/left. This can be dicey to try and find a good image to display while working in such tight confines but you get used to it after a few tries. Remember that your image needs to be easy seen from 5 feet away since this is the general distance a reader will stand from the shelf deciding what and what not to buy. In this case, the editors at Marvel wanted a cover for a book that will come out around the same time as Spider-man 3 so it had to feature the main villain and, of course, Spider-man very prominently. I chose to slightly homage a scene from the movie’s preview where Sandman come up out of a dump truck and makes himself into a sandstorm to sweep away police and pedestrians. I added Spider-man in there framing him prominently in the center of the cover drawing maximum attention to our hero. Framing him almost completely surrounded by sand would also help pop him off the cover since his red and blue costume would show very well against an all tan background.

Step 2- PENCILS- In this case I scanned the layout into my computer and blew it up to the size of standard Marvel board in photoshop which is 10.5” X 15.75”. I then print it out and lightbox trace the image onto my comic board using a non-photo blue pencil. Once I have the rough placement of the characters on my board I get to the main task at hand which is making sure my anatomy is correct and adding all the little details that will make this cover pop. This includes the webbing on Spider-man, all the contour lines defining the musculature on each character, the sand and blast effects, as well as all the little background elements like the taxi cab and each window of the buildings. I’ll also look at myself in the mirror to make sure I have all the little details of the faces correct. In this case, I spent some time looking at myself make a screaming face in order to get Sandman’s face like I want it. Once the non-photo blue drawing is the way I want it I start penciling it with regular lead pencils ranging from size H to size 2B leads. I normally work front to back so I start penciling the web line first and then move on to Spidey, then Sandman, and then the background. I’ll use a variety of templates for each cover depending on what I need them for. On this cover I used a straight edge ruler for the blast effect and all the buildings. Circle and oval templates came in very handy on stuff like the wheels of the taxi.

Step 3- INKS- Once I’m done the cover is sent off to Jaime Mendoza to work his magic. Jaime uses a variety of tools including sable hair brushes, crow quill, and rapidiograph pens to get the look he wants. Inking is far more than tracing and involves Jaime adding depth and weight to lines tat might have appeared flat in the pencil drawing. Lines are inked thick to thin to give the look of dimension to a character. For examples of this simply look at Spider-man’s foot and calf in the pencil drawing and then look at the weight and depth added to the inked version. Also notice the line weight on Spider-man is much thicker than the line weight on Sandman as well as the background. This gives the illusion of depth since things in the foreground will have thicker out lines while things further in the distance loose line weight. Lastly, Jaime will go in with a tooth brush or stiff haired brush and use either white or black ink to add those fine little splatter effects of sand adding to the emotion and energy of the piece. Once finished Jaime scans the cover into his computer and, using photoshop, sizes the image to 10.5” X 7” at 400DPI which is standard sizing for Marvel comics to print from.

Step 4- COLORING- If penciling and inking is the cake, then this is the icing! After all, who wants to eat plain cake right? For this cover, Danimation stepped in and knocked this one out of the park. Using photoshop and a Wacom tablet Dan goes in and initially blacks out all the separate areas by doing what’s called ‘flatting’ the image. This just means he adds flat colors to each area like Spider-man’s suit, Sandman, and all the background elements so they all appear as their primary colors. Dan then uses a variety of photoshop tools like paint brushes(both standard and ones he makes custom), lassos, and gradients to give the piece more dimension and depth. He’ll even add shadows and highlights showing the light direction. For example, see the shadow being cast by Sandman’s head falling across his chest. It details like this that make the image look truly convincing. As the colorist, Dan is the last person to touch the cover before it’s printed and responsible for setting the mood of the entire piece because his colors are going to be the first thing the viewer sees. Because of this a colorist can be the pencilers best friend or worst enemy and can really make or break a cover. Dan decided to have a little fun with this piece and did a version with Spidey in his black costume from the movie as well!

Hope you found this enjoyable! If so, let me know and I’ll try and do more of these in the future. I plan to do a color tutorial as soon as I find the time but, in the meantime, let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to know.

Best!
-Mark

Myspace: [link]

Yahoo group: [link]

Sketchbook ordering details: [link]

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Inking 101 – Spidey Cover

Sorry about the lack of posts. I am going to try and write a bunch of articles myself about web design and different tools available on the web.

1. Splash Page

A splash page is the landing page of your site where it has a flash animation or just text that says “Enter”. A simple google search will show you tons of articles about why you shouldn’t have a splash page. There are two main reasons why a splash page sucks, it annoys customers and it is bad SEO.

Why does it annoy customers?
It’s basically another step users have to go through to get to the website they actually want to go to. They don’t want to watch your intro every time they go to your site. If you annoy a user enough they will just leave your site.

Why is it bad SEO?
Your landing page will probably have your highest page rank so having little content like text that says enter or an intro video will do little to get you hits from search engines.

Here is some more info
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-convince-a-client-they-dont-need-a-splash-page
http://www.webdesignforidiots.net/2009/02/why-you-should-dunk-your-splash-page/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/10/11/splash-pages-do-we-really-need-them/

2. Header is to big

There is a term called “above the fold” which they use in the newspaper industry. It refers to the location of an important news story or a visually appealing photograph on the upper half of the front page of a newspaper. Most papers are delivered and displayed to customers folded up, meaning that only the top half of the front page is visible. Thus, an item that is “above the fold” may be one that the editors feel will entice people to buy the paper.

In web design we use a similar term called above the scroll. This refers to all the information the user can see without scrolling down. You want to use this area for your important content. When you have a huge header it makes the user scroll down every page to get to the content they are looking for. Use your space wisely and make sure your important content is above the scroll.

3. Product pictures are too small.

There are a lot of e-commerce systems out there and default themes for shops that make the product pics so small. If you are selling a shirt the images are more important than your description and should take up most of the space on the product page. Make your product pics big!

4. Typography

There are tons of problems I see with typography on the web but I am just going to comment on readability. Your text must be easy to read if you want someone to read it. One problem I see a lot is the text color doesn’t have enough contrast with the background. By the way the most readable text is black text on a white background. I have left many sites that have white text on a black background because it hurt my eyes after a while. If you only have a couple lines of text its not a big deal.

Another readability issue I see is there are too many characters on a line. According to a classic rule of Web typography, 55 to 75 is an optimal number of characters per line. Research done on smashing magazine showed that the average on websites is 88.74 characters per line (maximum). Having too many characters makes the user forget what line they are one when they go to the next line of type. If you have a 900px website and your content goes all the way across the 900px this text is going to be hard to read. Have a sidebar or break up your text into 2 columns.

There are tons more typography rules for the web in this article.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/20/typographic-design-survey-best-practices-from-the-best-blogs/

5. Music auto playing on site

Don’t do it! I have left so many websites and never returned because I couldn’t figure out where to turn off the music. Don’t annoy the customer and make them listen to something they don’t want to. If you want music make it so the user has to click the play button.

Thanks for reading my article I do web design for clothing companies at Double Dragon Studios and if you need any work done check out our site and fill out a our contact form.

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Top 5 mistakes in ecommerce design

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T-shirt design tips: Halftones