How to design a staff uniform, and what to send your decorator

Start with the work, not the logo

Start with what the uniform has to do, because that rules out more options than any brand decision. What do your staff spend the day doing: standing at a counter, lifting stock, driving, working outside? How does the gear get washed, and how hot? A café, a clinic and a building site need different garments before anyone picks a colour. The best fabric for work uniforms covers what each fabric survives.

If the job needs hi-vis, the certification belongs to the garment, and we cannot tell you what decoration does to it either way; confirm that with the garment’s supplier. Our industry pages cover what each sector’s gear goes through.

Choose a short list of garments, one look per role

Most teams need a short list of garments, not a catalogue. Let roles differ inside one look: a polo at the counter and an apron in the kitchen, a work shirt in the office and a softshell jacket in the van. The colour and the logo tie them together. A short list also reorders more cleanly, because every extra style is one more thing a wholesaler can stop making. The garments we decorate each have their own page.

Pick colours that survive the job

Choose a base colour that hides what the job throws at it, then one or two accents from your brand. Navy, charcoal and black forgive stains; white and pale grey show everything. Keep to one garment brand where you can: the same colour name varies between brands, and one label’s navy rarely matches another’s side by side. Thread is matched to the nearest stock shade, usually indistinguishable at arm’s length, and a printed transfer gets closer to an exact brand colour.

Decide where the logo goes, and how big

Put the main logo on the left chest unless there is a reason not to. Add a back print when staff are read from a distance or from behind, on a site or walking into someone else’s building. A sleeve suits a second, smaller mark. Keep the detail simple, because thread cannot hold anything under about 5mm. Not sure of the size or placement? Ask, and we will suggest one on the quote.

Keep one logo size across the order where you can. Embroidery carries a one-time setup if we have not already set your logo up at that size. One setup covers your garments at the same logo size; caps stitch differently and need their own.

Match the method to the garment

Choose the decoration garment by garment. Embroidery suits caps and the structured garments worn every day: polos, work shirts and jackets. A pressed transfer suits light tees, large back designs and full-colour logos. Embroidery is stitched in-house; transfers are printed by a trusted partner and pressed in-house on our own heat press. Caps are embroidery only, because pressing headwear needs a cap press and we do not have one yet. Embroidery vs heat transfer goes through the trade-offs.

Get the fit right before the full order

Get the fit right first, because a uniform people dislike stops being worn. Check that the size range covers everyone on the team and that your garments come in womens cuts. Ask staff what bothers them about their current gear; they will tell you about heat, pockets and collars. Aim for clothes people would wear anyway, not a costume.

To see and feel a garment first, ask for a sample at the quote stage. The sample is charged as a one-garment order, so the small-order handling charge applies.

Write it down so the reorder matches

Once the uniform is settled, write down exactly what it is: each garment code and colour, the logo file, its size and position on every garment, and the thread colours. That record is what makes a new starter’s shirt match last year’s. We keep it on file and will send you a copy if you ask, which helps when someone else takes over the ordering. A reorder of the same gear runs off it, with no setup again at the same logo size.

How to choose a uniform supplier covers what else to ask about reorders.

What to send your decorator

A good brief fits in one email and gets a real price back, usually the same business day. You need the decisions above written down, not a mock-up. Send it through the quote form, then email the logo file, because the form cannot take attachments.

Put these in it:

• Who wears it, what they do, and how it is washed.
• Each garment, its colour and a rough quantity.
• Where the logo goes and roughly how big, or ask us to suggest it.
• Embroidery, print, or not sure.
• The logo file: .svg, .ai, .eps or .pdf is best, and a clean, high-resolution .png or .jpg is usually fine.
• When you need it, and the suburb it is going to.
• Whether you are supplying your own garments.

Production takes about 5–21 working days from artwork approval, and we courier NZ-wide, Auckland included. The pricing guide explains what moves the price.

Do you need a mock-up or a design app?

No. A free mock-up tool is fine for showing the team an idea, but your decorator places the logo from the file, not from the picture. We do not make mock-ups before an order. After you order, the placement and size come back to you in writing, and nothing is made until you approve it.

Questions people ask