Logo Tees That Work

I think there’s a general consensus among t-shirt fans that these kinds of tees are just plain ugly. Not just because of the tasteless design, but because of the brand name lazily slapped across the chest. Generally, I’ll be turned away from buying a tee or hoodie if a company insists on putting their logo on a design for the hell of it. (Especially if the brand name is something like “__________ Apparel/Clothing”) I just don’t want to pay $20 to be someone’s billboard.

There are logo (and/or branded) tees that work, though. You might still be someone’s billboard, but at least you’ll still look classy doing so.

Image-Only Logos

These companies have logos which are comprised of nothing but a single iconic, easily-remembered image. In my opinion, this is the best kind of logo, as it is the least billboard-y, and allows the most room for creativity within the design. I’ve also observed that many of these logos tend to be spoofs on the famous Jolly Roger symbol, which isn’t really a bad thing — it’s interesting to see how each company creates their own variation of it.

Johnny Cupcakes is one of the most well-known examples of this kind of logo tee — in fact, they’ve practically based their entire business around it, and could be considered the poster boy for successful brand marketing in an indie company. They’ve made major bank off the simple tee at left (and its colorway variations). At right is one of my favorite variations on the classic logo, which is sadly sold out due to its limited edition status.

I’ve always been a big fan of Arkaik‘s mammoth skull and crossbones logo. It tends to feature prominently in all of their lines, and is offered in a handful of colorways. In my honest opinion, these shirts may be the strongest pieces in Arkaik’s collection, if only for their simplicity and strong design. Sadly it seems like a lot of them are sold out in most sizes.

I also dig Dance Party Massacre‘s logo. I like the balance between black, white, and the color used on the blade and the clean, symmetrical design. It also works well as a one-color print, allowing for some varied looks. I wager the reaching hands might look a tad awkward on a female chest, but that’s about the only reservation I have with this logo. I’d totally get the hoodie pictured above if white sweatshirts didn’t look so bad on me — I love the silver foil print!

Incorporated Text Logos

These companies don’t have image logos, and instead find ways to artfully incorporate their brand name into their designs.

It’s no big secret that 410 BC is one of my favorite indie companies — in fact, they’re probably the only company whose brand name I feel no hesitation whatsoever in flaunting! Part of this is the way they incorporate it into their designs, and part of it is the fact that “410 BC” is just an elegant name to begin with. Despite having a logo (it can be seen on their site, hats, and skateboards), 410 BC eschews it in favor of individually-chosen typography and font placement that works with the design in question. I don’t think either of the above designs would be half as successful if 410 BC just slapped their standard logo on them.

Glamour Kills could fall under both this category and “Image-Only Logos” above, so I chose to feature one of each type. I especially love their adorable flying pig design, which — like most image-only logos — gets released in a ton of colorways and variations. GK used to stock a lot of these variations, but at this point it’s just down to the acid-washed guy above and a few others in the “Sale” section.

Most of Electric Zombie‘s recent tees shy away from the highly visible logo typical of horror/gore shirts, or at least “highly visible” in the traditional sense. Most brands using this style just slap their name across the top or bottom of the design in appropriately gory font. What I like about Electric Zombie is how the logo is hidden in plain sight — it’s immediately visible, but harmonizes with the design so it isn’t grabbing all the attention. A lot of EZ shirts spoof famous logos and poster designs, such as the shirt on the upper right, which borrows from the visual style of Metallica albums.

I actually went ahead and ordered the shirt on the upper left, but MerchNow messed up and they didn’t actually have the XS in stock. A real shame, as I was looking forwards to owning it.

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…And these are just a handful of great examples! This post was originally going to be longer, but it’s been sitting in my drafts for over a month and I thought it was about time I released it for public viewing. Maybe I’ll do a part 2 sometime!

Other great deals to checkout:

• Dead Bury Dead’s Asian Character Mess