# designbyhumans.com



## footy1001 (Nov 27, 2006)

Hi,

There's been some buzz about Design by Humans (Design by Humans) as a competitor to Threadless.

I'm sure there have been others who have tried to duplicate the model - but are there any members here who can share (maybe even some inside info?) on what the DBH guys did right? 

It would be good info for people like me (and maybe others as well).


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

thats a nice site...


the url is nice too


reminds me of 

Lafraise.com : T-Shirts


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## mj00 (Jul 24, 2007)

footy1001 said:


> Hi,
> 
> There's been some buzz about Design by Humans (Design by Humans) as a competitor to Threadless.
> 
> ...


Design by Humans is doing well (at least as far as gathering good quality designers is concerned) because they're giving people a reason to submit to them instead of Threadless. Their different printing techniques are like giving artists a whole new sandbox to play around with- it gives people artistic options that Threadless usually can't. The prize for being printed also has the potential to be higher than Threadless pays, which is a big factor for some (especially since they're accepting designs that have previously be submitted, but not printed, at other websites).

Plus, the shirts they launched with are pretty tight. It let people know the level of quality that they're looking for, and people who produce that kind of work showed up in droves.

(Another factor is probably that the site is very friendly towards non-tshirt artists- they're allowed to submit work without worrying about how many colors are in use and things like that, which is probably drawing a different community of submitters than other sites have.)

I have no idea how well their shirts are selling, though. I'm just speaking as a designer who is interested in the competition structure.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Well, I just spent about an hour on the site, and I definitely think the varied print types sets it apart. Embroidery, foil, water based, etc.

There's not a huge selection to choose from at the moment (to buy), but there are definitely some promising designs being voted on. Nice range of designs as well.



designbyhumans TOS said:


> Winning shirts are determined by a combination of voting results, participant comments, DesignByHumans.com staff and guest judges.


This seems to be about the same as threadless. Sometimes I wish it was "just" votes, but I can understand that an editorial process can help. Especially when they are investing a lot in getting the designs printed.

I really like the product photos and detail they show on the site. The "View Cart/Checkout" links could be easier to find.

The About/Contact page seems unfinished. Not sure where they are located, or "who" is behind the site.

The site definitely is worth watching.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

By the way, if anybody is going to purchase something from designbyhumans, here's coupon discount code for 15% off: *E060XJ*


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> but are there any members here who can share (maybe even some inside info?) on what the DBH guys did right?


Ok, I just got my deisgnbyhumans order. They must be carpenters, because they _nailed _everything:

*Packaging:*











*Garment relabeling:*









*Printing (zero hand print with embroidery finishes):








*
*Goodies:*









They made a great impression from the shopping experience, to the checkout, to the fast delivery, to the actual product. 

You can tell they are thinking long term and investing money to try to build something different.


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## dfalk (Apr 11, 2007)

The presentation of their product looks awesome! Rodney, what type of bag is that they sent the shirts in? Does the inside tag look screen printed or is it something else?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Does the inside tag look screen printed or is it something else?


Yep, it looks screen printed.



> Rodney, what type of bag is that they sent the shirts in?


From the looks of it, it seems to be of a similar material/styling as the ones oddica uses. I'm told it's called "flexible packaging"

It requires a high minimum number of bags to be made though (like 10,000/20,000+), but the pricing is like .40 cents each.


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## dfalk (Apr 11, 2007)

Here is a discount code for 10% good for the next 10 days. 1FKE2R


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

dfalk said:


> Here is a discount code for 10% good for the next 10 days. 1FKE2R


My coupon code is worth 15% off  *E060XJ*


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## footy1001 (Nov 27, 2006)

could be a t-shirt line 

my discount coupon code is better than yours


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## TheWill (Oct 4, 2006)

Wow, what great packaging and goodies! Almost motivates me to try them out on that basis alone. Great marketing


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## dfalk (Apr 11, 2007)

Rodney, I just received my DBH package and I was curious if you had a guess what type of shirts they are using? There is no RN number and you can tell there was a tag but they just ripped the seem and did not re-sew it to print the label.
Very nice print and excellent customer service. I contacted them regarding there packaging to see if they knew of minimums smaller than what Oddica stated but there supplier still has a minimum of 40,000 units. Bummer!


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## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

There's a 2-part interview with Design by Humans at HipHipUK that's a pretty good read and delivers some inside info. Part 2


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Rodney, I just received my DBH package and I was curious if you had a guess what type of shirts they are using?


I haven't got a clue. They actually use different shirts for different designs. 

I bought 2 designs and one shirt is heavier weight than the other.

My first guess would be Alstyle, but looking at where they were made, that wouldn't fit. There's several shirts that feel soft like they do (Article1, Alternative Apparel, Pacific Sports, etc).


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Mymil said:


> There's a 2-part interview with Design by Humans at HipHipUK that's a pretty good read and delivers some inside info. Part 2


Thanks for posting the link. That interview was definitely a good read.


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Ok, I just got my deisgnbyhumans order. They must be carpenters, because they _nailed _everything:
> 
> *Packaging:*


do they ship in this or does it require another package?


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## dfalk (Apr 11, 2007)

Mymil said:


> There's a 2-part interview with Design by Humans at HipHipUK that's a pretty good read and delivers some inside info. Part 2


 
I second that. Thanks for the post. It's a good read. Pretty interesting how they are keeping all the printing in house and I wounder how much $ they did sink into this start up.


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## dfalk (Apr 11, 2007)

hiGH said:


> do they ship in this or does it require another package?


 
That is what they ship it in. It's pretty cool. They have little slit marks in the side to tear the top off. I had contacted Jason, one of the founders and asked him about the bags and he said the minimums are 40,000 units and is considered "flexible packaging," just like Oddica's.


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

dfalk said:


> That is what they ship it in. It's pretty cool. They have little slit marks in the side to tear the top off. I had contacted Jason, one of the founders and asked him about the bags and he said the minimums are 40,000 units and is considered "flexible packaging," just like Oddica's.


40k is pretty high.. maybe in the future for me.

Thanks much.


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## Mymil (Nov 23, 2006)

dfalk said:


> I second that. Thanks for the post. It's a good read. Pretty interesting how they are keeping all the printing in house and I wounder how much $ they did sink into this start up.


Yeah, they must have put a lot into it, especially to offer all those printing options. The amount of money that Woot spent on their equipment is pretty impressive, too; just check out their 'itemized' list of purchases with approximate cost equivalences (toward the end of the post). I thought it was amusing.


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## garinwm (Aug 15, 2010)

They have a 100% cotton and 50/50 poly-cotton tee.


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## OriginalShortees (Jul 27, 2010)

What did DBH do right and how? Well Rodney showed you some of what they did right. How is a simple answer. Money. Lets say it again, money.

This is an example of a start up that is well capitalized. Most start up tee companies and done on a shoestring budget. DBH came out of the gate with strong payments for the design contest that immediately put them in competition with Threadless. In fact when DBH started their payouts were far higher then Threadless. Only after their launch did Threadless increase their payouts. There is obviously resources spent on the quality of their printing and finishes as well as details like the packaging. 

They are a good example of what can be done in the crowd-sourcing world if you can afford to play with the big boys. I remember when they first launched and there was a good deal of buzz about them so they were clearly effective in their PR to get their name out.


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