We featured Blank on BetaList earlier this month and when they launched a few days ago I was positively surprised by the simplicity of their product design. It's a matter of connecting with your Instagram or Facebook account, picking a photo, a t-shirt size, and entering your credit card info. I think there were some minor customisation options, but the defaults were fine for me. Overall the process from first visiting the site and then placing my order probably took less than 5 minutes. Great UX and well worth checking out if you're a product designer.
Turns out Blank is actually a (focus) pivot from a more complicated idea earlier on:
>> "Two years ago, Terence Pua had an idea of trying to monetize art and specifically local artists. He noticed many people wear t-shirts with art on it, so he came up with an idea of creating a platform for artists to raise money for their work on t-shirts. That didn’t work out so well, but one of the features discussed was adding photos to the then t-shirt editor. Well, that turned out to be Blank :)"
@marckohlbrugge I do love hearing a pivot story :)
On the landing page, there is no info on the t-shirt quality, are they American Apparel or similar?
Is there a way to get through to the designing your t-shirt page without linking your account first? (just me being difficult) but I like to have a nose around a platform first before linking a social account.
How do you tackle quality of pictures from Facebook/Instagram that are scaled up and may become distorted/grainy? Is there a manual process where your team suggests re-visiting the t-shirt in these cases?
@themarksteve@terencepua@IsobelAlthea
@bentossell It's American Apparel actually and we should probably include that on the homepage :)
You can use the upload feature and just use a local photo, which doesn't require an account. For the quality of the picture, we leave it to the user to decide the kind of picture quality but we get the highest resolution from instagram/fb.
Thanks for up voting!
@terencepua agree, that the shirts are American Apparel definitely is information that should be included. It's important info for consumers for sizing as well as ethical concerns
Hello all, one of the makers.
Upon creating an artist fund raising platform, we realized that tools for self expression on physical products hasn't really changed much. It still feels like you need to be a Photoshop expert to get a beautifully designed tshirt. And the alternative is going to mall or to printing shops carrying your USD drive. It's kind of a hassle. So we created Blank.
Our first version focuses on combining photos and tshirts (filters included). The tool is super easy and you can upload or use instagram/facebook photos.
For the PH community, enter "PRODUCTHUNT" at the checkout and get 10% off. Get a further 10% off (as a refund), when you share your Blank tee on Twitter or Instagram tagging @blankhq_.
Looking forward to your feedback, much appreciated :)
Thanks @marckohlbrugge for hunting us!
@terencepua@blankhq_ I know @IsobelAlthea already touched on this in the interview we did, but I'd be curious to hear a little bit more about your future vision. Where would like to see Blank in 5 years? Will it just be t-shirts, clothing in general, what else can be customised using one's photos?
I like some of the example t-shirts you shared, so it would be cool if those were available too and perhaps do a revenue share with the creator. I.e. after someone orders their t-shirt give them a unique link where they or a friend can re-order the same design. (No need to build a whole marketplace.)
@marckohlbrugge It is in our nature as humans to express, so the focus on the short term is to beef up "Easel" (what we call our Blank editor) to add more creative ways of self expression. These could include adding popular "tee celebs" like Bob Marley, Marilyn Monroe, Ansel Adams, etc., as well as additional artwork (paintings, etc.). We are also working on an interesting feature that combines the "look and feel" of a photograph combined with another photograph to create an entirely new image.
Re: rev share with creator -- yup, totally agree. We will release a program that will allow for that hopefully soon :)
Thanks again for hunting us and being a customer!
@rrhoover Thanks for upvoting and sharing. YoShirt looks cool and will try that out. What do you think of a mobile app that replaces sending souvenirs and sending experiences instead?
@rrhoover Instead of buying the "I love X city" shirt, you can send an actual "city experience" instead in the form of a Blank tee. It is an alternative to the typical souvenirs we usually buy.
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