Spirit Gear Direct Apparel & Merchandise Design
Portfolio Case Study | Kredo Inc. (2023–2026)
Client: Spirit Gear Direct (Kredo Inc.'s specialty/wholesale apparel program)
Role: Wholesale Creative Lead (Branding, Illustration, Character & Product Design)
Year: 2023-2026
Tools: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Procreate
Deliverables: Apparel & merchandise graphics (tees, hoodies, hats, stickers, water bottles, lanyards, bags, magnets) across screen print, embroidery, and dye sublimation; Wholesale & Gear Drive Lookbooks; flyers; marketing emails; yearly sponsor logo template sets
Overview
As Graphic Designer at Kredo Inc., I designed production-ready apparel and merchandise graphics for Spirit Gear Direct. Working across tees, hoodies, hats, stickers, water bottles, lanyards, bags, magnets, and other embroidered and printed goods for 300+ clients a year. I create bold, on-brand visuals engineered to hold up across screen printing, embroidery, and dye sublimation on a consistent 24-48 hour turnaround. Some of the largest orders required up to 25 individual art proofs in a single request, multiple logos spanning multiple production types for a mixed set of items, which is where the range of this work really shows. Beyond individual client artwork, I work on the program's sales and marketing collateral: the Wholesale and Gear Drive Lookbooks, flyers, marketing emails, and a yearly set of 20 plug-and-play logo templates for sponsors (60 total across three years).
Problem
Spirit Gear Direct needed a designer for wholesale who could keep pace with high volume and tight deadlines without sacrificing quality
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300+ client accounts annually, each requiring 1-15 proofs
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A 24-48 hour turnaround standard on every request along with revisions
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Graphics that had to translate cleanly across three distinct production methods, each with its own technical constraints
My Role
I designed the apparel and merchandise graphics behind this volume, adapting each concept to the print method specified. Over three years, I became the internal go-to for Spirit Gear Direct's Wholesale and ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) orders. I also partnered with my colleague Nikki to build a shared ASI reference document, turning what I'd learned into a resource the whole team could use to work faster and with fewer errors. Alongside client production work, I maintained the program's core sales tools, updating the Wholesale and Gear Drive Lookbooks, designing supporting flyers and marketing emails, and building a yearly set of 20 logo templates (60 total over three years) sponsors and sales reps could pick from as a fast option to move forward with Spirit Gear.
Work Highlights
Screen Printing
Design bold, eye-catching graphics for tees and apparel built for multi-color screen print production
Balanced creative impact with print-method constraints like color separations and substrate limitations
Embroidery
Design embroidered graphics for apparel and ensure designs translate cleanly from flat digital art to execution
Dye Sublimation
Designed graphics suited to dye sublimation's full-color, all-over print capabilities
Adapted layout and visual style to take advantage of dye sub's production strengths and make keep the weaknesses in mind, as well
Volume, Speed & Process Improvement
Produce production-ready apparel and merchandise artwork for 300+ clients annually, with 1-15 proofs per client on average, maintaining a 24-48 hour turnaround
Handle up to 25 individual art proofs per order, spanning multiple logos and multiple production types (screen print, embroidery, dye sub, and more) across mixed item sets like stickers, water bottles, lanyards, and magnets
Partnered with colleague Nikki to build a shared ASI knowledge document, standardizing production know-how across the team to work faster and reduce errors
Catalogs, Marketing & Sales Tools
Update the Wholesale Lookbook and Gear Drive Lookbook to keep product offerings current for sales reps and clients annually
Designe flyers and marketing emails supporting Spirit Gear Direct campaigns
Build an annual set of 20 sponsor logo templates (60 total across three years), giving sales reps a quick, plug-and-play option for sponsors to move forward with Spirit Gear without a custom design
