How we make our custom Python mugs & other swag

Hey Reader,

In my last email I told you about Nerdlettering.com, the "swag store" for Pythonistas that my wife Anja and I launched.

It's been a ton of fun (and work) getting that store off the ground.

If you're wondering where our products come from, here's how we create every single one of our mug & shirt designs:

Step 1: Idea Brainstorming

Before a new mug or mouse pad is born the first step is always to come up with a whole bunch of ideas and slogans for the design.

This is basically a big brainstorming session and weeks of writing down random ideas on our phones.
 
Then we put them all into one giant Google spreadsheet to decide which design ideas and slogans are worth moving forward to the design draft stage.

 

Step 2: Design Drafts

Once we've got an idea for a design we want to explore further, Anja sits down for a long time and comes up with several hand-lettered drafts for the design.

This process can take a long time. Sometimes we'll quickly settle on a design after just a few iterations.

And sometimes it takes days of experimentation to come up with an idea for a design that feels just right. This is mostly Anja's domain (and I think it's incredible watching her work).

Step 3: Vectorizing The Design

After we've got a handlettered "master draft" for the design the next step is to digitize what up until now was basically a painting or a pencil drawing.

We've experimented with different methods, like taking photos with various cameras.

But in the end we settled on using a Canon scanner to get a high-DPI scan of the paper-based design.

Anja then imports the scan into Adobe Illustrator to turn the bitmap image into a vector format suitable for printing on our products.

You'd think that these days "vectorizing" a bitmap image would be a solved problem but it is actually crazy how much manual work is still required to get a result that feels right.

So this stage can take a long time to get right (And let me tell you, Anja is a huge perfectionist and super detail-oriented.)



Step 4: Adding Color

The next step is to take the vectorized design and to colorize it in order to get it ready for printing.

Again we usually try out several color schemes before we settle on one or two that we like.

Then it's time to export these files so we can send them of to our printer.



Step 5: Getting Test Prints Done

When we're happy with the digitized design master files we send them off to our printing partner to get a test print done.

The facility we work with uses Kornit DTG printers that give a highly detailed and durable (also, dish washer safe) result.

Getting the test prints made and mailed over to us takes another week or so.

Step 6: Selling It

Finally, after potentially weeks of work and back and forth with different designs it's time to put our new creation up for sale on the Nerdlettering online store.

Whew... But once we see our latest creation live on the site and get the first sales notification (or hear feedback from you!) it always feels amazing.

That's where all the hard work finally starts to pay off:

Want your own beautiful, one-of-a-kind Python mug, mouse pad or clothing?

Click the link below and use coupon "DBADER" to get 15% off your first order:

>> Check out the Nerdlettering store and get a 15% discount on your first order

Happy Pythoning!

— Dan Bader