How to design your own work uniform

When you think of workwear uniforms, what brands come to mind? Is there one brand that pops out in your head as a perfect example? The likelihood is – yes! 

The fact is, a great workwear uniform can do wonders for your brand. A uniform that is well thought out, well design and well put together, can not only help your staff perform better but it can actually make your brand more memorable and market your brand too! 

Take a look at these classic examples of iconic uniforms: 

Emirates Cabin Crew

You can’t help but recognise the Emirates airline staff when you spot them in the airport. Their uniforms represent everything the brand is about – luxury, culture and travel. The colours and designs are sleek and sophisticated to match the luxury offering, and the added design details add a memorable and recognisable element to the uniform too. 

TGI Fridays staff

Restaurant staff are often given uniforms to wear, so that customers can easily tell who is and who isn’t working there. It’s a smart idea, and TGI Fridays have been a example of how to do it well for many years. Their uniform feature bright and easy-to-spot stripes, which also have the added benefit of representing the USA origin of the brand too. They’re also encouraged to personalise and customise their uniform with badges and stickers – which makes them more personable to the customers they are serving.

Apple Store staff

The staff at the Apple Store probably have one of the most basic, yet effective work uniforms. The plain logo t shirts are eye-catching and simple, which are two traits you definitely associate with the brand in general. The bright colours also make them easy to spot in store, which is really useful considering how busy the stores can get.

How do you start designing your own uniform?

Before you start looking for double meanings, and clever additions – it’s important to think about a few things, and answer a few questions: 

What do your staff do during their working hours, and how a uniform can help or hinder that?

Remember, you might not be wearing the uniform, but your staff will be. You want them to be comfortable, and you also want their uniform to be practical too. For example, if your staff are often working with messy materials or food, choosing black is a sensible choice as it’s a colour that disguises most stains or spills. Do your staff often roll their sleeves up? If so, it might be smarter to opt for short sleeves instead. 

A good idea during this stage of planning, is to get out there and ask your staff what they would like to wear, and what would be helpful to them. You could even create a small online survey or a paper questionnaire to make it a little more engaging and interesting for them.

What level of effort can you expect your staff to give?

This questions is important because not many people actually consider it. For example, if your business hires mainly students (who may have limited laundry and electrical supplies in their halls of residence), is it reasonable to expect them to turn up every day with a clean, ironed or steamed white shirt? If you think it might be asking too much – but you choose to do it anyway – you could end up with staff who don’t follow instructions and don’t follow uniform guidelines. You might end up with staff who don’t have time or can’t be bothered, which results in a team that looks scruffy or mismatched.

What level of luxury is your product / service?

This is a big question too – as this usually determines the kind of style you opt for. For example, if you own a restaurant and you’re hoping to earn a Michelin Star one day, you might want to go down a more formal and traditional uniform route. If you’re a more laid back business, let that be reflected in your uniform too. 

Once you’ve answered all these questions and you have an idea of what you’d like, start looking at the design too. Our uniform choices vary from cotton t shirts to white crisp work shirts, and you can have design printed or embroidered on them too. The process of designing the actual items is easy with Garment Printing, and we have our printing experts on hand to help guide you if you feel a bit stuck or confused at any point. 

How do you order bulk uniforms?