The Ultimate Hoodie Design & Logo Placement Guide

Ready to elevate your hoodie game? Whether you’re designing custom hoodies to make a statement or you’re part of a brand looking to sell hoodies online, we’ve got you covered with this ultimate hoodie logo placement guide. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore the dimensions of different printing areas, what kind of designs they’re good for, and what you should keep in mind when placing your logo, artwork, or text on a hoodie. 

Ready for some placement tips and tricks? Let’s get started!

Front hoodie design placement

The front of a hoodie is a classic and highly popular design placement. It offers a prominent position that draws attention and allows you to showcase your favorite artwork, band, team, or brand.

When designing for the front of a hoodie, always be aware of the dimensions of the printable area. Pay attention to the placement and size of the design to create a composition that works well with the seam alignment, front pocket, and your chosen hoodie’s overall aesthetic.

Center chest

For embroidered designs, the center chest placement is a trendy option. It’s typically located a few inches below the neckline and between the left and right sides of the chest. 

The maximum size for the design placement is 4″ × 4″.

The center chest placement works well for logos, icons, text-based designs, or small artwork. 

Opt for clean and simple designs that are easily recognizable and legible at a smaller size. Avoid intricate details or fine lines that may become indistinguishable when embroidered.

If you’re going for a text-based design, choose clear, readable, and appropriately scaled fonts. Avoid using overly small text that may be challenging to read.

Finally, make the most of the design mockups and templates provided by Printful to visualize how your design will look on the hoodie. This allows you to adjust it to fit well within the marked area. 

Large center

Use the large center placement if you’d like to embroider a bigger, more ambitious design. Compared to other options, it’s much wider and well-suited for a text-based design or artwork.

The placement area is 10″ × 6″, which is the largest space available for embroidered hoodie designs.

Left chest

The left chest design placement is a more discrete option. It’s well-suited for printing icons, initials, or minimalist artwork in a clean, subtle aesthetic.

Source: DynamicIntuition on Etsy 

Embroidering a company logo on the left chest area is also a widespread choice for branded hoodies. It looks professional and polished, making it ideal for employee uniforms, corporate events, or promotional merch.

The left chest print area for hoodies is 4″ × 4″. So think about legibility when designing for this size.

Full front

The full front placement provides a larger canvas than other areas of the hoodie, making it suitable for bold and visually striking designs. Use the space to display your interests, share a message, or support a cause.

Hoodies with full front placement work well when layered with other outerwear pieces. For example, you can pair a hoodie with a zip-up jacket and leave it open, allowing the hoodie design to peek through. This adds a layered look to an outfit while still showing off the print.

The full front area for DTG printed hoodies ranges from 10″ × 10″ to 13″ × 13″. 

Hoodies have different front print areas due to varied pocket placements for each product and manufacturer. So it’s a good idea to check your hoodie’s File guidelines tab on the product page to see the exact size of the full front placement.

Back hoodie design placement 

The back of a hoodie is the most common placement for large designs because of the spacious surface area. 

Back print is a good fit for fan merch and artistic expression. With the ample space available on the back, it’s often used for printing designs that tell a story or convey a message.

Below we discuss the most common back hoodie design placements that you can print on demand with Printful.

Outside label

The outside label is located at the back neckline. The placement size is 2.5″ × 2.5″. 

It’s a good place to print your brand logo, name, or tagline to create a professional look for your hoodies. Plus, it’s a premium spot for custom branding.

When designing the outside label, be aware of the area’s small size and square shape. If you’re printing a logo, make sure your design fits comfortably within the marked space. 

The outside label is a unique option that’s not yet available for all hoodies. Want to find out if a product you like allows for an outside label? Follow these steps:

1. Go to your desired product’s page

2. Scroll down to Customization options

3. Look for the Outside label tag

If you see the tag, you can add an outside label to your chosen hoodie.

Full back

The full back design placement for hoodies offers a large, attention-grabbing print location to showcase your designs. The placement size is typically 12″ × 16″. 

The full back placement is best for bold, detailed, and large hoodie design ideas that benefit from lots of space to make an impact. It’s best suited for illustrations, prominent text-based designs, or a combination of both. 

If you’re going for the full back print, pay attention to the composition of your design. Check that the elements are well-distributed across the area and any central elements are nicely aligned with the hood on top.

Sleeve placement

The sleeve placement is located on the sleeves’ upper arm or forearm sections, depending on the specific hoodie model. For a long-sleeve hoodie, the maximum print size is 3″ × 12″.

The sleeve print allows you to add extra visuals like vertically aligned graphics or even text. This can serve as a complementary element to the front design.

If you’re going for embroidery instead, you’ll be able to place designs on the left or right wrist. It’s a good location for logos, initials, and icons because of the small, discrete placement area: 2″ × 3″. 

Source: INSIDEOUTGIFT on Etsy

Seam-to-seam hoodie design placement

With Printful, you can create all-over print (AOP) products and design the entire hoodie, including the front, back, pocket, sleeves, and hood.

Which are the best hoodies for printing seam-to-seam? Look for AOP products that use the cut & sew sublimation technique, like this all-over print unisex hoodie.
 

The all-over print option is a unique way to design across the entire surface area. It allows you to create a continuous design that wraps around the front and back of the hoodie. It’s great for eye-catching patterns and graphics, creating a visually stunning look. 

If you’d like your design pattern to match, flip the image to mirror the opposite design, like the front and back of the hoodie, or the left and right sleeve.

1: This is how the hoodie sleeves will look if you flip the design to mirror the opposite.

2: This is how the sleeves will look if you don’t flip the design. 

The print file size for front, back, right sleeve, left sleeve, front pocket, and hood is 37″ × 37″. 

To ensure your design looks as envisioned, use high-quality images for printing. Also, remember that the exact graphic placement and alignment with the left and right seam for all-over print hoodies can’t be guaranteed. 

Inside labels

The inside label design placement is typically in the neck area of the hoodie. In addition to all the mandatory product info, you can customize the label and add your brand logo.

Not all products can have an inside label printed on them. To make sure your hoodie has this option, you can filter garments by Branding options > Inside label.

Printful inside labels for most hoodies are 3″ × 3″, and the print size for your logo is 3″ × 1.13″.

To make things easier, you can use the Design Maker to pick one of the inside label templates provided by Printful and drop your logo design file in the editor. 

Here’s how:

1. Go to your product page and start designing 

2. Click on the Design tab in the Design Maker 

3. Select the Inside label from the options on the top bar above the editor

On the left side of your screen, you will find several inside label template options. Select one of them and upload your brand logo on the area in the template that says ‘Drop your design here.’ This will automatically place your company logo in the safe print area.

Best hoodie design placements

Let’s say you’re launching a new streetwear brand and want to design your first line of hoodies. You want to stand out and make an impact, but you’re unsure about the best placement for your logo, artwork, or text-based designs.

Understanding the different placement options and their advantages can help you make informed decisions that align with your brand’s identity and aesthetics.

Read on for placement tips and the best print locations for different designs. 

For logos

When it comes to adding logos to hoodies, there are several popular and effective placement options:

• Center chest: This involves positioning the logo at the center or slightly off-center on the upper portion of the hoodie’s front. It’s a classic and easily noticeable placement that works well for medium-sized logos.

• Left chest: Another popular option is the left chest placement for an embroidered logo. This is a good fit for a smaller logo and can create a sleek and professional look.

• Inside or outside label: This way, you can seamlessly integrate your logo with the rest of your design while ensuring brand visibility. 

Source: DCGPRINTWEAR on Etsy

For artwork

You can have much more creative freedom for your artwork than logo placement. Here are some design placement options to think about:

• Center chest: Placing your design front and center makes it easily noticeable. It’s a proper placement for small, embroidered artwork that you’d like to show off.

• Full front: If you have visually stunning or detailed artwork, consider printing it across the entire front of the hoodie. This allows for a bold and immersive look that grabs attention.

• Sleeves: Hoodie sleeves offer an excellent canvas for placing vertical, symmetrical, or repetitive designs. Place your artwork along the length of the sleeve or opt for a smaller design placement near the cuff.

• Full back: The back of the hoodie provides a spacious canvas for your artwork. This print location works well for a complex design that needs space to be fully appreciated.

Source: ThatGeekyApparel on Etsy

For text-based designs

Text-based designs are a good fit for a clean and simple look. These are some of the options you could go for:

• Center or left chest: Similar to logo placement, adding text to the left chest area allows you to showcase your brand name or tagline in a clean and professional manner. This placement is particularly suitable for smaller and shorter text that packs a punch.

• Full front: Printing bold text designs on the front of the hoodie ensures maximum visibility. The full front area is typically larger in size, making the text more legible from a distance. This will help convey your message more effectively.

Overall, placing your text at the front of the hoodie is a good idea to make sure it’s visible even with an extra layer of outerwear. What’s more, front areas provide plenty of space to combine text with other design elements, especially with the full front placement.

Source: Weardies on Etsy

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has provided you with some insights for creating standout hoodie designs that make the most of the available print placements.

Whether you’re embroidering a logo on the left chest, printing an eye-catching design on the back, or creating a seamless pattern across the sleeves, the possibilities are endless. The front, back, chest, sleeves, and even the label areas all offer unique opportunities for customization and creative expression.

To successfully place your designs, remember to think about the size, proportions, and visibility of your chosen print location. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to designing the outside label or seam-to-seam printing areas. 

Now, it’s time to take your hoodie game to a new level. Happy designing!

Read next: 10 Types of Logos (and How to Choose Yours)