Every week we take a call that starts the same way. We ordered shirts last year and they were not quite right, can you redo them? Nine times out of ten the previous supplier did exactly what they were asked. The brief simply left room for interpretation, and interpretation is expensive.
A good brief is not a long document. It is five decisions made on purpose rather than by default. Make them up front and your first order becomes your only order.
1. Start with the job, not the garment
Teams usually open with a product. We need polo shirts. The more useful opening is the job the garment has to do. Who wears it, where, for how long, and what has to happen to it afterwards?
A polo worn by a receptionist in an air conditioned lobby and a polo worn by a field technician in Kitengela are not the same garment, even if they carry the same logo. One is about looking sharp at a desk all day. The other is about surviving sun, dust and a weekly wash. Fabric weight, colour choice and branding method all follow from that answer.
Tell your manufacturer the conditions and let them recommend the specification. Anyone who cuts and stitches their own garments will know which fabrics fade and which collars lose shape, because they have seen them come back.
2. Settle sizing before you settle design
Sizing is the single biggest cause of reorders, and it is almost always rushed. People choose the design enthusiastically and guess the sizes at the last minute.
Two things prevent this. First, run a size set. Ask for one physical piece in each size and let staff try them on before you commit to hundreds. Sizing varies between manufacturers, and a large is not a universal measurement.
Second, collect sizes individually, in writing. A shared sheet where each person records their own size beats a manager estimating on everyone’s behalf. Add roughly ten per cent spare in the middle sizes for new starters and replacements. It costs far less than a second production run.
A note on fit: unisex sizing suits most workwear, but if a large share of your team would prefer a tailored cut, ask whether the garment comes in both. A manufacturer who cuts in house can usually offer the choice at order stage for very little, and it dramatically improves how often the uniform is actually worn.
3. Send artwork that survives production
A logo that looks crisp on a website can fall apart at 8cm across on fabric. The file you send determines how good the finished branding looks.
- Send vector where possible, meaning AI, EPS, SVG or a vector PDF. These scale to any size without softening.
- If you only have a raster file, send the largest version you have, ideally PNG with a transparent background.
- Name your exact colours. Our blue is not a specification. If you have brand guidelines, send them.
- Say where the logo goes and roughly how large, for example left chest, centre back or sleeve.
If all you have is a photograph of an old signboard, say so early. Redrawing a logo properly takes a little time, and it is far better to do it before production than to discover soft edges on three hundred shirts.
The cheapest moment to fix a branding problem is while it is still a picture on a screen.
4. Ask for a mockup, and a sample on big runs
A digital mockup should be standard on every order, and free. It shows your artwork placed on the actual garment at the actual size, so you can catch a logo that is too small or a colour that disappears into the fabric.
For larger runs, go one step further and ask for a pre production sample. One finished piece, cut, stitched and branded exactly as the rest will be. It adds a few days to the schedule and removes almost all of the risk. Approve that sample in writing and everyone is working to the same reference.
5. Write the reorder into the first order
Uniforms are rarely a one off. People join, garments wear out, a new branch opens. Yet most organisations treat each order as a fresh start and end up with three slightly different shades of the same shirt.
Avoid this by asking for the full specification to be recorded against your account: fabric, colour reference, size breakdown, branding method, logo placement and the approved artwork file. A manufacturer who holds their own patterns can repeat the exact garment later, which a reseller buying from whoever is cheapest that month simply cannot promise.
Bringing it together
A strong brief takes maybe an extra hour, and it is the hour that decides whether your team looks consistent for the next two years. Describe the job, size properly, send usable artwork, approve a mockup, and record the specification for next time.
If you are unsure about any of it, ask. At Sifa Crafts Limited we would far rather spend ten minutes on the phone before we cut anything than remake an order afterwards, and so would you.