85 Supply
Creating a modern experience for a print and promotional item industry titan
Print Hand‑Off & Clarity
Because 85 has the approach of having no on-hand print facility but instead connecting with shops in the industry, we had to ensure that the ease-of-use for our customers wasn't on the backs of the shops that actually fulfilled the orders we processed. To make this process more seamless, we had to make some tools that allowed the two worlds to communicate.
Digital PMS color automation
Regardless of whether the customer gets this granular with their order or not, "A cool blue graphic" on a tee isn't enough to create accurate order. In the process of screenprinting, The end customer, digital products, and screenprinters don't all speak the same language at the start of the order.
To insure that our order process, our customers graphics, and our files that were handed to printers were all in sync, we experimented with a PMS color toolset. Using this toolset both internally and externally, this helped solve the age old problem with color accuracy for our clients.
Upload and Done
Instead of having to proof countless hand matched PMS colors for the instances that clients just uploaded flat files, or were new to printing, this tool allowed us to just accept artwork as is and still hand off to our print partners without creating a large headache or print rejection pool.
Connecting The Tools
Because 85 has the approach of having no on-hand print facility but instead connecting with shops in the industry, we had to ensure that the ease-of-use for our customers wasn't on the backs of the shops that actually fulfilled the orders we processed. To make this process more seamless, we had to make some tools that allowed the two worlds to communicate.
Custom Kanban Style Order Board
When building these tools we had to consider the reps who had been fielding orders prior, and who would be using this new system in the future. Boards are an experience staple for the reps within not only 85, but within the shops that were fielding our print orders. By building a custom kanban order flow and experience, onboarding existing staff and new print partners was condensed into one tool and easy to onboard with.
Internal & External Print Proof Generation & Output
The web experience
Prior to the redesign of the 85 supply website, the existing marketing site existed as a contact-to-order marketing site. This site only existed to show existing work, services, and create a funnel to contacting a rep directly.
Solving the puzzle of productized merchandise orders
By utilizing the dusty and under appreciated databases and inventory options provided by garment wholesalers, we were able to build a web solution that allowed customers to order merchandise in a productized way, and connect these orders to our newly designed proofing and internal rep system.
Automating the merch order process with an ecommerce approach
Some of the pivotal tools designed to facilitate automating the ordering process without clouding the process include; A custom design tool, location reading file uploads, a product building tool, and automatied proof confirmation system, that all lived within our website.
Revamping the brand
We set out to rebrand 85 Supply, which had previously existed as a contract print, middle-man boutique print shop; into a more digitally driven enterprise print solution powerhouse.
The Old Logo
With this starting point, the prompt was to keep the essence of the existing brand, with a more modern and uniform visual representation.
A Fresh New Look
Focusing more on the "how" it was delivered than the "what" — the 85 mark was cleaned up with even weight and a bold, scaleable mark.
Highlighting the accents that make the industry move
