The new t-shirt Design Contest “Design By Humans” has recevied a fair amount of press since its launch, being credited as a serious competitor to Threadless and even a likely reason for the recent Threadless prize rise and reprint announcement. I talked for a long time with one of the founders Jason Gutierrez.

In this half we discuss how the site was started, the founders background and the printing options. Part 2 is coming up with more about the contest, the t&c’s and the competition.

Adam: Hey jason, how are things at dbh’s? how long has the site been live now?

DBH: Jason: Yeah, things have been pretty crazy here. We launched just about 3 weeks ago.

Adam: Have you been happy with response?

DBH: Jason: We’ve been pretty happy with the “kickoff” period. We’re happy to see participation from artists that we admire and have been watching for a while. We’re pretty anxious to get the main contest under way too.

Adam: I see the human population just passed the 1,000 mark, a good start, you must have been happy?

DBH: Jason: Yes, very.

Adam: Whats your background, are you the founder? If not, how did you end up at DBH?

DBH: Jason: My brother Matt and I are the founders of Design By Humans.

Adam: I googled your name and came up with this http://orangecow.org/cast/jasonbio.html

Two questions:

a) Is it you?

b) Where can I get a copy of “Monkey Make Movie Episode 5″

DBH: Jason: lol, not me

Adam: - no monkey make movie for me then…

Adam: How have you been involved in the industry before DBH?

DBH: Jason: We’ve been in the lifestyle apparel industry for about 6 years, here in Orange County. So yeah, we are t-shirt and design fanatics and with our experience and contacts in just made sense to launch DBH.

Adam: Was it your own project or working for someone else?

DBH: Jason: We were involved in incubating a few start-up brands.

DBH: Jason: Design and operations, Sourcing, Marketing etc.

Adam: I see, any brands I might now know?

DBH: Jason: Probably not. We prefer to keep them mysterious.

Adam: Ewww a mystery… I better get googling and finding completely wrong peoples bio’s then

Adam: How big is the current DBH team?

DBH: Jason: The current DBH team is 5.

Adam: Full-time?

DBH: Jason: Yep.

Adam: Why did you decide that the world needs another t-shirt design contest? Why will DBH be different to the rest?

DBH: Jason: With our experience and our printing partner we are able to offer more to the designers. Particularly in terms of decoration options

Adam: So you see the advanced printing options as the key usp of DBH’s over its rivals?

DBH: Jason: We have some pretty cool capabilities that not a whole lot of others are doing right now. I think it’s one of our key competitive advantages.

Adam: I’ve seen the list of printing options, some really advanced stuff, high density, suede, gel and burnouts. very impressive.

Gate Demo $24

DBH: Jason: Thanks

Adam: So the printing side is out-sourced then?

DBH: Jason: No, it’s all in-house

Adam: Ah, it was because you said “printing partner”. I made an intuitive leap, into a canyon

DBH: Jason: Our offices are inside of our screenprinting partner’s facility, he’s also one of the partners in DBH.

Adam: I think your right, the options are way more advanced than your peers. But how does that play into the design contest model? For example how does the designer show the advanced options they would like to use on their design?

DBH: Jason: We are actually doing a redesign of the site right now where we have addressed several issues including helping designers to call out advanced decoration options. The redesign should be live in about 2 weeks

Adam: I also think you have a challenge in convincing people to pay extra for those advanced printing techniques, most of which they will have not seen and can’t physically touch. Do you think its an issue? If so how will you resolve it?

DBH: Jason: As part of the redesign we are putting some features in place including macro images that will help show designers and consumers the details of the advanced decoration options

Adam: Do you decide which technique will be used on the final shirt? does the designer have a say?

DBH: Jason: yes, designers have a say in the use of mixed media and specialty inks. We are expecting a ramp-up period for designers to get used to the new options. We’re working to try and educate them on the art of the possible

Adam: I see And the customer, in convincing that the premium price is worth it? I’d like to see the sort of video’s that Wire & Twine put out http://www.vimeo.com/135793

DBH: Jason: Thanks for the idea. expect a video soon.

Adam: What target or goals do you have for the project? When will you be satisfied? When the population hits 100k? When you sell your 1m shirt?

To be answered in part 2, tomorrow (probably)…

Check out Design By Humans

In the meantime check out some the shirts on sale at DBH:

Prices of the shirts range from $15 to 24. Save an extra 15% with the exclusive discount code HIPHIPUK, ends Sept 3rd.