Striped designs with text and graphics are one of the most popular trends in digital design right now. You’ll see them everywhere. From trendy boutique tshirts to Etsy PNG downloads and print on demand products.
In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to easily create your own striped designs using Affinity Designer. This method is beginner friendly and only takes a few minutes once you understand the process.
By the end of the tutorial, you’ll have a fully finished trendy design complete with stripes, fun typography, clipart, and a distressed effect.
Watch the full tutorial below to follow along step by step.
Step 1: Creating the Stripes
We start by using simple shapes in Affinity Designer to create the striped pattern.
In the video you’ll learn how to:
• Draw simple stripe shapes
• Duplicate and evenly space them
• Arrange them into a clean rectangular layout
• Quickly build a striped base for your design
This technique makes it easy to create perfectly spaced trendy stripes that can be reused for tons of future designs.
Step 2: Adding Text and Design Elements
Once the stripe base is complete, it’s time to turn it into a finished design.
In this step, I show how to:
• Add a fun trendy phrase to the design
• Insert coordinating clipart
• Decorate the design with coquette bows for that boutique aesthetic
These small details are what take a simple striped background and turn it into a trendy design perfect for tshirts, PNGs, and digital products.
Step 3: Flattening the Design
Next, I demonstrate how to simplify the design by flattening everything together.
Inside the tutorial you’ll learn how to use:
Rasterize & Trim
This feature allows you to:
• Merge all design elements together
• Clean up overlapping shapes
• Prepare the design for additional effects
Flattening your design makes it much easier to apply textures and distressing.
Step 4: Adding a Distressed Effect
Finally, I show how to give the design a distressed vintage feel.
Using a distressed mask, you can:
• Create texture over the entire design
• Give it a worn or vintage look
• Make your design feel more like a real screen printed shirt
This step is optional but it’s a great way to give your designs extra personality and style.
Final Thoughts
Striped designs are one of the easiest ways to create trendy boutique style graphics, and once you learn this technique you can use it for endless phrases and themes.
Try experimenting with:
• Different stripe widths
• Color palettes
• Clipart styles
• Seasonal phrases
This simple workflow can quickly turn into dozens of unique designs for your shop.
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