July 22, 2024

Raising the Bar for Sterling Crane’s Milestone Merch

Sterling Crane, a North American crane rental industry leader, is known for its dedication to quality and safety. When the company approached us with a unique request for branded apparel celebrating its 70th anniversary, we knew this was an opportunity to create something epic that would resonate with its employees and reflect its strong brand identity.

The Challenge

Sterling Crane had a unique vision for its apparel. It wasn’t just another piece of company apparel but a bold statement of its brand identity and the pride they wanted to foster within their employees.

Their goal was to feature a “cool” design that their employees would proudly wear on and off the job site. They envisioned one of their cranes illustrated in an artistically rendered vector style. The design also needed an eerie edge, inspired by the Stephen King movie cover “Christine.” Our creative team took this vision and ran with it, crafting a stellar design to reflect the power and presence of their machinery!

The Strategy

Understanding the unique vision of Sterling Crane, we knew that our creative services had to deliver an outstanding and edgy design. Our approach was thorough and collaborative:

Creative Consultation: We kicked off the project with an in-depth consultation to capture Sterling Crane’s vision. We discussed the desired aesthetic and inspirational elements and how to incorporate these into a vector image that would work well on apparel.

Design Development: Our in-house creative team took the ideas and crafted a preliminary concept to ensure we were on the right path. During the process we showed them a few options for colour scheme, including black and white, full colour, and grayscale, to ensure it would align well with what their employees already enjoy wearing

Feedback: We presented the initial concept to Sterling Crane and collected their feedback. This communication ensured that every detail was perfect and aligned with their vision. This collaborative process was vital in refining the design and ensuring it met their expectations.

Final Artwork: Once the final design was approved, we provided proofs of the design mocked up on their chosen long-sleeved t-shirt and hoodie apparel for final approval. Then, we prepared high-quality, print-ready vector artwork suitable for screen printing on apparel and sent it off to production.

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The Made-for-Merch Process

Our journey to create the perfect merch for Sterling Crane involved a thoughtful and meticulous design process, considering the practical aspects of production while ensuring the design was both impactful and wearable.

We were mindful of the number of imprint colours throughout the design process, knowing that more colours would increase costs. We settled on six imprint colours, which allowed us to keep the 3D look and dimension of the illustration fitting within the client’s budget while preserving the design’s quality.

This entire process underscored our commitment to creating merch that not only looks great but also meets practical production needs, ensuring the final product is both visually appealing and cost-effective.

The Results

The final product was a hit among Sterling Crane employees. The long sleeve looked sweet and embodied the company’s rugged, bold spirit. The team at Sterling Crane loved the design so much that they created pairing stickers for their employees’ hard hats.

The feedback from Sterling Crane was overwhelmingly positive, with the client stating, “I think you guys did a great job recreating what we gave you!” This feedback highlights the success of our creative process and the effectiveness of our end-to-end service.

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The Impact

By providing a seamless experience from concept to completion, we ensured Sterling Crane didn’t have to lift a finger. Our in-house creative services and ability to manage the entire project demonstrated the value of working with a branded merch company that can do more.

Not only did the project result in a fantastic rollout of merch for their 70th anniversary, but it also strengthened employee engagement and brand loyalty.

Our partnership with Sterling Crane perfectly shows how tailored creative solutions and comprehensive service offerings can meet and exceed client expectations.

We look forward to continuing to help companies like Sterling Crane turn their branding visions into reality, ensuring every project is handled with the care and creativity it deserves!