6 Common Mistakes When Outsourcing Tech Pack Design Services (And How to Avoid Them)

Time to read: 16 minutes

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Anete Lusina, Pexels

Seeking tech pack design services is one of the most strategic steps you can take for your apparel collection, especially if you don’t have extensive technical experience.

But the road to bad design is paved with good intentions.

In this article, we will focus on the most common mistakes apparel designers may be prone to when choosing such a service. We've seen them time and again while working with hundreds of clients, and we know how to avoid them.

So, whether you’re a seasoned independent designer or an up-and-coming brand, this article will show you all the necessary information to avoid any bumps in the road while you speed through development.

Why You Need a Tech Pack in the First Place

Tech Packs Co

If you’re reading this article, you’re most likely set on creating your own tech packs — whether with outside help from apparel tech pack designers or learning the ropes yourself. If you are not yet convinced, here are some of the most important reasons why tech packs should become the foundation of any clothing line production.

• Reduce Costs and Production Time

The main purpose of a tech pack is to minimize the number of samples made by your factory so that you can showcase your collection as quickly as possible.

Even if you have to make a financial effort by hiring a designer who provides tech pack services, it will pay off in the long run.

• Obtain a High-Quality End Product

One of the best parts about working with a clothing tech pack designer or going the DIY route is that you don’t need to sacrifice quality in order to save resources. On the contrary, tech packs help you work smarter through proper planning, effective communication, and automation.

• Promote Sustainable Design

Did you know that 80 to 90 percent of the sustainability of clothing is determined in the design phase?

You can stand out in a market that’s saturated with fast fashion. With tech packs, you cut costs in a way that doesn’t affect the environment or your workers — nor does it put your business at risk (see Forever21’s story of why they went bankrupt in 2019).

• Obtain Accurate Prices for Manufacturing

One of the ways you can use your tech pack is to request price quotations from manufacturers and compare multiple suppliers. The more detailed your tech pack, the more accurate your factory's price estimation will be.

• Mediate Communication in Design and Production

Tech packs are essential to avoid design and production errors, as they are the blueprint of your products. Moreover, they help you speak a common language (almost literally) when working with a factory overseas.

• Ensure Quality Control (QA)

Your tech pack is your go-to documentation during the QA phase of production. For instance, it allows you to easily check the measurements’ accuracy for different-sized garments.

Common Mistakes Designers Make when Outsourcing Tech Pack Design Services

Thirdman, Pexels

Now, if you have decided to hire a tech pack company to help you out (splendid choice!), you should also learn about the various issues you can face when outsourcing tech pack design services.

We understand how frustrating it can be to experience improper planning, miscommunication, and other development setbacks that sap your creative energy. That is why we narrowed down the causes and devised simple solutions for each of them.

1. Hiring a Fashion Designer Instead of a Technical Designer

Ksenia Chernaya, Pexels

If you only hire a fashion designer instead of someone experienced in technical design, pattern making and garment construction for mass production, you are bound to encounter a few problems.

For one, they may not have enough resources to handle the technical side of production (such as employing powerful software or having access to a database of factories and fabric distributors).

Second, they may not possess enough know-how about the field. For example, choosing the appropriate material properties for a specific piece of clothing or drafting a detailed bill of materials may very well be outside their expertise. This might not have an immediately noticeable effect, but once you get into production, missed opportunities on cost and time efficiencies are then multiplied at scale.

The solution? You need someone with a good grasp of the apparel business’s technical, commercial, and creative side.

So, why not hire a team with in-depth experience in your type of product? Find a company that understands pattern making, sizing, materials, and construction methods relevant to your product category.

2. Working with Numerous Apparel Tech Pack Designers

Too many designers will spoil the design — but not necessarily by going in too many directions with it. On the contrary, a cohesive team is ideal for ensuring constructive feedback and accountability.

However, working with many people can result in inconsistent work. Let us explain why.

If you hire a different freelancer every time you prepare a fashion collection or single style, each of them will have their own design style, technique, and formatting. This setup change could confuse your team and factory, and make production more time-consuming, as you will need to adapt to a new routine or measuring method with every new tech pack.

What to do instead? Hire an experienced tech pack company that will be around to work on your next collection, should you need it again.

3. Not Clarifying the Terms of the Agreement at the Beginning

A lack of transparency between you and your tech pack creator can lead to lots of problems and stress for both of you.

In the onboarding stage, your provider should walk you through the process, let you know who will work on your tech pack design, as well as offer a clear timeline. That is one way you can tell if they’re professional and responsible.

Talk with your designer about the number of revisions they will provide and how much support you will receive once they deliver the tech pack to you. Find out how the provider handles questions from the factory and if they’re available to assist with any other related services, or give referrals to other production partners.

4. Spending Too Little Time Upfront with Your Tech Pack Creator

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If you don’t show up, in the beginning, to answer your designer’s questions and clearly state your vision for the end product, they won’t be able to provide you with the design or service you expect. And should you change your mind later, you will only waste time and money on more revisions and samples than necessary.

This is a common issue among startups, especially. They don’t know exactly what they want, so when they start development and finally see their product taking shape, they often decide to do major reworking.

But is this an effective use of everyone’s time?

It most likely isn’t, but it’s not entirely up to you to avoid this issue or, at any rate, it shouldn’t be placed on your shoulders alone. That’s where a good technical designer steps in. They would have an efficient onboarding system in place where you get to discuss all the details related to your tech packs. 

For instance, at Tech Packs Co, we try to make the process as easy and visual as possible by using a reference sample from our client to go over every detail — from material choice to trims, accessories, and overall fit. 

The goal is to make sure you understand why certain decisions are being made, and why some options are better than others. When in development, knowledge is power and you need a partner who can help you make smart choices.

5. Spending Too Much Time Overall on Your Tech Pack Creation

We talked about how spending too little time, in the beginning, can be unnecessarily resource-intensive. But guess what! It’s just as problematic to spend too much time throughout the design process.

Providing feedback, confirmations, and writing back-and-forth emails can also be an issue because it keeps you from completing your other tasks. Nobody enjoys constant interruptions, especially since it takes around 23 minutes to regain focus. We, as a species, have rather poor multitasking abilities.

What we would suggest, instead, is to work with a tech pack company that has more experience and won’t need as much input from you. An experienced team can fill in the technical details while still following your creative vision. Always remember that speed to market is key for new brands, so that you can validate your concept and get some sales in the door relatively quickly.

6. Failing to Track Later Changes in Development

A tech pack is just the beginning of development. From a budding design idea to the final piece that you can proudly showcase on a mannequin, you will go through several stages and iterations. For example, you may need to look at several samples provided by your factory until you agree on the final creation that you want to see in stores.

As such, you have to update your tech pack as necessary. In order to do that, you should check if your tech pack creator has a process set up for this. Make sure you know what timelines and prices are for this. 

Also check if they have a method for minimizing the revisions process too, as it can quickly get out of hand if no system is used for communicating design changes. A few simple changes, spread across a handful of different products, can spiral into chaos much more easily than you think.

Ready to Begin Development? Professional Tech Pack Services Are Available

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If you decide that creating your tech packs is more than you want to handle yourself, then outsourcing them to an experienced clothing tech pack designer may be the right step forward. If you keep in mind a few best practice tips like agreeing on the timeline and expectations with your designer upfront, then development should be a breeze!

If you are actively looking for a tech pack company who have laser-focus on bringing your design vision to life, our team is ready to help you out. Book a free consultation to find out more!

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