Freelance technical designer positions are the most difficult positions and highly paid ones. This is because designers must have creative as well as technical expertise. The job demands a balance between creativity and technical expertise. The role of a tech pack designer is to prepare technical drawings ( tech packs ). The designer creates the tech pack out of a creative illustration to use in the mass production of a style. A tech pack shows how a design should be produced in a factory environment. In short, a technical designer takes a raw idea from a creative designer and converts it into a tech pack. Clothing manufacturers follow tech packs to develop samples and produce a garment. Usually, technical designers with expertise prefer to work for many brands. So, it is easier to hire a technical designer on a project basis than to have them full-time on board.
Hiring a fashion tech pack designer is a tough choice. Although you get a lot of designers on various job sites, finding the right one is not an easy task. Hiring a fashion tech designer is an expensive affair. Fashion startups usually do not have the budget for a dedicated design team. So the only option is to hire them on a project basis. However, hiring a designer is tricky as you have to make sure he/she has the necessary industry experience. Those who have experience working on the ground level as a product developer are the right fit. With an experienced tech designer, you can overcome execution problems. With a tech pack and spec sheet, you get the exact fit and quality without any modification or rework. You can save a lot of time and money if you are planning your production from the beginning.
Role of a Freelance Technical Designer
So far we have discussed why a technical fashion designer is important for a brand. Here we specifically discuss the role a fashion tech designer plays in developing a collection. To make things clear we can discuss the role point-wise so that it will be easier for you to understand.
• Collection Analysis
Examining styles for their production feasibility, cost, and market acceptance. Finds a production-friendly and cost-efficient collection while not losing the design aesthetics. Also, make sure the styles in the collection appeal to the masses and have increased sales potential. A technical designer prepares a collection line sheet that addresses the customer’s needs. This is an art and you need market knowledge and an eye for detailing. If you have a technical designer, you can achieve success.
• Tech Pack Development
Tech Pack Design is the most important part of a fashion technical designer. If you know the details of a tech pack already you can realize how important this part of the job is. Those who don’t know about a tech pack please refer to our tech pack design page that explains in detail. Visit our website to learn more about components and the process of tech pack design. Factory experience is required before working as a freelance technical designer. The technical designer confirms the correctness of the technical requirements of style.
The main job of a technical designer is to create technical specification packages. It is otherwise called tech packs. A tech pack contains all the information that a factory needs to prepare samples or produce in bulk. Know the details about the tech packs on ” components of tech pack”. Technical designer prepares tech packs that include illustrations, construction details, and size charts. Details are distinct and vary depending on the style and its specification. And the software they use is Illustrator and CorelDraw.
What it takes to hire a freelance technical designer to help your clothing line
As you can see from the above image, a tech pack has different parts. Each part gives instructions related to different operations in a garment style. Like Instructions related to fabric composition, and colors. Another part related to garment construction and stitching details. And separate parts to fit and garment measurements and guidelines. In a factory environment, the processes go simultaneously. For example, patterns are prepared from the spec sheet. Print screens are prepared from the vector given on the tech pack. The factory organizes machines for batch operation using garment construction details.
The Forte of a freelance technical designer is to plan the production and put the plan on a tech pack. To do so, the designer must have the knowledge and experience of the processes of production. If a tech pack has everything organized, the factory can easily execute production. In short, a technical designer makes it possible to convert an idea into a viable style. To execute a production plan, a technical designer must have the following expertise.
- Hold strong technical and pattern-making skills.
- Must be able to regulate and bring the solution in a fast-paced, creative work environment.
- Knowledge of trims and trim development.
- Understand the construction of all garments and communicate with our factory on all production.
- Good sense of color/lap dips and fabrics.
- Preparing measurement spec sheet and size gradation.
Fashion Studio Urban Purple – Support System for Start-Up Apparel Brands
We have a team of specialist technical designers, capable of supporting various categories. For any new brand that comes to us, we route them to the right fashion designers. This we do based on their collection ideas and the categories they focus on. For example, if a client comes to us for Denim we introduce them to a specialist denim technical designer. The same applies to casual wear, lingerie, and other categories of styles. This we do so that the brand we work with gets the best possible detailing on the tech packs they order. Also, our tech packs can be used in apparel units in any part of the world. Urban Purple has been a high-quality tech pack design service provider in the USA for the last 12 years. We have been the most preferred tech pack design service to top apparel brands in the USA.
As designers and fashion consultants, we see many brands start with generic styles. Keeping this in mind we have come up with a quick solution. If you are looking for tech packs of generic styles wait no more. Visit the Tech Pack Template Store find your preferred styles and download them.