When it’s your job to design a uniform, either for your company or yourself, it can be a daunting task. There are so many options and factors to consider when choosing branded corporate wear for any business, so plenty of time needs to be given to getting it right. Here is a guide for designing and creating corporate uniforms which will ensure you are armed with all the information you need.
The benefits of designing a uniform
Work uniforms have vastly improved in recent years with more consideration being given to factors such as comfort and style. These types of corporate clothing designs which are comfortable, fashionable and easy to wear will give staff members a sense of belonging and pride, in turn this can only positively affect the work they do.
Here are a few more of the benefits of designing a uniform:
- Create brand awareness through a consistent image.
- When incorporated into a uniform, customers will regularly see that company brand and build trust in it.
- An excellent form of free advertising.
- Creates a professional image - which again builds trust.
- Having a say in the design means you can ensure the workwear is practical for the job.
- A consistent image will help to make employees feel equal, with no-one under or over-dressed.
- Can be designed to protect safety, where necessary.
- Help to make workers feel part of a team
Brand Colours
Does your company have specific brand colours? Reflecting your brand colours with customised workwear is a great way to help your staff look a part of the business and make them visible to your customers. The brand colour choices in businesses can be great for a logo but may not translate well into garments, and this is where corporate wear suppliers like ourselves can come in and help you. It’s about finding garments that complement your branding, whilst also making sure they are comfortable and fit for purpose. If you have a particularly complex and colourful logo you may opt for simple core colour options for the corporate wear and have the brand colours complimented by personalisation and accessories.
Work Conditions
What type of industry you work in will greatly affect what type of corporate uniforms you should realistically choose. A suit and tie perhaps isn’t particularly useful workwear on a building site, and hi-viz is somewhat redundant in a hotel reception. What your employees are doing day to day should be reflected in your corporate wear, this could be hard wearing, warm material for employees who work outside in physical roles, or comfortable and stylish blouses and skirts for office environments, through to tunics for hairdressers and housekeeping teams. A lot of this will seem obvious but you should always think about every facet of your employees’ daily roles to ensure that the corporate wear you choose is right for everyone.
What Works for your Staff and Business
On top of considering the working conditions and apart from visualising what the uniform will look like, consider conducting a wearer trial which will elicit some tangible feedback but also put the corporate uniforms through their paces to see if they really are suitable. If you have more female than male staff for example, you may want to offer multiple corporate wear options (skirts, trousers, dresses, etc) instead of simplifying it to just reflect the male uniform. Asking your employees what they want through the medium of a wearer trial will also make them feel involved and cared for by the company, as well as making some of the hard decisions for you!
Budget
Having an idea of what you intend to spend before making any decisions about your corporate uniforms is very important to the planning process. You can easily get carried away by wanting three different styles of bespoke jacket before realising the cost starts to get out of hand. Choosing a core capsule range of corporate workwear which has something for everyone will help to set and manage a budget. Setting a budget at the outset will help your corporate wear suppliers know what to recommend to you and your business to keep costs down.
Ethics
Your uniform choices can be affected by a variety of factors - but your ethical convictions as a company should also be considered. You may prefer your corporate uniforms to be designed and made in the UK, to support British manufacturing but also to reduce the carbon footprint from shipping garments from international countries. You may want to ensure that your corporate wear is able to be recycled and created by corporate wear suppliers that care about the environment during their manufacturing process. Your company ethics say a lot about you, and they can extend to your corporate uniforms.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by choice when it comes to choosing your corporate clothing, but hopefully this guide will help you focus on what truly matters to your business, and therefore inform your uniform decisions.
Benefits of choosing Burlington Uniforms
At Burlington Uniforms we fully understand the value of your company brand image and therefore, the importance of having workwear which can only enhance that image.
Our nationwide team of business managers have extensive experience and will work with you to deliver first class solutions to all of your workwear uniform requirements from design through to delivery.
You’ll also enjoy the following benefits of choosing Burlington Uniforms for your work uniform designs:
- An on-site staff sizing and issuing service - we come to you to take the sizing of staff and then personally deliver the finished result.
- We can transform your brand into print, embroidery, tax tabs and heat applied badges using the most up to date equipment and latest techniques.
- A wide selection of sizes and styles which are designed to fulfill all of your workwear uniform needs and budget.
- All of our deliveries are sent in individual personalised uniform packs allowing these to be distributed easily amongst your staff and allow for an audit trail.
- Create your own unique and bespoke designs, selecting styles, fabrics, trims and accessories to suit your requirements.
- Easy online ordering system and staff database in addition to traditional email and telephone ordering.
To find out more about how to design a uniform and creating the perfect brand image for your team, get in touch with Burlington Uniforms today.