Merch Momentum recently caught up with Gero Silva Pereira, a digital marketing executive with Vexels to discuss what’s new with one of our favorite companies and resources providers in the POD world.

Q: As you know, we at Merch Momentum are big fans of Vexels. You bring some very talented artists and excellent resources to the table. Tell us about your latest offering, Scalable PSD Tshirt Designs.

Since 2018 we’ve been creating awesome Merch-ready t-shirt designs for our subscribers, and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck everyone, we worked remotely to find new design solutions for our users who were still working hard on their T-shirt business. As you well know, one of the main concerns of any T-shirt seller—including our users—is being Original and spending the least amount of money and time possible on a T-shirt design. In other words: how to combine Design Quality with Productivity.

So we tried mixing our awesome quality together with a highly-productive design tool. That’s how we got to our Scalable T-shirt PSDs.

They are t-shirt design templates in PSD files with with images, text, elements and effects that can be edited to create many design variations.We dubbed them ‘Scalable’ because with just one file you can create as many designs as you want with different styles and effects.One of the best things is that they’re easy to use; they come with instructions and anyone with basic Photoshop skills can make tons of t-shirts in no time. We recently posted a video on our Youtube about it.The product was launched about a month ago and so far the reception has been amazing. We’re really excited about it!

Q: With so many products in the POD market that closely resemble one another, how do you advise Merchers to leverage your new resources while maintaining creative originality?

I think the coolest thing by far is that our Scalable T-shirt PSDs synergize perfectly with our library, allowing people to download any other of our graphics and resources and use them on the PSDs.

Some of the T-shirt PSDs already include elements and graphics, and considering we have more than +150,000 graphics available in our library—including thousands of SVGs and PNGs—, it’s easy to see the immense potential that one single PSD can have.With our T-shirt PSDs, creative power and control is given back to you.These PSDs are your oyster.

Q: From Redbubble to Etsy, sales on POD platforms and eCommerce sites are exploding. Are you seeing a surge in creator interest in any particular niches amid this POD boom?

We see POD platforms and eCommerce growing by the second, and with this there are many Merch newcomers from different backgrounds. I found 2 observations here: First, we see the most striking interest is in diversifying the product portfolio and platforms.

Since many merchers found their T-shirt business affected, they started broadening to other products and niches like KDP (self-publishing) and Face Masks.Many Merch-by-Amazon-only merchers also had to find new ways to keep their Online business running, so other platforms benefited from this as well.

Secondly, in specific relation to Niches, we don’t see any specific niche that’s booming in particular, but whatever Niche that’s chosen, the most successful designs are the ones that are the most relatable and evoke emotions in the end users. Hobby, Funny, Party and Text designs are among the most sought-after.

Q: In what way do you think the Scalable PSDs will make life easier and royalties more lucrative for Merchers and other POD creators in the second half of 2020?

By saving on the most critical resources, Time and Money, and adding a big splash in graphic quality.Since our Scalable T-shirt PSDs are super easy to use, they make it super easy to come up with many different variations of one concept yourself, without having to pay for another designer. Plus, it’s fast, so you can quickly pivot if you see better opportunities.If you still work with a designer, this tool will greatly help your provider to improve on the Design output and quality.People can even try out some of their best sellers on these PSDs and get new products without much effort.

Q. Some of the biggest sellers in POD utilize Vexels and some of your various resources and services. For someone who isn’t familiar with your company, what is the single most important thing you want people to know about what Vexels is trying to help POD sellers accomplish?

For those who aren’t familiar with us just yet, know that Vexels is a Graphic Design platform where we help T-shirt sellers on the very essential aspect of Design, especifically T-shirt Designs.T-shirt business owners come to Vexels looking for T-shirt designs, and also other Merch tools such as our own Online T-shirt maker (no software required), KDP designs, our own exclusive Monthly Merch guide, Merch mockups (t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases) and products like the aforementioned Scalable T-shirt PSDs, which isn’t a graphic design, but rather a design tool. Also, and very worth mentioning, more and more Merchers are making use of the whole range of graphics that our library has and that they have access to, so we’re very happy to see that transition as well.

To learn more, check out Vexels at Vexels.com, and follow the team on:  Instagram: @vexelsgraphics Facebook: /vexelsgraphics Youtube