We have all come across them, the very short and sometimes annoying replacements for long words, such as the most common, 'LOL'. They have been used in the social media realm, but most people have crossed over into the real life with them - not that we like it, or you should, just that a t-shirt with some clever statement crafted from shorthand would be a killer collectible.
Ideas from the top our heads include;
● 'ROFL' - with a stickman swimming on the ground
● 'Typing….'....'Typing…'.... ’Typing…'...'okay.' :(
● 'Wait for me here, BRB'
● 'Warning, I really LOL' - with a warning sign and a gramophone.
● Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot
● Warning!! NSFW - the abbreviated part can mean a lot of things but the intended meaning is to say 'not safe for work'.
The graphics part of the cusotm made t-shirts can be as basic or elaborate as possible. But taking on the satirical cap on these ones would be a killer idea. Now there are plenty of smileys that we have all used as replacements of complex feelings that would have broken some nails trying to get out through typed words, and the good thing is that the same reason for using them; works with t-shirt ideas too.
Not safe for work, is usually sent to friends with relevant links that sometimes genuinely send the person clicking to a sensitive video best not played at work for the sake of the other's job security. Then again, friends send it to each other jokingly to desensitize their target, making them open kitten videos and all kinds of cute things, only to send a gory video at the end, at which point the NSFW warning would have been totally disregarded, possibly ending with shame for not listening to the warning. That warning on a t-shirt means the person wearing is either very lazy to do any work and trying them out will not work as anticipated, or they are really in a party mode, not one to be in at work.
The expressions shown by smileys can be used to create a series of mood t-shirts, better not talking to people and letting the smileys do the communication. On sick days, one could wear the green-faced smiley with signs they are about to go sick any moment. They can wear these on days they have bad hangovers too, to keep people at bay. There are many smiley icons to pick from; it seems the social media platforms are always updating the lot.
With Skype having some animated ones, you can take the codes to invoke them and print them out to warn off temptation or encourage smart discussion with people who can read them. Custom smileys, the type not on circular social media channels always work best, put your thinking cap on and get designing.
The image quality of printed icons is sure to never wash off, and will keep the original message even years after completing your order and putting the shirt on for the first time.