Considerations for Creating a Design Brief for Uniforms
The look of a well-dressed team helps set the tone for your customer experience and employee satisfaction. A well-executed uniform program adds great value to your business, but conversely, a poorly executed program can cause disruption for the business.
At Tailored by Stafford, we have been designing and fulfilling uniform programs for decades and have seen many different approaches. Consistently the best outcomes transpire when the objectives are well-researched and understood at the outset. Based on our decades of experience we have created a checklist of some of the points to consider when embarking on a new uniform program.
| Branding & customer experience
The following questions may help to clarify the marketing objectives for the uniform:
What type of experience do you want your customer to have?
Who is your target customer? How do they dress?
What is your product or service's market position and price point?
Whilst the use of the logo and brand colour scheme is vital, the primary objective is to reflect the feeling of the brand or the overall aesthetic.
How casual or formal is your workplace?
Does the team work behind a counter or in a public space?
What are the colours of the interior or the workplace?
Do your employees need to be quickly and easily identified?
What uniform are your competitors wearing?
How consistent do you want the uniform? Should there be lots of options or one consistent appearance?
| The employee experience
The following considerations may help to understand the team members requirements from the uniform:
Involve your employees in the design process, they will appreciate your consideration. There are lots of ways to get the team involved, including surveys, committees, and workshops. At Tailored by Stafford we have decades of experience and are happy to provide advice or help you manage this process.
What is the staff demographic?
Geographic & climatic considerations.
OH&S standards or safety concerns, for example, sun exposure or catch hazards.
Is maternity required?
What functional requirements do the employees have? Examples to consider include:
The need for pockets or storage of special tools.
The need for breathability – how physical are the tasks?
The need for flexibility & ease of movement.
| Commercial considerations
The commercial considerations go beyond the budget process and can include:
Unique styles are a great way to identify your team but may involve minimum order quantities or stock commitments.
Stock Service styles can be customised by the addition of embroidered logos, or other creative embellishments.
Buying durable, high quality is more economical than frequently replacing poor-quality goods.
When being offered low prices, check the volumes that you are agreeing to. Locking yourself into years of stock can make evolving and updating the uniform range difficult.
It is more prudent to work with a supplier that has a transparent, partnership approach to stock management. Tailored by Stafford offers their client commercial options, explaining the pros and cons of each option.
| Ethical sourcing & Sustainability considerations
The considerations for ethical sourcing and sustainability include:
Your supplier should have a comprehensive ethical sourcing policy that covers modern slavery, child labour, safe working conditions, and the welfare of workers. The policy should be backed up with an active approach including auditing.
Durability is important. Wearing your clothes for twice as long can effectively half your environmental impact. Your fabrics and garments should be rigorously tested. Your supplier should have the experience & expertise to adequately control product integrity.
A supplier with proven robust quality systems, such as and ISO 9001 accredited systems, will be better placed to manage the complexity of your program.
As technology improves the options for environmentally friendly fabrics are expanding every year.
Your supplier should be actively reducing their packaging, and ideally be a member of the Australian Packaging Convent.
Ideally your supplier would offer re-use options.
Case Study: Crown Resorts (Melbourne)
The brief: Crown Melbourne required a new uniform for the Managers in the refurbished events spaces: Palladium, Evergreen, and Garden Rooms. These are premium venues that host prestigious events such as the Brownlow Medal, and the Australian Open Tennis Players’ Party.
The uniforms needed to reflect the colour scheme of the event spaces. The uniforms also needed to look polished, professional, and classic, to match the high standards of service and quality that Crown Melbourne is known for.
The Process: Tailored by Stafford’s design team created several design options with different colour schemes for the Crown team to consider. Once the final design was selected the design team made samples that could be tested in situ to ensure that the new uniform met the brief and had the right look and feel.
The result: The final range contributes to the customer experience by creating a consistent and professional image for the managers. The suit is professional and classic, so guests trust the managers to provide quality service.
A well researched design brief and a collaborative approach produces the most successful uniform programs. At Tailored by Stafford, we are on a mission – To create better-dressed and more comfortable teams. We are happy to provide advice with no obligation.
| Contact us
Penny Parkinson, Corporate Lead
P +61 499 801 177
E pparkinson@tailoredbystafford.com.au
