Designing the perfect convention bag

[Midnight]

you have a blank messanger or tote bag and you have to put a design on it.

what would it be?

 

patches?

initials?

or something else?

 

is a printed image better than a patch?

[Queen_Sindel]

is a printed image better than a patch?

 

Printing may not work depending on the material.

 

My friends gave me a bag like this for my last Disneyland visit. It has prints of my favorite characters and I really like it very much. For conventions I've usually seen patches, and even one or two embroided bags.

[sazzra]

The absolute best is machine embroidery, then you can put whatever combination of stuff you want (quotes and pictures) - however, you're looking at either paying a fortune to get it done by a shop or an even bogger fortune to get an embroidery machine and doing it yourself. Easiest option is the iron on inkjet paper you can buy everywhere (make sure you get the right one depending on the colour of the bag) then again, you can pretty much do anything you want as it'll take anything you print. Some of the best ones I've seen (not at cons, I admit) are a mixture of cartoon type images and words/phrases with different fabric patches on them. There are sellers on EBay that do iron on fabric too - I bought some great stripy stuff. You can cut shapes/letters out of that and put them on.

 

As to the design - I've received tote bags from conventions before as part of the ticket, and they've had the name and year of the con and an image to represent that year's theme, and they've always been really nice. However, you're limited as apart from 'The Hub' and a Torchwood symbol, there's no actual 'theme' to these cons. Personally, I'd do the random patchy effect

[kolo]

Well, if you haven't already bought the plain bag, I believe websites such as Cafepress will print your design onto a bag.

[Doctor Who]

Well, if you haven't already bought the plain bag, I believe websites such as Cafepress will print your design onto a bag.

There's a local shop near me which do that too, they sell trophies and have only just recently started selling bags which you can design and customise yourself. I've seen loads of differently designed bags in the window including one of Joe McElderry and one saying 'I Love Jedward' with a picture of them on it too lol. It always entertains me seeing what they've made recently when I walk past the shop on the way back home from college and I think that a convention bag is a nice idea.

Edited January 16, 2010 by Doctor Who