At Cocowod we believe that a good print isn't just about aesthetics: it also has to respect the garment's breathability.
There's no point choosing an organic cotton T-shirt if the print then becomes a barrier that prevents the fabric from breathing.
At first glance, creating a T-shirt print may seem simple: you draw, you print, and that's it. But reality is different. We wouldn't want to train in a T-shirt that already during the warm-up leaves your back soaked, and that halfway through the session gathers so much sweat you feel like standing in a puddle.
The real challenge is creating a spectacular print… and still being able to wear it in an intense workout.
How we do it at Cocowod
Here's an example: one of our prints was inspired by a classic painting that we reinterpreted, turning the goddess into a CrossFit athlete. At first glance it seems like the design covers the whole T-shirt, but in reality the secret lies in the ink you don’t see.
In this case we used the black background of the T-shirt as part of the print. This allowed us to reduce ink usage and, at the same time, preserve breathability.
This not only reduces ink usage, but also adds elegance and gives the print the character of a classic painting.
Another detail: in the head of the Clean & Jerk goddess almost everything is black – the hair helps with that – but look closely at the pupil. That tiny spot of color completely changes the expression. Subtle choices, but crucial ones.
In total, we only used four colors, though it looks like more thanks to gradients and the two vertical lines that add visual strength.
Prints made by athletes, for athletes
At Cocowod we create with this philosophy because we are athletes too. We want you to wear T-shirts that inspire you, but that you can also rely on in every workout without losing comfort or breathability.
This T-shirt we used as an example belongs to the Barbell Gallery collection. There you can see more prints created with the same technique – also in the Lifting Memories collection.
We always apply this approach. You can see it in our T-shirt collections for men, women and unisex, and of course in our crops.