Off topic: Translator-Themed Merchandise: Gauging Interest in Printable Designs for Translators–Your Thoughts? Thread poster: Necdet Balta
| Necdet Balta Türkiye Local time: 18:29 German to Turkish + ...
Hello fellow translators and language enthusiasts!
I'm reaching out to our community to gauge interest in a potential new venture I'm considering: printable designs for translator and language-themed merchandise. As someone who's passionate about both design and languages, I'm exploring the idea of creating a line of products that celebrate our profession and our love for linguistics.
These designs would be tailored specifically for translators, interpreters, language t... See more Hello fellow translators and language enthusiasts!
I'm reaching out to our community to gauge interest in a potential new venture I'm considering: printable designs for translator and language-themed merchandise. As someone who's passionate about both design and languages, I'm exploring the idea of creating a line of products that celebrate our profession and our love for linguistics.
These designs would be tailored specifically for translators, interpreters, language teachers, and language enthusiasts. They could be applied to various items such as:
* Apparel (T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts)
* Kitchenware (mugs, water bottles)
* Wall art (posters, prints)
* Accessories (tote bags, laptop sleeves)
The idea is to offer these designs both as digital downloads for those who prefer to print their own merchandise and as physical products for those who want ready-made items. This will be a print-on-demand business, with items available for sale on popular online marketplaces for digital and handmade goods.
I'm curious to know:
* Would you be interested in purchasing such items for yourself or as gifts for colleagues?
* What specific products would you like to see?
* Are there any particular themes, jokes, or references you'd love to see on translator merchandise?
To be clear, I'm assuming the designs themselves would be appealing – I'm more interested in understanding if there's a demand for this type of product in our field. If not, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what kinds of products or services you feel are missing in the translation and language community.
Your input is invaluable in helping me determine whether to pursue this project or perhaps pivot to something else that would better serve our community. Please share your honest thoughts and suggestions – all feedback is welcome!
Thank you for your time and insights. I look forward to reading your responses and potentially creating something that resonates with our shared passion for languages and translation.
Best regards,
Necdet ▲ Collapse | | | Lieven Malaise Belgium Local time: 16:29 Member (2020) French to Dutch + ...
Perhaps you could ask this as a poll question. The poll output will be more significant than the few responders in this thread. | | | Necdet Balta Türkiye Local time: 18:29 German to Turkish + ... TOPIC STARTER Poll: a paid-members feature | Aug 7 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Perhaps you could ask this as a poll question. The poll output will be more significant than the few responders in this thread.
Thank you for suggesting the poll idea. I wish I could do that, but unfortunately it looks like polls are a paid-members feature. We non-paying members can't submit polls. 😕
I'm still really keen to get some feedback on my question though. Do you know of any other ways I could gather opinions from fellow translators? Maybe there's another platform where I could post this? I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have. Always value your input!
Best,
Necdet | | | Baran Keki Türkiye Local time: 18:29 Member English to Turkish
Necdet Balta wrote:
* Are there any particular themes, jokes, or references you'd love to see on translator merchandise?
I'd like to see a t-shirt that says 'Translation is dead as a profession', or 'Translation business in a slump' or something along them lines.
I believe someone has already come up with your brilliant idea. I'd contact her to see if she's made a killing out of that.
https://go.proz.com/blog/interview-tees-for-translators-with-stefanie-sendelbach | |
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Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 16:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ...
Necdet Balta wrote:
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Perhaps you could ask this as a poll question. The poll output will be more significant than the few responders in this thread.
Thank you for suggesting the poll idea. I wish I could do that, but unfortunately it looks like polls are a paid-members feature. We non-paying members can't submit polls. 😕
I'm still really keen to get some feedback on my question though. Do you know of any other ways I could gather opinions from fellow translators? Maybe there's another platform where I could post this? I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have. Always value your input!
Best,
Necdet
This kind of things are usually ordered by companies/brands, not individuals (to make some commercial sense). Eg. a company orders 1k T-shirts to share with their emoloyees and associates. Or 500 umbrellas with their logo print.
Your idea is more about “the morale and enthusiasm”, not sure how the sales will actually go. Companies buy it because they project it into branding, marketing and engagement/sales.
Makes more sense to offer it to translation companies, the prints they will order will be something like “AI is your friend, not your enemy”.
[Edited at 2024-08-07 08:31 GMT] | | |
... some people just love buying and wearing custom T-shirts, hoodies etc.
My instinct is that they get them for their hobbies and interests rather than their jobs.
But you might get a few desperate family members trawling Etsy and Amazon for last-minute gifts before Xmas and birthdays.
Good luck! | | | B&B FinTrans Germany Local time: 16:29 Member English to German Low entry barriers, copyright problems, marketing etc. | Aug 7 |
Necdet Balta wrote:
Hello fellow translators and language enthusiasts!
I'm reaching out to our community to gauge interest in a potential new venture I'm considering: printable designs for translator and language-themed merchandise. As someone who's passionate about both design and languages, I'm exploring the idea of creating a line of products that celebrate our profession and our love for linguistics.
These designs would be tailored specifically for translators, interpreters, language teachers, and language enthusiasts. They could be applied to various items such as:
* Apparel (T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts)
* Kitchenware (mugs, water bottles)
* Wall art (posters, prints)
* Accessories (tote bags, laptop sleeves)
The idea is to offer these designs both as digital downloads for those who prefer to print their own merchandise and as physical products for those who want ready-made items. This will be a print-on-demand business, with items available for sale on popular online marketplaces for digital and handmade goods.
I'm curious to know:
* Would you be interested in purchasing such items for yourself or as gifts for colleagues?
* What specific products would you like to see?
* Are there any particular themes, jokes, or references you'd love to see on translator merchandise?
To be clear, I'm assuming the designs themselves would be appealing – I'm more interested in understanding if there's a demand for this type of product in our field. If not, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what kinds of products or services you feel are missing in the translation and language community.
Your input is invaluable in helping me determine whether to pursue this project or perhaps pivot to something else that would better serve our community. Please share your honest thoughts and suggestions – all feedback is welcome!
Thank you for your time and insights. I look forward to reading your responses and potentially creating something that resonates with our shared passion for languages and translation.
Best regards,
Necdet
In theory, a good idea, but on the supply side, the entry barriers are relatively low; with the empowerment of AI, even totally unskilled people can put out memes on merch in a very short time; and if you happen to have a very cool idea, it won't be long before the first copycats appear to claim their share of the cake.
Plus, on the demand side, you have people who are currently dealing with "other problems" (that could be translated into cool memes, though!) than buying merch to express their [pick whatever you see fit]... | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Translator-Themed Merchandise: Gauging Interest in Printable Designs for Translators–Your Thoughts? TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
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