This week, GearCrave is running a giveaway with DesignByHumans.com for 25 free t-shirts for GearCrave readers. We sat down with DesignByHumans co-founder Jason Gutierrez to talk about DesignByHumans, its inspiration, and a little bit about the man behind the business. Read on, fellow GearCravers, for some sage insight into one of the fastest growing t-shirt companies on the web.

For the uninitiated, describe the wonderment that is DesignByHumans.

DesignByHumans (DBH) is an online t-shirt design contest, community, and store where artists and graphic designers from around the world submit designs for a chance to win lots of cash and other cool stuff. Submitted designs are voted and commented on by the DBH community members to help decide which designs will be printed and sold in our online store. Each design has a chance of winning up to $3,500 in cash and prizes plus an additional $10,000 cash in royalties. A new winning design is announced each day of the week (Monday-Friday). Think American Idol meets t-shirt design.

Continue reading for much more about Jason Gutierrez and DesignByHumans.com!

How and when did the concept for DesignByHumans come together?

DesignByHumans officially launched in July of 2007 but had been in the works since early ‘07. My brother, Matt, and I have been in the lifestyle apparel industry for several years and have been fortunate enough to meet and work with many amazingly talented individuals along the way. We’d been kicking around this business model for quite a while and finally got to the point where it made sense go for it.

DesignByHumans is one of the two large-scale t-shirt design communities on the web, alongside ThreadLess.com. To a reader familiar with ThreadLess, what sets DesignByHumans apart?

Threadless is an amazing company whom we have a great deal of respect for. At DesignByHumans we have made it one of our main focuses to lead the way in printing and other apparel decoration techniques which has really opened up the possibilities for artists to maximize their creativity. Since we do all of our printing in-house we can ensure top quality and do our best to come as close as possible to honoring the original vision of the artist. Also, being located in Southern California helps us to stay on top of the latest trends in apparel decoration and to incorporate those concepts into the winning artwork featured everyday.

DesignByHumans has grown a lot in the past year. Where do you see DesignByHumans going in the next year? What can we as fans expect from DBH?

We are really excited about the DBH Fabric Edition which is on our new custom blank - one of the softest t-shirts you will ever wear. The Fabric Edition tee is completely custom and made from start-to-finish in Los Angeles. Beginning in the next few weeks a new Fabric Edition Tee will be announced every Friday featuring some of the top art in the world that has been hand selected by us.

What is your favorite DesignByHumans T-shirt?

There’s one coming out in about 3 weeks that is probably going to be my new favorite.

What other t-shirt makers do you admire?

T-shirt makers - I love this cool random brand in Japan called Hjizutu - very hard to find but so soft and comfortable. Next would be this shirt my 3 year old son designed with finger paint.

GearCrave’s focus is to showcase the coolest gadgets, gear, entertainment, design and style on the web. Beyond style, we’d like to talk more about what you’re craving on the web right now. In short, this is our
chance to get to know Jason, the “guy behind the guy”. What is the must-have gadget in your life that you can’t live without?

I really need a Segway. I am sure I could fill orders much faster with a Segway zooming around the warehouse. Also a Garmin Nav - actually with a Garmin Nav and a Segway I could pretty much go anywhere. Oh, and I would need my iphone (even though I don’t have one, I really really crave one) and last but not least I am dying for this (so I can get rid of my mac and just use the wall).

What is your favorite movie so far in 2008?

I pretty much stopped watching movies a few years ago.

Apart from DesignByHumans where is your favorite place to buy clothes?

Any of the sample sales that pop up around here every now and then. You can’t beat a bag full of last season’s samples for $5.

What car do you wish you had in your garage right now?

2008 Tundra

What is the must-have gadget in your life that you can’t live without?

I’d have to say my youngest son’s pacifier. It’s amazing what a little binkey can do to calm down a 6 week old baby.

Mac, PC, or Linux?

Mac

Video games or the Great outdoors?

The ocean - when I have spare time I go to the ocean.

Novels or Biographies?

Novelgraphies.

Myspace or Facebook?

Facebook

Totally unrelated to t-shirts and business, tell us one interesting fact about Jason Gutierrez we may not already know.

On occasion I like to make inanimate objects levitate.

Thanks Jason, we’re looking forward to seeing DesignByHumans grow, and participate as much as we can in the DBH community. For more info on DesignByHumans, visit their site or their news section. Also, be sure to get involved in the DesignByHumans giveaway here on GearCrave!

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