Uniqlo lets consumers create custom designs for T-shirts with the UT Me app

Uniqlo is encouraging its consumers to go creative and design their own print, using nothing but their smartphone or tablets. The service called UT Me allows anyone in Japan to create a print on the go, using a special app for iOS and Android devices and fingers only. No special artistic or tech skills are required—everything is quite simple and somewhat naïve.

Users are invited to add as many elements to their print as they want—they can create graphics, add lettering, upload their photos. After the picture is complete, they can just shake the picture to create a unique graphics that will be totally original. Of course, consumers don’t take the print onto the shirt physically—they design the graphics and send it to the store.

The finished products—T-shirts with one-of-a-kind prints—are delivered to the consumers or can be picked up at the participating store, the brand’s venue in the Ginza district of Tokyo. There, they can see a T-shirt printer that helps take the image from the screen to the fabrics. A shirt costs ¥1,990 (approx. $19), plus consumers are to pay ¥450 for delivery.

“If a customer comes up with a superb design, we don’t rule out the possibility that it could become a product,” said Rei Matsunuma, global marketing department manager, inspiring consumers to unlock their creativity.