How To Review Your Redbubble Store

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A audit of your Redbubble store will help you maintain a portfolio of high-quality art that's more likely to generate sales. I'll show you how I perform an audit of my store.

Introduction

It’s super easy to get caught up in an uploading frenzy on Redbubble, or any other print-on-demand store. On a superficial level, that totally makes sense.

More art = more chances to be viewed = more sales.
…Right?
(Maybe, but its much more nuanced than that.)

But if we are not thoughtful about what artworks represent us at our best, we can end up with collections that look lazy, unprofessional, and a major buyer turn-off. 

I’m going to do a self-review of a subset of products on my Redbubble store – clocks. I’m going to tale you though each one, and analyse what’s  so and not-so-good about each one, and what action I’m gonna take.

Let’s do it.

 

The 'Before' Shot

Caution: Super-long screenshot of  my store below!
Screenshot of Jessica Amber's Clock page in her Redbubble store, before the audit

Right now (at the time of writing this article, 21 April 2020), I’ve got 44 clocks enabled in my store. My goal is to have the clocks that appear in my store be the best of the best, to look professional and of a high enough quality that I myself would want to buy them. And at the moment, that is not the case.

The Audit Process

The Process

I’m going to evaluate each artwork based on 8 crucial characteristics…

1. Quality

Is the artwork high quality and good enough to sell? Would I be embarrassed or proud to show someone this artwork, or this product?

2. Object-Oriented

Does the artwork suit the object it’s on – in this case, a clock? Or do the clock hands cover important parts of the design?

3. Purposeful Placement

Has the artwork been placed purposefully on the product, or just slapped on? Can you adapt the artwork to suit the product better?

4. Visual Appeal

Is the design too simple? Too busy? Is it pleasing to look at?

5. Product-Specific Details

Since it is a clock, does it need numbers?

6. Collection-Oriented

If the artwork is part of a collection, do all those clocks look like they belong together in a collection?

7. Use of Color

Is the colour scheme suitable? Will it be easily legible across a room?

8. Be Ruthless

Don’t be afraid to ‘murder your darlings’. I know its hard if you spent ages refining a design, but if it just doesn’t work, and/or you don’t  feel up to putting in the effort to make it work, be brave enough to remove it from your gallery. Your other artworks will thank you!

Sometimes these questions are hard to answer. Maybe you just get a gut feeling that a design isn’t working, but can’t decide why right now. That’s okay! You can always disable the item now and re-enable it later.

Time to jump in to the auditing process! Let’s look at each clock one by one…

Support Main

Clock with art of a syringe on a yellow and blue starburst background

Pros:

  • Good enough to sell? Yes, because this is my best-selling artwork, I know people like it.
  • Placed purposefully? Yes, I have made sure to scale the artwork so it doesn’t cover the numbers, and its centred.
  • Numbers? Yes, it has numbers that are fairly easy to read (could have more contrast)
  • Colour scheme? Yes, a harmonious colour scheme of blue and yellow. And I picked clock hands that are blue to go with the scheme too.

Cons:​

  • Pleasing to look at? Perhaps not. The background might be too busy. And the signature placement kinda looks awkward

Other: Suit the product? Well the text isn’t right in the middle of the clock, which is good. 
Action: 
Keep for now. In future, simplify background, increase contrast of numbers, and move signature somewhere else

Other Gaming Mains Artworks

Since these artworks are all part of a set, most of the feedback I gave for Support Main will apply to these as well:

Clock with art of a submachine gun on purple and grey starburst background
DPS Main
Clock with art of a shield, on a red and blue background
Tank Main
A clock showing a bunch of dynamite, on a orange and yellow starburst background, by JessicaAmber
Chaos Main
A clock showing a syringe with white liquid, on a black background, by JessicaAmber
Support Main Monochrome
Too plain, disable this one. Add numbers later.
A clock showing a syringe with yellow liquid, and wings, on a blue and yellow starburst background, by JessicaAmber
Support Legend
Lighten the shadow under the numbers
A clock showing a white syringe, with wings, on a blackt background, by JessicaAmber
Support Legend Monochrome
A clock showing a syringe with purple liquid, on a lime green background, by JessicaAmber
Drain Main
Give this one numbers that match the other clocks

Dyed Hair Don't Care

A clock showing a blue hair dye bottle, on a blue background, by JessicaAmber
A clock showing a grey hair dye bottle, on a grey background, by JessicaAmber

Blue Hair Don’t Care | Silver Hair Don’t Care
I don’t think this design, no matter the colour,  suits being on a clock.
Action: Disable both

Dripping Words

A clock showing the word 'creep' in a green dripping font, on a black background, by Jessica Amber
A clock showing the word 'weirdo' in a white dripping font, on a black background, by Jessica Amber
A clock showing the word 'witch' in a white dripping font, on a black background, by Jessica Amber

Creep | Weirdo | Witch Dripping Text
Pro: I like a good drippy font
Con: Having a word just slapped on a clock doesn’t look good
Action: Disable all of these. In the future, make clocks that have drippy numbers.

Adventure Time Fan Art

Clock with simple cartoon art of Finn from Adventure Time, by Jessica Amber
Clock with simple vector design of Jake the dog from Adventure Time, by Jessica Amber
Clock with simple vector design of vampire girl Marceline from Adventure Time, by Jessica Amber
Clock with simple vector art of pink-haired Princess Bubblegum, from Adventure Time, by Jessica Amber

Minimalist Finn, Jake, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum

Pro: Designs are very cute and could work without needing numbers
Cons: Market is primarily for kids, who would probably need the numbers to read the time.
Action: Keep all. Make a duplicate of one of these clocks, add numbers, and see if it looks good.

Edit: Redbubble’s partnership with Adventure Time has ended, so these designs are no longer for sale publically. For a private purchase please email me.

Clock with pixel art of Marceline's creepy living room from Adventure Time, by Jessica Amber

Marceline Living Room Pixel Art
I don’t think this hexagonal isometric pixel art really suits being on a clock… I’m actually not sure if it’s strong enough for sale, period.
Action: Disable

Pew Pew Mew

Clock with art of a purple cat biting a pink video game controller.

Pew Pew Mew V1
Art looks very lazily slapped on.
Action: Disable.

Clock with a purple background. At the bottom of the clock is a drawing of a black cat.

Pew Pew Mew V2
The second design is definately more appealing than the first. But the purple background doesn’t really go with the cat in my opinion.
Action: Keep for now. Change the background colour.

Borderlands Fan Art

Clock with art of four main characters from Borderlands 3, in silhouette on a black background, by Jessica Amber
Clock with art of Amara from Borderlands 3, in silhouette on a white background, by Jessica Amber

Lumens
With the first clock, featuring a grid of four artwork, I don’t think having a square inside a circle looks very good. 
Action: Disable.

Amara Illumination
With the solo portrait, I like this one a lot, I’m just concerned it’s not quite positioned right.
Action: Keep for now. Move artwork a bit to the right?

Jessica's Spooky Designs

Clock featuring art of a cartoonish witch with red hair and a purple hat, on a black background, by Jessica Amber

Heathen
I’m not satisfied with this design. The combo of the art and the numbers looks a bit…dorky? Childish? Hard to say exactly. 
Action: Disable for now.

Clock with a witchy pattern including feathers, cats and pentagrams, in white on a black background, by Jessica Amber

Spoopy
The design looks very busy to me. Hard to read. Perhaps this is another design that simply doesn’t suit being a clock.
Action: Disable.

Clock featuring art of an anime witch casting a blue spell of invisibility, by Jessica Amber

Cast Me Away
The art looks a bit slapped-on. And I’ve been working on a HD remake of this artwork, so it would be a waste to try and make this older version look good.
Action: Disable. Future HD version.

Clock featuring art of an anime angel and a demon in the nude with wings, representing the starsign Gemini, by Jessica Amber

Gemini Soul
I don’t think the style of the numbers goes with the cartoonish nature of the art. Additionally, I don’t really like the half-transparent pink behind the numbers. Again, doesn’t go with the style.
Action: Disable.

Clock featuring art of an anime demon girl with horns, in a japanese school girl sailor uniform, on a pink background. By Jessica Amber

Dark Demon Schoolgirl
This is another example for me where the art plus the numbers equals a dorky look.
Action: Disable

Clock featuring a black ouija board design and the words Lets Talk To Spirits, in a monochrome colour scheme. By Jessica Amber

Let’s Talk To Spirits
This design has the potential to look very good on a clock, because numbers are an essential part of the design. Right now, it looks a bit too busy.
Action: Keep for now. Redesign the artwork so that the numbers of the ouija board become the clock’s numbers. Rearrange and possibly remove other parts accordingly.

Clock featuring the black silhouette of a dripping moon, over a neon pink and purple cloudy background, by Jessica Amber

Weeping Moon
This design originally had a flat purple background. I changed it to this cloudy one because I felt the former was too boring and simple. But I’m not satisfied with this one either. It looks too bright and acidic too me. But I have yet to think of anything more suitable.
Action: Disable.

Clock featuring a pentagram, in dark grey, by Jessica Amber

Pentagram Tome
I really like the simplicity of this design. The only possible con is that is is rather dark, which could make it hard for people to see when shopping online.
Action: Keep. In the future, try lighter versions, and experiment with adding numbers.

Clock with a gold ring and roman numbers on the outside, and a starry night on the inside, by Jessica Amber

Golden Time
This is the only design I’ve ever made that was only meant to be a clock. It’s based on a wristwatch I found in a council cleanup pile. I really worked hard to make the number ring look like metal. I’m proud of this design and don’t want to change it. My only disappointment is that Redbubble doesn’t offer a colour for the hands like bronze, to suit the artwork better.
Action: Keep

Clock featuring art of an anime goth girl holding a video game controller, by Jessica Amber

Goth Gamer Girl
This is a design that I think simply doesn’t suit being on a clock. The face and neck will be covered by the hands of the clock, and I don’t think the subject matter, the torso of a goth gamer girl, needs to be on a clock.
Action: Disable.

Text-Based Designs

Clock with black font that says Artist, on a white background, by Jessica Amber

Artist
Boring-looking, hands cover the words, I don’t like this at all
Action: Disable

Clock with black text saying Hashtag Gymlife, on a hot pink background, by Jessica Amber

#GYMLIFE
Again, the hands of the clock will cover the words. There is some kind of potential here, but I’m not sure what to do with it right now.
Action: Disable

Clock with block text saying 'Time to take my gamer vitamins' in colourful letters, on a yellow background, by Jessica Amber

Time to Take My Gamer Vitamins
I have struggled a lot with this clock. The original artwork includes a pill bottle with game-controller-shaped pills coming out. I tried having that art on the clock in many forms, and it never looked good. But without that, the words lack context. Also, picking a background colour was very challenging. Overall, I think this one should be put to rest.
Action: Disable

Paintings

Clock with abstract blue art and red stream of blood, by Jessica Amber
Clock with a art of a crying stressed girl, drawn in ink and watercolor, by Jessica Amber

Token of My Gratitude | Me of Me
I only uploaded these one day ago. I think they both look good, but I could be biased due to how recently I’ve worked with them. I like how they fill up the space, and become like art that happens to also be functional.
Action: Keep

Other Artworks

Clock with art of a cartoon neon alien, and colourful numbers, on a black background, by Jessica Amber

80s Alien
I’m ambivalent about this one. But I like the colour scheme and the numbers.
Action: Keep. In the future, make a just-numbers version.

A clock featuring the silhouette of a man holding a flogger. Overlaid is the text 'don't torture yourself darling, that's my job'. On a red background. By Jessica Amber.

Don’t Torture Yourself, Darling – That’s My Job
I don’t think this design suits being on a clock.
Action: Disable

Clock featuring a cartoon portrait of Jessica Amber, peeking at the bottom, on a red background

Jessica’s Head
Does anyone want to buy a clock with my little head peeking out from the bottom? Unlikely.
Action: Disable

Clock featuring a line drawing of hands knitting, on a light pink background, by Jessica Amber

I Love Knitting
The placement of the signature I think throws this design off-kilter. 
Action: Disable for now. Move/remove signature

Clock featuring a Memphis-style print of black cats, dots and zigzags, on a pink background, by Jessica Amber

Memphis Cats
I don’t mind this design. But I think its too busy to try and put numbers on.
Action: Keep

Clock featuring a colourful teen schoolgirl, on a dreamy pink and purple clouds background, by Jessica Amber

School Daze

This is an artwork that is verging on not good enough to sell, for me. It doesn’t do enough. And as a clock, I think it’s a flop.
Action: Disable / Set artwork to Private

Clock featuring a nude woman thinking, on a hot pink background, by Jessica Amber

The Thinker

It doesn’t feel right. I need to play with this one more. Maybe get rid of the numbers. make the whole artwork bigger and rotate it to a playful angle?
Action: Disable for now

Total artworks to disable: 24

My Clock Department After The Audit

Screenshot of Jessica Amber's clocks on her Redbubble store, after the audit

After this audit, I now have 21 clocks that I am proud to have for sale on my Redbubble store. You can see all the clocks I have for sale up close and personal by clicking here.

Not only are these the highest-quality clocks, meaning a greater likelihood of someone liking/buying, but by reducing the overall number it makes it easier for people to browse. No need to scroll through dozens of sub-par designs.

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Recommended Post

Redbubble Product Template Masterpost

Need a clock template to fix up the products in your store? Download that – and dozens of other Redbubble templates – in this blog post.

Read Me!

Conclusion

I hope that watching me purge a lot of things from my Redbubble store helps you in refining your own collections, and putting out the best Redbubble store you can.
If you have any questions about improving your Redbubble store, please leave a comment!

Peace, love and sunshine,

Handwritten calligraphy-style signature that says 'Jessica' with a heart dotting the i

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