These fantastic printed t-shirts aim to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital. Super exciting stuff! Here’s how they work…

Augmented Reality? What on earth is that!?

Augmented Reality allows you to point any mobile smartphone or tablet at a target (in this case, a printed t-shirt) and instantly be rewarded with a unique experience on your device. The trigger is basically the image that the camera (your iPhone, for example) recognises to launch the AR experience. It can be anything, from a logo on a flyer or photographs in a magazine, but what we’re pretty excited about is the t-shirt graphics that act as a AR trigger.

Who are Zappar?

Zappar are a Scottish design team that have taken the US by storm with a revolutionary new 3D t-shirt. Zappar was founded by Glaswegian game writer Kirk, 43, English marketing whiz Caspar Thykier, 38, Cambridge University computer engineers Simon Taylor, 28, and Connell Gauld, 23.

In less than a year, the Edinburgh based company sold nearly a million of their t-shirts, which “come alive” when viewed through a smart device. The tiny firm then went on to sign a deal with US supermarket giants Walmart. In June last year, Asda became the first UK retailer to carry a range of their t-shirts.

Developer Kirk Ewing, one of four pals behind the invention, reckons their experiments with Augmented Reality (AR) technology will change the world.

“AR will merge the real world with the computer world. It sounds scary but it will become second nature and we’re the first people to be doing things with it commercially. In the future, you will be able to wear special glasses and see ads coming out of shops and get the football scores off a stranger’s chest as you walk down the street.”

We love the fact their printed t-shirts look like any others until they are viewed through a smartphone or tablet. Just by using a free app, the designs leap from the wearer’s chest in 3D and perform.

Icon Printing are based in Shoreditch, London and are t-shirt direct to garment and t-shirt screen printing specialists. For more an instant quote, please visit our website. Call on: 0207 183 8431 or visit our website for an instant quote.