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Face Mask

At the beginning of March 2020, I was asked to create a product that would end up saving the company. COVID-19 was taking over the world and retail stores, the apparel industry and life as we knew it was all struggling to survive. As a business, we needed to pivot to a new market, utilize our production capabilities and our expertise in high-quality apparel. With a shortage in medical masks, smaller apparel companies were beginning to turn their production floor from t-shirts and jeans to non-medical masks for first responders overnight. Even though we specialized in socks, I was asked to design and produce a mask that could be easily customized while still being a functional face mask.

The mask that I wanted to produce needed to be comfortable while still adding valuable USP’s -

  • A knit mask would contain air cells and would not act as a proper moisture guard or filter anything from the air. The mask needs to be made of woven materials.

  • The mask’s self would need to be made of polyester in order to support customization with sublimation printing.

  • A filter pocket, while not necessary, would allow customers the ability to insert a PM2.5 filter for added safety.

  • The liner and filter pocket needed to be made of cotton as to not irritate the skin under mask and aid in filtration.

  • An added woven tag would brand the mask, garnish attention and relate this mask to our other quality products.

  • Adjustable cord locks and a wire nose piece would make the mask fit properly across all types of faces.

I had to take a crash course in cut and sew manufacturing in order to produce a mask that is suitable for our customers’ needs. I spent hours talking to suppliers overseas, reading countless articles from the CDC and WHO, and checking with testing facilities to ensure that this mask would be functional and safe.

Rendering created to showcase the ability to embellish the outer of the mask with sublimation.

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After producing a viable, customizable face mask, I needed to create packaging that would speak to the brand, look high quality and display the custom printed outer and give the customer more information on the face mask that they purchased. Below is the dieline and artwork that I created to be printed onto a PET pouch that could be sold at retail and also delivered to D2C customers.