What to put on a dating shirt

Front versus back: who reads what

People read a dating shirt in three situations:

• Running toward you, they get a glance. Two runners at 8-minute miles close the last 30 feet between them in under a second and a half: time for one to three big words.
• Running behind you, they have time. A runner gaining 30 seconds a mile on you (8:00 to your 8:30) takes about 45 seconds to close the last 30 feet, long enough to read a prompt.
• Stopped next to you, at the start line, a crosswalk or the coffee line, they can read anything. That’s when people usually scan.

So put a short line on the front, and the details and the biggest code on the back.

Short lines for the front

Our Minimal design is built for the front: one big word of up to 12 characters, a small line under it and a QR code. A few of its suggested lines, and when each works:

• “Available.” The plainest signal there is.
• “Untaken.” The same, with a wink.
• “Unattached.” Drier, for understated flirts.
• “Run date?” A question invites a yes or a no, and says what kind of date you mean.
• “Say hi.” The lowest-pressure ask: just hello, no date implied.

On the profile card and run stats, “Open to dates” does the same job, and spells it out for anyone new to dating shirts.

Prompts for the back

A prompt hands someone a question to ask you, and it takes a few seconds to read, so it suits the back. The prompt card prints one prompt and your answer in big type; the profile card fits one beside your first name, age and three quick facts. Pick a prompt you can answer specifically:

• “Post-run order”: the actual order, as particular as you like.
• “Pace I’ll slow down for”: a pace, or a reason, that says you’d wait.
• “Run date idea”: a plan someone could say yes to, somewhere busy and public.

Answers can run to 80 characters, but one line works best, like the designer’s sample for “My ideal long run ends at”: “Breakfast tacos, and you picking the next playlist.” If you pick “My Sunday route”, say what you love about it, not where it starts or when.

Run stats and race-bib styles

Run stats prints a run like a training log: a title, where you ran, distance, pace and time, plus your status. An easy run says more than your fastest race: it tells people you could talk while you run. Times and paces print fine; the designer only turns down numbers that read like a phone number.

The race bib is a printed bib, pin holes and all, with a division and wave you make up. Where the race number goes, it prints your first name, or your phone number if you choose. Your number as the bib number is our boldest option, and like any printed number, it’s permanent. The bib takes a QR code, a number or both, not a handle.

Where the QR code goes, and how big

A QR code on a shirt scans from about a foot away for every inch of its width, in good light. The big back print, Keeping up, scans from up to about 7 feet, so the runner behind you can scan it at a light; other designs scan from 3–5 feet.

The smallest code we print is 3 inches wide; smaller ones don’t scan reliably. The designer won’t let you order a design whose code would print smaller on your shirt, and it shows each side’s code size and scan distance as you go. More in the FAQ.

Printing one elsewhere? Keep the code dark on light, with a clear margin, on a flat spot away from seams and straps. Wherever you print, choose a size that lies flat: a stretched code is harder to scan. Our size charts have every shirt’s measurements.

QR code, number or handle?

You choose one way to reach you, and it prints on every side:

• QR code (the default) opens your scan page: your first name, a line about you, and the ways to reach you that you pick (Text me, your DateCard, Instagram or TikTok). Your number shows only to people who tap Text me, and you can edit the page, or switch it to Taken or Paused, any time.
• Printed number: the most direct, and permanent. Anyone who sees the shirt, or a photo of it, can text you. We check it’s yours first.
• Both: the code for scanners, the number for people who’d rather text.
• Social handle: your @ in big type, with no code. Also permanent, so check what your profile shows strangers.

A code keeps you in control after the shirt ships. More in is a QR code dating shirt safe?

What to leave off

Your shirt is public, and so is every photo of it. Leave off anything that helps a stranger find you:

• Your last name, email, workplace or home address.
• Your running schedule, usual route, or where and when your runs start.
• Anything about school or an age under 18: the shop is for adults only.

Keep the “Where you run” line on the profile card and run stats as broad as a city or a big park, or clear it.

Our designer won’t print links or email addresses, or phone numbers and @names outside the phone and handle options. Our rules also keep out sexual content, hate and harassment, other people’s names and numbers, and any name or slogan that belongs to a dating app, a brand, a race or a run club: see what you can’t print or post. Your scan page follows the same rules, a little stricter.

Keep it friendly

Specific beats clever. A line that names a real thing, like your post-run order or the race you’re training for, hands someone an easy first question; a pun gets a smile but is harder to answer.

Make it easy to say no. Invitations and questions, like “Say hi.”, “Run date?” or “Say hi at the water stop”, leave the next step to the other person. Skip comments about bodies, and anything you wouldn’t say to a stranger’s face.

Then let the shirt do only the opening: if someone smiles and keeps running, that’s an answer too. Our run club guide covers the etiquette after hello.

The small shop link

Every printed side carries one small SHOP.DATE-CARD.APP line, in your design’s text color, clear of your words and your QR code. Its capitals are a little over a quarter inch tall: readable up close, too small to compete with your design.

We print it so people who like your shirt can find us later without asking you where you got it (unless they want the excuse). It also shows someone about to scan where your code goes: their camera should show shop.date-card.app before they tap.

Leaving it off adds $5 a shirt. Choose Hide under “Shop link on your shirt” and the line is left off; nothing else on your design moves. Your scan page links to the shop either way.

Questions

Keep reading

• Is a QR code dating shirt safe?What someone sees when they scan a dating shirt, the risk of printing your number, and the controls that help keep you safe: Taken, Paused and reports.
• How to meet someone at a run clubRun club etiquette for singles: when to talk, what to say, how to read the room, and how to keep it safe and respectful for everyone on the run.
• FAQAnswers about our QR code dating shirts: what scanners see, Taken and Paused, printing your number, sizes, prices, shipping times and returns.