Back in the 1600’s they would tie a heavy rock to people’s legs and throw them into a river to prove that they were a witch. If the unfortunate floated, then it meant that he or she had been saved by God*, and if they sank, they were a witch.
*Try to guess how many were ‘saved by God.’
Luckily, personality tests have evolved to become much more user-friendly tools. Quizzes such as ‘Which Disney Princess are you?’, sophisticated as they may be, provide a much safer experience. I’m Pocahontas, by the way (I always thought of myself more as a Belle, but whatever. WHAT DO THEY KNOW?).
Kidding aside, our complex personalities have fascinated us for a long time. Way before Carl Jung wondered why we act the way we do, Aristotle and Plato were already classifying their peers into kinds of temperaments.
Note: You may also be interested in ‘The power behind brand archetypes (+ infographic).’
Personality tests as we know them today were created during the 1920s as a way to make the process of hiring easier – big corporations really are behind everything. One of the most popular ones, the MBTI, or Myers Briggs test, was created by two Jung enthusiasts to help women, who had never had a job in their lives, enter the workforce during World War II. Today, the personality test industry is worth around $400 million.
When assigned with the duty to create questions for a type of printed T-shirt/personality quiz I immediately thought of the MBTI, but after doing some research, I quickly realized that a 16 results test would’ve been a programming and writing nightmare so that’s when I came across the ‘Holland Codes’. The test was developed by American psychologist John L. Holland during the ’50s as a way to help people choose a profession. I chose to use his career theory test as it proved to be much easier to adapt because, with a little brainstorming, each one of the six results could be represented through a style of T-shirt.
According to Holland, the six types are as follow:
Realistic or Doers
These are people who are practical, stable and like manual labour. Doers enjoy working with tools and in the open air. They perceive the world through their senses meaning they feel more comfortable with what they can see and touch rather than with abstract ideas or theories.
The being said, your perfect T-shirt should be a sporty tee.
Investigative or Thinkers
Unlike the Doers, Thinkers feel more at ease with the world of ideas, research and possibilities. These are the scientists, philosophers and writers of the world. As they tend to be introspective, they prefer to be alone. Teamwork is not necessary for them and might sometimes even be a hindrance.
Yours is a geeky T-shirt!
Artistic or Creators
As the name suggests, Creators are most likely to find success using their imagination and creativity. Typical jobs for them are designer, decorator, painter, and sculptor, among others. Artistic types tend to be sensitive, authentic and nonconformist. The world would be a lot less fun without them.
Graphic T-shirts are the ones you must wear.
Social or Helpers
If you’re a Helper then you most likely work near other people. Many tend to think that they are extroverted beings who enjoy being surrounded by close ones all the time, but this is not necessarily true. Social types can be very introverted and have a handful of friends. What truly defines them is the genuine and deep interest for the well being of other people. Thanks to their empathetic abilities, they are well suited for careers like nursing, teaching and counselling.
Your matched T-shirt is a message one!
Enterprising or Persuaders
Persuaders are the politicians, CEOs and entrepreneurs of our society. They are ambitious and always have on their mind the path of how to reach their goal. Being leaders by nature, enterprising types can manage teams and are good at spotting the talent in others.
What are you waiting for to wear a logo T-shirt?
Conventional or Organizers
Conventional types have an inborn talent for keeping tabs on things. They are the fact-checkers, the accountants and the cashiers of the team. The office would be a messier place without them. Organizers might be interested in careers in the financial, mathematical or administrative fields.
Plain T-shirts are perfect for you.
Note: There is no such thing as a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ type. All types are necessary for the community and have their strengths and weaknesses. Also significant is the fact that even John L. Holland admitted that classifying people into only six categories is way too simplistic. Human beings are far more complicated than that; personalities are composed of way too many variables. This is only meant as a guide.
If you’ve never wondered or investigated about your personality type, I invite you to plunge into this fascinating branch of psychology. It might not turn your world upside down, but it might lead you to have some ‘Eureka!’ moments and help understand why you make certain decisions or prefer doing certain activities rather than others. For example, did you know that extraversion and introversion have got very little to do with shyness and a lot more to do with how you spend and recharge your energy?
To take the REAL Holland Code quiz, click here.
And to take the MBTI test, click here. This one is far more complex and rewarding, in my humble opinion.
Print on Demand
Here at Printsome, we’ve always supported creative endeavours which is why we’re proud to announce our brand new ‘print on demand’ service.
Thanks to our five years of experience in the apparel-printing industry, we were able to design a platform catered towards the needs of artists and designers who want to start their own T-shirt line. Printsome’s ‘Print on demand’ service has no minimum orders and can print any design with no colour limitations.
From the moment you connect your online shop (like Shopify) with our platform, anyone can buy one of your designs. We deliver all over the UK and Europe. Drop shipping has never been this easy.
Why worry about inventory or logistics when we can take care of that? We deal with the boring stuff so you have more time to do what you love. To find out more, simply visit our brand new website.
