University of Hertfordshire clubs have an unusual planning problem: the university is split across two main Hatfield sites, and a society's members may drift between them all week. This page collects what we found about student life at Herts and turns it into practical advice for anyone ordering a batch of society hoodies, team T-shirts or course jumpers. FabricForge prints garments with DTF and replies to each enquiry personally. We are independent and have no partnership with the University of Hertfordshire or its students' union.
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Two sites, one printed identity
College Lane is the older campus. It holds the original Hatfield Technical College building, the library and computer centre, halls of residence and the students' union headquarters. De Havilland, opened in September 2003 on a former British Aerospace site, is roughly fifteen minutes' walk away and has the Hertfordshire Sports Village (gym, pool, squash courts), the Weston Auditorium and the business and law schools. A third site at Bayfordbury hosts a teaching observatory.
The practical point is that a society's committee, kit and audience are rarely in one place. If your design will be worn at a College Lane fair and a de Havilland sports session, it needs to be recognisable from across a room and still make sense on a plain background.
What the Herts calendar suggests for your order
The university's own pages list a Freshers' Festival and a HertSquad Sports Fair, with the 2026 sports fair advertised for 30 September 2026 in a marquee on Hutton Lawn, College Lane, where clubs meet recruits and run taster sessions. Check the current listings for exact details, but the lesson holds every year: if you want committee kit on show at a recruitment event, the order has to be agreed weeks earlier.
The same university pages say there are more than 100 student-led societies spanning academic, active and dance, cultural and international, faith and belief, social and volunteering groups, with examples such as AI and Robotics, Bhangra, Salsa, Chess and Anime and Manga. HertSquad covers sports clubs and social sport. Herts also has a rowing club affiliated to British Rowing and an American football team, the Hurricanes, in the BUAFL Premier League South. Groups that varied tend to want different kit:
- Dance and performance societies: hoodies or tees with a bold front graphic that photographs well on stage and at showcases.
- Academic and tech societies: neat committee tees, perhaps with a back print listing the year's officers.
- Cultural societies: event shirts for festival nights, often in a themed colour.
- Sports clubs: matchday and training tops with surnames and numbers, plus a social hoodie for tours.
- Volunteering groups: a single, easy-to-spot tee so members are recognisable at community events.
The Forum and the night-out problem
The Forum is the main nightlife venue on campus, with three entertainment spaces. Club socials and themed nights are where printed T-shirts often earn their keep: matching group tops in a bright colour make a social easy to find. If you are planning a themed event, pick a design that is legible in dim light, with chunky shapes rather than thin lines, and remember that dark garments with a light print usually stand out best in a dark venue.
Getting a big order right
Large society orders fail on admin, not on printing. A few habits help:
1. Appoint one person to own the list, so there is a single source of truth.
2. Use a form that records name, size and what goes on the back, then export it to a spreadsheet.
3. Set a hard cut-off and tell members that late additions may need to wait for a later order.
4. Read the proof carefully, line by line against the spreadsheet, before approving.
5. Check sizing guidance with a few members who can try on a sample garment, since sizing varies between garment styles.
You can read more in our group order guide.
Branding rules and the union
Herts SU supports societies and has its own processes for creating, funding and running them. Before you finalise a design, society officers should check the union's branding and merchandise rules and ask if you may use the university's name or crest. A design built around your own group name avoids most of that. FabricForge does not supply, deliver to or have approval from the university or Herts SU, and our proofs do not stand in for their sign-off.
What to send us
- a rough count of garments by type
- a list of sizes and any names or roles for the back
- your artwork, or a sketch and a description
- the date you need everything by (please order early; we do not promise lead times up front)
- your WhatsApp number, since quotes and proofs happen by message
No minimum order applies, and a discount is available at five or more items. Colours and sizes can be mixed in a single quote.
Quick answers for Herts committees
Can we print different surnames on each hoodie?
Yes. DTF handles per-garment personalisation, so each member can have their own name, nickname or role.
Is a society hoodie better than a T-shirt?
It depends on the job. Hoodies suit colder months and keepsake kit; T-shirts are better for summer fairs, themed nights and big volunteering days. Many committees order both.
What artwork format should we send?
A high-resolution PNG with a transparent background is ideal. Our artwork guide explains what to avoid.
Commuters, residents and mixed membership
The university's own societies page stresses that commuting students can join societies too. That affects clothing: commuters may not attend every social, so a hoodie handed out at an evening event misses them. Build a simple route for everyone to claim one, such as a sign-up form linked from the society's group chat, and make clear when the list closes. Residents in halls near College Lane or de Havilland can usually collect at a meeting, while others may need an alternative arrangement from your side.
Matching garments to the weather
Hatfield events run outdoors more often than people expect, such as fairs on a lawn, sports sessions, a charity run or a rowing outing. A hoodie works for autumn and spring, a T-shirt for early September or summer events, and a layered approach, such as a tee for the event and a hoodie for the committee, covers a whole year. If your group trains outside, think about visibility too: a bright garment colour is easier to spot at a distance than a muted one.
A note on the aviation heritage
The university grew from Hatfield Technical College, which opened in 1952 and trained engineers for the aircraft industry, on land donated in 1944 by Alan Butler, chairman of the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Societies connected with engineering, flight or robotics sometimes turn that story into a design: a vintage-style wing outline or a retro serif typeface. It is a good use of heritage that does not need the official crest.
Ideas for a society stall
The sports fair marquee and the Freshers' Festival put dozens of groups in one place, so contrast is everything. A single bold colour across all volunteers, a large name on the back (people see you walking away, too) and a small web or social handle on the front gives passers-by something to follow. A tote bag with the society name makes a useful giveaway, and it travels around campus advertising you for months.
Preparing the artwork list
Gather four files before asking for a quote: the main logo, a simple one-colour version, any text in a plain document, and a photo of anything that must match, such as a team colour. This lets us advise on which version works best on a dark or a light garment.
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