Getting the Right Fit and Design for Your Dog’s Vest - Part Two
- Val M
- Sep 12
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 27
In our first blog post, we discussed the importance of correctly sizing your dog’s vest and selecting the right shape to suit their needs. This time, we’ll focus on vest design and the key factors to consider.
What may seem like an effective design to communicate your dog’s role or maintain personal space can sometimes have the opposite effect, drawing people closer rather than keeping them at a safe distance. For clarity, we’ll break this discussion into two parts:
Colour Choices – Selecting colours and contrasts that maximise visibility and accessibility.
Graphic Design – How text, symbols, and layout affect readability.
1. Colour Choices
Many organisations and charities select vest and text colours based on branding, ensuring their working teams have professional, cohesive gear. At the same time, they also consider how effective their designs are in communicating with the public.
What might seem like a simple personal colour choice can have a big impact on readability and perception. A vest isn’t just an accessory — it’s a tool for communication.
When choosing colours, it’s important to consider:
Your own needs – For example, cardiac alert vests often use red, black, and white, while diabetic alert vests commonly use blue and neon yellow. Choosing bold, high-contrast colours can help make the vest immediately recognisable. That said, there’s no “wrong” choice — the possibilities are endless, and your vest can reflect your personal style while still being functional.
Public visibility – A vest should be readable for a wide audience, take into consideration people with different levels of sight. High-contrast combinations, such as navy with white text or yellow with black, as an example, are usually the clearest.
Accessibility for colour vision differences – Some people are colour blind, and certain combinations (like black on purple) can be difficult to read. Thinking about contrasting colours can help ensure your vest communicates effectively to most people.
The goal is simple: create a vest that is clear, legible, and effective, while still representing your dog’s role and your personal or organisational needs.
There are many different visual conditions that can affect how the public perceives a vest. As a designer living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), EDS, and Irlen’s Syndrome, I personally experience significant visual disturbances. Because of this, every printed product is created with an awareness of how colours and patterns impact visibility.
While no single design will work for every type of vision loss, I focus on making thoughtful colour choices that improve readability and accessibility for as many people as possible. This is why contrast is such an important factor to consider when designing a vest. You can absolutely have fun with patterns and different panel colours — it’s all about how you bring those elements together in the finished design that makes the vest effective. Remember: A vest is meant to send a clear, accessible message to the public — and not everyone sees the world the same way you do. When in doubt, high contrast is always the most effective choice.
2. Graphic Design and Legibility
Now that we’ve explored the importance of colour choices, let’s turn our attention to the overall design.
What your vest says matters — it’s the most visible piece of signage you’ll use when out with your dog. It can be tempting to think that the more information you add, the better the vest will be at communicating your needs, but it’s not quite that simple. We often receive requests for vests packed with information, almost like disclaimers:
“Medical Alert Assistance Dog In Training”
“Do Not Distract Me, I Am Working”
“Access Required by Law”
“Handler Needs Space”… plus a row of symbols and logos.
While each of these messages is important, too much text reduces legibility. From a distance, all of that wording blurs into a paragraph, which can actually have the opposite effect — it draws people closer to try and read it, rather than encouraging them to keep their distance.
I’m going to get personal for a moment. What follows is based on my own experiences and perspective, and doesn’t necessarily reflect Wuffable’s overall stance.
The image above shows my very first vest — back before I knew the full extent of my diagnoses. At the time, we thought everything was purely C-PTSD related. Because of that, I chose very bold colours that are associated with PTSD awareness — lagoon and black panels — and packed the design with as much text as I could think of.
My goal was simple: to keep the public at a distance, because crowded spaces were overwhelming and frightening for me.
My first interaction with Mrs. Wuffable was actually an email where she gently told me that my design was a bit too complicated (though still possible to embroider). She offered helpful suggestions to simplify and improve it, but I was convinced that more text meant better protection. Looking back now, I wish I had listened — sometimes less really is more.
We started getting Pumpkin used to her gear, and as our confidence grew, we began working on Public Access, including visits to dog-friendly buildings. Sometimes, members of the public would come up to us, and I couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t until one man approached, stood next to me, and stared at my dog that I realised what was happening. It was unsettling, so I asked if he was okay. What he said hit me like a brick:
"I'm just trying to read your vest."
In that moment, I finally understood — rather than keeping people away, my vest was drawing them in. Fortunately, the person worked with the Royal British Legion, supporting veterans with physical and mental injuries from their time in service. The conversation turned into a pleasant interaction, as he was genuinely interested in how dogs can continue to help others with PTSD and C-PTSD — something I was happy to discuss. But not all interactions are as positive as that one.
Over time, I noticed that people getting too close was happening more and more frequently. It wasn’t until I had my second vest that I saw a significant drop in these interactions. My husband would often hear passersby murmuring things like,
"Oh, look — that’s an assistance dog! Ah, it’s in training, let’s keep walking."
The difference? My second vest had less text and was straight to the point, making it clear without drawing people in unnecessarily.
Over time, I had the chance to meet Mrs. Wuffable and began applying my own experience with printing and product-making. Through her knowledge — having made thousands of vests — and by learning more about my own diagnoses and those of my friends, I’ve been able to create vests that communicate clearer, more effective messages.
While that concludes my personal story, there are important lessons to keep in mind when designing a vest for your own needs.
A cleaner design is often more effective. For example, instead of filling both side panels and back panel with:
"Medical Alert Assistance Dog In Training, Do Not Distract, I’m Working, Talking to Handler Causes Stress, Stay Back"
...you could simplify it to:
Side panels: "Assistance Dog, In Training, Do Not Distract"
Centre panel: Add a Rod of Asclepius graphic with the text "Medical Alert Assistance Dog, In Training, Do Not Distract"
This approach communicates your message quickly and clearly, without overwhelming the public or inadvertently encouraging them to come closer to read or ask questions.
There’s absolutely room for personality — through colours you love, themes that reflect you, or even small touches of fun. But if a vest is overcrowded with logos, filled with too many words, or generally busy, it loses the professional edge that makes it most effective in public spaces.
We encourage you to design your own vests and let your personality shine through. Many of the vests we create are both effective and personal, whether that’s through fabric patterns, fun colours for children, unique logos, or rainbows for Pride. We love seeing the unique touches that make each vest special.
We also provide templates that you can use to help design your vest. If you ever have questions about whether a vest will work well, we’re always happy to review your ideas and encourage you to express your personality — just keep in mind the primary goal of your vest.
If you’re like me and prefer to keep people at a distance, a simple, clear design may be best. If you’re more extroverted and enjoy conversation, feel free to have fun and make it your own.
While we provide templates, these do not represent the exact shape of a finished vest, as each vest is custom-made to your dog’s measurements. Some panels may be wider or narrower depending on your dog’s unique shape.
Occasionally, our templates pop up on Facebook as "a Guide for sewing Service Dog Vests", but the templates are purely generalised shapes and not 100% accurate. While we encourage creativity, the templates are primarily intended to help us understand what you’d like and how you’d like elements placed on your vest.
All of that said, I hope you take into consideration the three key aspects of vest creation:
Sizing matters – A properly fitting vest ensures your dog is comfortable and that the vest sits in the right place.
Colour choices can hinder the public – High-contrast, accessible colours make your message easier to read for most.
What you put on your vest can potentially pull the public in – Clear, concise messaging may aid in keeping the public at bay.
By keeping these three factors in mind, you can create a vest that is effective, professional, and still reflects your personality — one that communicates your needs clearly while keeping your dog comfortable.
