Inject your outfit with some design cred by opting for one of spring’s bold printed shirts.

If one were to present one’s self to the world solely in white and blue, it would be the equivalent of serving your work colleagues and your friends a steady diet of beans on toast. Nourishing? Yes. Boring? Most definitely. Plainness is nice – there’s a purity to flat colour that will always be attractive – but there’s also a certain crispness and perfectionism to wearing a well-designed print that, in MR PORTER’s opinion, deserves to be celebrated. In the shirt deparment this spring, brands have supplied us with many opportunities for doing so, with a range of vivid options featuring blocks of colour, geometry and graphic prints. Read on for the rundown on the best of them, and a few tips on how to wear them.

“Portable” is one word that you wouldn’t normally apply to the work of minimalist sculptor Mr Richard Serra – the man whose “Tilted Arc” was removed, by public demand, from New York’s Federal Plaza in 1989 because of its overbearing massiveness. But here we are, it’s 2015, and Marni has issued a shirt printed with a pattern that looks a little like Mr Serra’s Promenade Notebook drawings layered on top of one another, and you can walk around wearing it. Now that’s progress. Whether you’re an art lover or not, it’s easy to appreciate this bold pattern, at once graphic and expressionist – the black/ blue colour palette means it can be worn with either, or both, so try pairing it with some sharp selvedge jeans from Raleigh Denim and a slouchy blazer from Oliver Spencer Loungewear.

“Colour blocking”, a design technique seen in this Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt, owes its origins to modernist architect Le Corbusier and De Stijl designer Mr Gerrit Rietveld (his “Red and Blue Chair” of 1917 is a highlight). So why not bring a subtle hint of their rigour into your wardrobe and earn extra Bauhaus points by pairing it with an intense blue jacket from Hentsch Man. Lanvin biker trousers in anthracite will add a subtle depth to the shirt’s light grey coloured panel.

Mr J.W. Anderson tends to use his seasonal menswear collections to offer up puzzling propositions, such as the man-bonnet (spring 2013), the frilly knickerbocker (autumn/ winter 2013) and the bandage-shawl (autumn/ winter 2014). But for spring 2015, his collection, which features images of rolling landscapes and lemons inspired by the work of British textile artist Mr John Allen and painter Ms Mary Fedden, is a reminder that he’s also got a sharp eye for a good print. This is further evidenced by this shirt, embellished across the front closure with a thick-thin stripe that looks as if it’s been lifted off a 1970s rugby jersey. Is it sporty or smart? Forward-looking or nostalgic? Is that the sound of Mr Jonathan Anderson raising an eyebrow mysteriously? Yes, it is. But it’s easier to wear than it is to figure out: leave it untucked and pair with navy chinos from NN.07 and a tan-coloured raincoat from Mackintosh.

The clean-cut look of the American Ivy League has had such an impact on menswear in the past century that it’s now considered somewhat classic and timeless. This is a polite way of saying that is it hardly at the forefront of innovative design. The mission of Band of Outsiders’ Mr Scott Sternberg, however, is to change all that by toying with the conventions of the archetype. On this shirt he has done something quite ingenious, dividing its placket front into a graphic strip made up of contrasting, traditional shirt patterns (gingham, hairline stripe, awning stripe and pinstripe), running in different directions. From afar, it looks like a dash of Ms Bridget Riley artwork, up-close, you realise it’s the same old elements being thought about in a different and intriguing way. Wear it with a wool cardigan from Maison Kitsuné and some Tomas Maier corduroy trousers and you’ll have the “prep-with-pep” thing all sewn up.

Logos: one week they’re knowing and ironic, the next they’re a no-no – depending, of course, on the season, who you hang out with and how funny people think you are. It’s tough. But no one can object to this most subtle use of a Gucci trademark – a sly red and green stripe, applied to the epaulettes of this white shirt. Besides offering a reference for those in the know, this design detail plays with military conventions – the subtext is: you’ve earned your stripes, so what have you done to deserve it? Keep the commander-in-chief feel going with a pair of well-ironed, flat-fronted chinos from rag & bone and a bomber jacket from Private White V.C.

Is this OAMC chest graphic, created by judiciously applied white tape, the beginning of a new “post-pocket” movement in shirt design? I suppose we’ll have to watch this space and see. In any case, the wry, trompe l’oeil details (on the chest and the back of the arms) are typical of the brand’s restrained yet impactful design flourishes and sardonic, street-wise sense of humour. Take it out for a stroll in your local bleeding-edge venue, bringing a pair of Frame Denim jeans and white sneakers along for the ride. NB, the pocket is for visual effect only, which rids the garment of some function, but also rids you of the temptation to pop your phone/ pens/ credit card in there. Which never does a shirt (or your look) any good.

There’s a long tradition of Japanese designers taking western-invented objects (such as cars, washing machines and Christmas) and improving them in ways previously unimaginable – a tradition that continues in this shirt from Tomorrowland. Half of its appeal is, of course, the graphic stripes that rhythmically strafe its front closure, such as a stylish game of Guitar Hero. But it’s also intriguing for mixing poplin and jersey – the former, woven fabric is used for the back of the shirt, while the latter, knitted fabric adds a more relaxed, sporty feel to the front. Wear with some other reconstructed classics, such as these moleskin trousers from visvim and Red Wing’s Postman Derbies.