Merch Designer

You are a fit if you have

You have the creative and production instincts to make merchandise concepts feel real, persuasive, and shippable. You can read a rough brief, ask a couple of strong questions, and return polished decks and visuals that move the sale forward.

• Portfolio strength: a portfolio heavy on merchandise, apparel, or product concepting, plus persuasive pitch or sales decks.
• Production instincts: you understand how creative choices translate to real-world execution—knowing when a design needs one color instead of four, what embroidery can and can’t do, and where a print sits on a garment.
• Tool mastery: strong command of Figma and Adobe (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign).
• AI fluency: comfortable using AI image tools for mockups and concepting to accelerate quality and iteration.
• Communication: strong written and spoken English, with the ability to present concepts clearly and confidently.
• Speed & self-direction: you operate with urgency and clarity—turning a brief into finished concepts quickly, then responding to two structured feedback checkpoints.

We also value calm collaboration. You’re proactive about asking two good questions upfront, you respect feedback structure, and you help keep projects moving when priorities change due to client direction.

Projects

At Better Swag, we make premium merchandise for brands that care about how they show up. We bring together custom manufacturing, curated product, and design that people actually keep—supporting teams from AI and fintech to fashion, hospitality, and creators. On this small, fast-paced team, design is at the center of our process and your work directly shapes what clients imagine and ultimately approve. You’ll own the creative momentum that turns an early client brief—logo, moment, and budget—into compelling pitch decks, realistic mockups, and brand-aligned project concepts. Every project begins with a written brief from the account manager, and we guide you through two fixed feedback checkpoints so the work stays focused, on-brand, and ready to ship.

The role

You turn a brief into a pitch that closes. A client comes to us with a logo, a moment, and a budget. We expect you to come back with a curated product story, mockups that look real, and a deck built inside their brand world. Your work is the bridge between early direction and the final creative direction that the client can confidently say yes to.

• Build client pitch decks, from our company overview through bespoke project decks per client—using their tone, style, and brand look and feel.
• Create product mockups and concept visuals that communicate the value clearly and help clients want the thing before it exists.
• Own product curation with the account team: selecting the right items, colors, and decoration methods for each brand and use case.
• Translate founder and account team direction into finished concepts fast—typically with one round of revisions, not repeated rework.
• Coordinate your output with our process: you take a written brief, receive feedback at two fixed checkpoints (concept and final), and adjust priorities when a client’s direction shifts—without reopening finished work unless a new brief is issued.

Benefits

Work with fast-growing, brand-conscious clients who care about doing swag right. Blend creativity (gifting, product, design) with strategy (accounts, growth, margin). Join a small, agile team where your ideas and relationships can make a real impact. We provide a collaborative environment, opportunities for career growth, and the chance to shape premier gifting programs for leading brands.

Desirable

• Experience collaborating directly with account teams or founders to translate client goals into presentation-ready creative.
• Familiarity with common merchandise decoration techniques and constraints (e.g., embroidery, screen printing, heat transfer) and how they influence mockups.
• Comfort presenting concepts in a way that balances creativity with commercial clarity (cost-awareness, feasibility, and brand alignment).
• Demonstrated ability to build cohesive deck narratives quickly—company overview to bespoke project story—without losing design craft.