Help me choose
The Five Decisions Every First-Time Merch Athlete Faces
Your first merch order comes with five decisions that matter more than the rest. Here is what they are and how to think through each one.
By Influxer · Published 2026-08-16 · Updated 2026-08-16 · 4 min read
Ordering custom merch for the first time can feel like a hundred small choices, but most of them fall out of five real decisions. Get those five right, and the smaller details, like exact print size or which shade of a color, tend to resolve themselves quickly.
None of these decisions has a universally correct answer. What matters is thinking through each one deliberately instead of defaulting to whatever feels easiest at the moment, since a rushed choice early on tends to cause rework later in the Review step.
Here are the five decisions in the order most first-time athletes actually face them, along with what changes depending on which way you go.
Decision one: upload your own artwork or start from a ready-made design
This is the first fork in the studio, and it shapes everything that follows. Uploading your own artwork means you already have a logo, wordmark, or graphic that is print-ready, and you control placement and scale yourself. Starting from a ready-made design means the composition is already built, and you are mainly choosing a layout and colorway rather than building from nothing.
If you do not have finished artwork and do not want to spend time creating it, a ready-made design removes that entire step. If you already have a mark you use elsewhere, uploading it keeps that identity consistent.
Decision two: which garments to include
A tee alone, a hoodie alone, or both is a real budget and audience decision, not just a preference. A tee is lighter, cheaper, and works across more seasons. A hoodie carries more visual real estate for a design and feels more like an event item than an everyday one.
If you are unsure, starting with one garment and adding the other in a future drop is a reasonable way to test interest before committing to both.
Decision three: one design or several colorways
A single design in a single color is the fastest way to get something finished and reduces the number of things that can go wrong. Offering multiple colorways of the same design gives buyers options but means checking that the design reads well against every color you offer, since a mark that pops on a dark tee can disappear on a light one.
- One design, one color: fastest to finalize, lowest risk of a color mismatch.
- One design, multiple colors: more choice for buyers, more previewing work for you.
- Multiple designs: only worth it if you already have more than one strong concept ready.
Decision four: how much placement control you want
If you uploaded your own artwork, you decide exactly where it sits and how large it prints in the Design step. If you started from a ready-made design, that composition is largely already set for you. Neither is wrong, but it is worth knowing which one you are choosing and why, rather than being surprised later that a template has less flexibility than a blank upload.
Decision five: how much time you actually have
Every other decision gets easier once you are honest about your timeline. If you have a firm date, a ready-made design or an already print-ready file will keep you on schedule far more reliably than starting from artwork that still needs work. If you have flexibility, you can take the time to build or refine your own artwork properly.
The studio flow itself is five steps: Design, Photo, Signature, Info, Review. Signature is optional, but the other four still take real time to complete carefully, so build that into your estimate regardless of which design path you choose.
Putting the five together
None of these decisions happen in a vacuum. Someone with a tight deadline and no finished artwork will likely land on a ready-made design, one garment, and one colorway. Someone with more time and an established personal logo might upload their own artwork and build a small multi-color collection. Neither approach is more "correct"; they simply fit different starting points.
It also helps to write your five answers down before you open the studio, even in one short sentence each. Having them ready means you spend the Design step actually building the shirt instead of pausing mid-flow to decide something you could have settled beforehand.
What changes if you order again later
A second order is a different situation than a first one, since you already have real information: which garment people actually wore, whether a color sold better than expected, and how much lead time you actually needed. Revisit all five decisions rather than repeating your first answers automatically, since the right choice for a first order is not always the right choice once you have a track record to work from.
Work through these before you start the studio
- Decide whether you have print-ready artwork or need a ready-made design instead.
- Choose your garments: tee, hoodie, or both, based on budget and season.
- Pick one design and one color first if this is genuinely your first order.
- Note how much placement control matters to you before you pick a path.
- Set a realistic timeline that accounts for all five studio steps, not just Design.
- Preview your choice on the real garment mockup before moving past Design.
- Confirm your athlete info is ready so the Info step does not slow you down.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to decide everything before I start the studio?
No. You can begin and adjust as you go, since drafts auto-save and resume from a link. It helps to have a rough answer to each decision going in, but nothing locks in until Review.
Is it better to start small for a first order?
For most first-time buyers, yes. One design, one or two garments, and a small color range gives you a finished result faster and with fewer things that can go wrong along the way.
What if I do not have artwork ready yet?
A ready-made design lets you finish an order without needing finished artwork, since the composition is already built and tested on real garments.
Start your merch — Work through these decisions with guidance built into the process.
Watch a walkthrough — See the studio flow in action before you begin.