Before UNITEE, I spent the first ten years of my career working at advertising agencies and marketing companies. I started as a designer and eventually became a creative director. And there was one thing the industry seemed unusually obsessed with: winning awards.
Don’t get me wrong. I helped lead creative teams that won an award or two, and I was proud of the work. But awards were usually decided by other creative people, often based on originality and execution. Whether the campaign actually solved the client’s business problem wasn’t always the main event.
That never made much sense to me.
If a client hires you to solve a problem, shouldn’t that be how the work is judged?
Sometimes the right design is downright gaudy
Think about a truck dealership ad with gigantic red type screaming “EXPLODING PRICES!”, three starbursts and a pickup truck flying across the screen. It probably isn’t winning a sophisticated design competition.
But if the dealership’s audience notices it, understands the offer and shows up to buy trucks, I’d have a hard time telling that client it was bad design. On the other hand, a beautiful campaign that nobody responds to isn’t automatically a success because designers love it.
I’m not making an argument for ugly artwork. I’m making an argument for useful artwork. Aesthetics are a tool. The client’s objective is the job.
Which brings me to something we’ve said about our own work: award-winning artwork.
What does that even mean for a gym shirt? It means some of the people designing it have won advertising awards. There isn’t one universal trophy that proves a particular T-shirt will work for your members. And unless I’m going to invite you into a room full of trophies, I think we can make a more meaningful promise.
What is a gym shirt actually supposed to do?
When a gym owner asks us to create a shirt, I see at least three jobs for that piece of apparel.
1. Help your gym get noticed around town
A member wears your shirt to the grocery store, a restaurant, their kid’s ballgame or just about anywhere else. Somebody sees your gym’s name. Maybe they ask about it. That’s a possible introduction to a new member that didn’t require buying another ad.
But first, the member has to want to wear the thing. If it looks like a forgettable promotional giveaway, it’ll probably spend more time in a drawer than out in your community.
2. Give existing members another reason to engage
A seasonal drop, Murph shirt, competition collection or anniversary tee can give members a reason to participate in something beyond their usual class. There’s a launch to talk about, an event to remember and a piece of the gym to take home.
That doesn’t mean a shirt fixes retention problems. It means apparel can support a community that’s already being built by good coaching, relationships and programming.
3. Make people feel part of the same team
Walk into a Saturday workout and see a room full of people wearing the same gym shirt. There’s something about that. It’s not just a graphic on cotton anymore. It’s a visible reminder that these people belong to something together.
That idea is literally in our name: UNITEE. Use apparel to help unite people.
So the real question for me isn’t, “Could this artwork win an award?” It’s, “Will your members buy it, wear it and feel good about representing your gym?”
Here’s the part the designer can’t do alone: the owner has to buy in
I could hand you what I think is the greatest gym shirt we’ve ever made. If you, the owner or head coach, don’t like it or don’t believe it represents your people, that shirt has already lost one of its best opportunities.
Why? Because you’re usually the person who gives a new idea its legs.
You’re the one who wears the sample to class, mentions the preorder after the workout, talks about why the design matters, and gets the other coaches excited to do the same. Members notice when the people leading the community are genuinely into something. They can also tell when you’re just forwarding a merch-store link because somebody told you to.
Which is why I think the best gym apparel comes from a collaboration, not a design handoff.
You know the members: the running jokes, the gym’s personality, the history, which references will land and which ones will make everybody roll their eyes. We know apparel: how concepts translate onto actual garments, what printing choices make sense, and patterns we’ve seen across years of customer orders.
Neither side has the complete answer alone. And this shouldn’t become design by a committee of twenty people arguing over the exact shade of green. It works best when the decision-maker is genuinely involved, gives honest feedback and can confidently get behind the finished direction.
We need you to love the approach, not simply sign off on a proof. That enthusiasm is part of how a design travels from our shop to your members and then out into town.
So how do we decide which artwork is good?
Not by pretending taste doesn’t matter. Taste matters a lot. Originality matters. Typography, illustration, garment color and print quality all matter. But they’re inputs, not the final score.
At UNITEE, the Design Lab lets us experiment with ideas, garments and production methods before a customer even places an order. We explore different directions because the first idea shouldn’t automatically win just because it was first.
Then we learn from the real world. Which designs did members actually order? Which colors moved? Which garments got worn outside the gym? What did the owner love enough to promote? What fell flat even though everybody said it looked great?
We’ve written more about why better gym shirt designs start with more ideas. The point isn’t to guarantee a hit every time; it’s to make the next decision more informed than the last.
And when you’re ready to release the shirts, the way you sell them matters, too. We’ve compared preorders, stock items, samples and limited-run webstores, because a great design still needs a practical path into members’ hands.
What I’d actually measure instead of trophies
- Buy-in: Does the owner or head coach believe in the direction enough to wear and talk about it?
- Member demand: Did people choose to spend their own money on it rather than simply compliment the mockup?
- Real-world wear: Are shirts showing up at classes, weekend events and places around town?
- Repeat interest: Do members ask when the next drop is coming?
- Business fit: Did the project respect the gym’s budget, time and other responsibilities?
Those are useful signals. They’re not a scientific proof that a shirt created a new membership or saved a cancellation. To measure those claims, you’d need to track actual referrals and retention separately. But they’re more relevant to the job than whether a judging panel liked the illustration.
I’d rather make the shirt you can’t wait to wear
I’m not against awards. I’m grateful for the experience that came from those agency years, and I’m still a designer who cares deeply about making things look good.
I’ve just changed what I care about most.
If you’re a gym owner, I want you to look at our work and say, “That’s us. My people are going to love that.” I want you involved in the thinking, proud to wear the sample, and excited to introduce the finished shirt to the community you’ve worked so hard to build.
And I want the members to like it enough to buy it, wear it outside your walls and feel connected to the people training beside them.
That’s what good gym shirt design means to me. No trophy required.
Frequently asked questions about gym shirt design
What makes a good custom gym T-shirt design?
A good gym shirt design fits the gym’s identity, appeals to its members, and looks like something people would willingly buy and wear outside the gym. Artwork quality, garment choice, price, and the way the shirt is introduced all matter.
Do award-winning graphic designers make better gym shirts?
Advertising awards may recognize creativity and craft, but they do not by themselves show whether a gym’s members will buy or wear a shirt. UNITEE prefers to evaluate gym apparel with real member response and lessons from previous releases.
Can custom gym shirts help attract new members?
They can create opportunities for local visibility and conversations when members wear them around town. That is a potential marketing benefit, not a promise that a shirt directly generates a measurable number of new memberships.
Why does the gym owner or head coach need to approve and support the design?
The owner or head coach understands the gym’s culture and can help select artwork the community will embrace. When that leader genuinely likes the design, wears it, and introduces the release to members, the shirt has a much better chance of reaching people than a link quietly posted online.
Should a gym owner let the printer make all the design decisions?
No. The strongest approach is collaboration: the gym shares its personality, audience, preferences, and past sales; the printer brings design and production experience. Agree on the direction together rather than relying on either side’s taste alone.
How can a gym tell whether its apparel designs are working?
Look at how many people ordered, which sizes and colors sold, whether members wear the apparel after the launch, and what they request next. Shirt sales and usage are practical signals; new-member acquisition and retention require separate evidence to measure.
See why gyms choose UNITEE for more on our design-first, in-house approach to custom apparel.
