How We Turned A Company Swag Competition Into Our Favorite Employee Engagement Tradition

When you think of "company swag," what comes to mind? For many, it’s a generic logo slapped onto a mass-produced t-shirt that more often than not ends up at the bottom of a drawer. But at NorthPoint, we believe swag should have real passion and perceived value behind it.

We wanted to do things differently.

We realized that some of our best creative minds don’t just sit in our design department...they are spread across every single team in our company. We have so many individuals here who absolutely love to participate creatively whenever they get the chance, and we wanted to give them the perfect space to do exactly that.

So, we decided to hand over the canvas to them. 😀

Here is the story of our internal Employee Design Contests, how they work, and why this simple idea has become one of our favorite behind-the-scenes traditions.

The Playbook: How It Works

The rules are simple, democratic, and incredibly fun (and rely on a little bit of behind-the-scenes magic from our design team).

• The Canvas: We pick a specific lifestyle item (like a best selling hat or a premium hoodie).

• The Pitch: We open the floor to all employees. Anyone from accounting to the warehouse team can submit a concept or rough sketch.

• The Guidelines: To keep the branding cohesive, there was only one rule: the design had to incorporate either our full logo, our logomark, or the word "NorthPoint" somewhere in the concept. Beyond that, the canvas was entirely theirs.

• The NorthPoint Design Assist: NorthPoint's design team jumps in to act as creative partners for our colleagues, taking everyone's rough ideas and sketches and help bring them to life, polishing them into gorgeous, print-ready artwork so every entry looks its absolute best.

• The Blind Vote: The finalized submissions are displayed anonymously, and the entire company votes on their favorite. No hierarchy or bias, just pure appreciation for the design.

• The Reward: We put the winning design into production and distribute it to everyone on the team! Getting a piece of apparel that YOU designed yourself?! Now that's cool.

  
  

Round 1: Top-Tier Headwear

For our first contest, we started small but classic: Hats. The submissions blew us away, ranging from sleek, minimalist aesthetics to typography-driven abstract designs. We shared our catalog of headwear to everyone, allowing them to not only create the design to be embroidered,  but to also hand-select their favorite hat style and colorway. Once our design team built out the artwork digitally, every option on the ballot looked retail-ready.

After a fierce round of anonymous voting, a winner emerged. Actually...the votes were so close for first and second that we decided to produce the top TWO designs! Equally incredible, yet vastly different in style and design. We can see why this was a close call!

First place (left) and second place (right)

Round 2: The Full-Zip Hoodie

Flush with the success of the hats, we raised the stakes for Round 2. The challenge? The Ultimate Full-Zip Hoodie. Because a hoodie requires a bit more real estate (front, back, sleeves), our team really got to flex their creative muscles.

The winning design nailed the perfect balance of company pride and streetwear style—the exact kind of high-quality lifestyle gear you actually want to wear on the weekend (and in the office)!

Why You Should Steal This Idea

If you are a client or partner of ours looking for a fresh way to engage your own team, we highly recommend stealing this playbook. In fact, we want you to!! Here is why it works:

• It Uncovers Hidden Talents: You’ll be amazed by the artistic skills your team members possess outside of their day-to-day job descriptions when given the right outlet.

• True Ownership: People actually wear the swag because they helped design it and/or choose it. It builds a genuine sense of shared community.

• Low Cost, High Impact: It doesn't cost too much extra to run the contest, but the cultural ROI is massive.

  
  

(And psst... if you want to run a contest like this but don't have an internal design team to prep the artwork? That’s exactly what we are here for. We’d love to help you bring your team's ideas to life!)

What Should We Design Next?

We’re already brainstorming our next canvas. Tote bags? Socks? Graphic Tees? The possibilities are endless. If you’ve run a similar contest at your company, or if you have an idea of what item the NorthPoint team should tackle next, let us know in the comments below! Who knows, maybe we'll give away the next winning piece to all of YOU too! 😉