Notion has built a whole community around an app that people use to organize their work. And some of the people in that community have something you won’t find on Notion’s website: exclusive swag made for employees, ambassadors, and events.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at the swag items that Notion distributes and the things you can learn from the way this company runs its swag program.
What is Notion swag?
Notion swag is the company swag Notion creates for its employees and community. You’ll find it at company events, community meetups, and conferences, while members of its ambassador program also receive exclusive swag as part of their perks.
What makes Notion’s swag so interesting is how much attention the company puts into the designs of its swag items. For instance, Notion has worked with external fashion studios and illustrators, created swag specifically for certain events, and selected designs that people would want to wear or use outside of work.
The company also sends a lot of swag through its community programs. For example, in a 2024 interview with First Round Review, former Notion community lead Ben Lang talked about how much time the Notion team spent packing and sending swag themselves. He also listed exclusive swag as one of the perks for Notion ambassadors, alongside early access to features, AMAs, and a private Slack group.
Despite all of that, however, there’s no public Notion swag store where you can buy the company’s official swag. Most of the Notion swag or merch you’ll find on print-on-demand websites comes from independent sellers. Official Notion swag occasionally appears secondhand, although it doesn’t seem to have the same resale activity as Anthropic swag or OpenAI’s Supply Co. releases.
Additionally, Notion also doesn’t publish a catalog of the swag that it has made so far. This means that so much of what we know comes from employees and community members sharing their swag online, like on LinkedIn. That said, the five examples below are all from public posts online and only give us a glimpse of the different swag items that Notion has created and sent over the years.
What are some examples of Notion swag?
The Waltz chore jacket
In March 2024, Alex Hao shared a photo of Notion’s new brick-colored chore jacket on X, calling it some of the best employee swag he had seen. The jacket was made with Waltz, a small San Francisco fashion studio known for its linen clothing, knitwear, and relaxed designs. Ben Lang later called it “hands down, still the best swag I've ever seen” and shared that Notion CEO Ivan Zhao had worked directly with Waltz on the design.
The Ada Lovelace tote
In May 2020, Ceci Saia shared a cream canvas tote featuring an illustrated portrait of Ada Lovelace. This particular Notion swag item arrived in a white mailer with “SWAG HAS LANDED” printed across the front. The interesting detail here that you should know is that Notion kept its branding off the main tote design. The logo appeared on the accompanying stickers, while the bag itself featured Ada Lovelace, whose work is closely connected to the history of computing.
Bucket hats at the SoHo meetup
In June 2022, Tem shared a photo wearing a Notion bucket hat from a community meetup in SoHo. Bucket hats were popular that summer, which made them a natural choice for an event where Notion was bringing its community together.
Attendees received something they could wear immediately and continue using afterward. It’s also a good example of how Notion chooses swag for the occasion.
A Notion uchiwa at AWS Summit Japan
In June 2025, Notion co-founder and COO Akshay Kothari shared a photo of a white uchiwa fan with the Notion logo from AWS (Amazon Web Services) Summit Japan. An uchiwa is a traditional Japanese hand fan commonly used during summer, so it made sense for a conference happening in Japan in June. Attendees could use it at the event, and the design connected naturally to the location.
If you’re planning swag for events in different countries, this is a useful example of how to adjust what you send based on where the event takes place, rather than ordering the same swag for every market.
Ambassador stickers
Notion’s swag for its ambassadors includes simpler items like stickers. In 2023, Carina Brasil da Cunha shared the stickers she received. Though stickers may not get the same attention as a custom jacket, they make sense for Notion’s community, especially since they’re easy to send to ambassadors in different locations, and they can be used on laptops, notebooks, and other everyday items.
What can you learn from Notion’s swag strategy?
Notion’s swag items give you a few ideas worth considering for your own swag program, especially if you want to create something more specific to your company than the usual logo tee or tote. That said, here are some learnings that you can also apply to your swag campaigns.
Work with designers who specialize in what you want to make
Notion worked with Waltz, an actual fashion studio, on its chore jacket and used an illustrator for the Ada Lovelace tote. Both of these swag items show how much of a difference the design can make when you work with someone who specializes in that type of work.
You can take a similar approach if you’re planning a custom apparel collection or want something more creative for an upcoming event. If your budget only allows for one premium item, spend more time on the design and choose something your employees would want to wear outside work.
Give people swag for being part of something
Notion distributes its exclusive swag items through its ambassador program and community events, so people receive them because they’re part of a particular group or have taken part in something.
And you can do the same with your own employees or community! For example, you could create exclusive swag items for people who participate in an internal program or employees who reach a major work anniversary. That gives you a reason to create something specific for the occasion.
Choose swag that makes sense for the location
Notion’s uchiwa fan at AWS Summit Japan is a good example of choosing swag based on where an event takes place. A hand fan is useful during summer in Japan, so it made sense for a conference there in June.
If you’re planning an offsite or sending swag to teams in different countries, consider what your recipients would actually use in that location. A rain jacket might work for an event in Seattle, while a beach towel could make more sense for a summer offsite in Sydney. You can keep the same company branding across your swag without making every employee or event attendee receive the exact same item.
Create limited swag for specific events or programs
Since Notion doesn’t have a public swag store, most of its swag and its designs only become available through certain events or community programs. The Waltz jacket, for example, was part of an employee swag collection rather than something anyone could order online.
For your company swag campaign, you can create a similar experience by making custom swag for a company anniversary, annual kickoff, ambassador program, or a once-a-year event. That’s because a limited swag collection gives you more room to create designs around that specific occasion. You can also keep the quantities manageable instead of committing to a large inventory of swag.
Design swag people would want to use outside of work
Notion’s Ada Lovelace tote is a good example of how you can incorporate something connected to your company without making the logo the main design. In this case, Notion’s custom tote features an illustration that makes sense for Notion’s technology-focused audience, but it’s still something that the company’s recipients could carry to the grocery store or use on the weekend without it looking like a typical company giveaway.
When you’re choosing your own swag, think about whether the design fits something your employees would normally buy or wear. A smaller logo, custom illustration, or more subtle branding can make your swag items easier to use outside of the workplace.
Build Your Own Swag With PerkUp
Notion puts a lot of thought into what swag it makes, whether that’s working with a fashion studio on a custom jacket or choosing a swag item specifically for an event in Japan. That said, you can take a similar approach with your own swag, but you also need to think about how you’ll get it to your employees, ambassadors, or event attendees.
PerkUp helps you manage the design, sourcing, and distribution of your swag, may it be for a limited collection for your company’s milestone or for recurring swag programs throughout the year. Here’s how:
Different ways to order and send swag - With PerkUp, you can order bulk swag when you need larger quantities or want to keep inventory ready. You can also opt for On Demand swag, which has a one-unit minimum and no inventory. You can also manage event swag for conferences and meetups, or produce swag kits in bulk and store them until you’re ready to ship. And in the case that you don’t want to offer physical swag, PerkUp also offers more than 5,000 localized gift cards!
Global warehouse and supplier network - PerkUp has warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai, with shipping to 65+ countries. That gives you more opportunities to fulfill orders closer to your team, rather than shipping everything internationally. When an order needs to cross a border, PerkUp prepays duties wherever possible, too.
Swag store that can offer both bulk and On Demand swag - In addition to swag flexibility, PerkUp also offers a branded swag store that you can personalize with your company’s logo, colors, and fonts. Additionally, you can set up different collections for employees, ambassadors, or event attendees so that everyone only sees what’s for them. What’s more is that PerkUp’s swag store can support both bulk and On Demand swag in one swag store, something that not a lot of companies can do.
Automated employee gifting - Thanks to its 200+ integrations, including HRIS platforms, you can connect your employee data and automate swag sends for new hires, birthdays, and work anniversaries. This is especially helpful when you’re running several employee programs and don’t want to manage every send manually.
Design and custom sourcing - PerkUp has in-house designers who can help with your artwork and branding, so you don’t have to design swag on your own. If you have something more specific in mind that’s not in the catalog or needs to be fully customized, the platform’s custom sourcing feature lets you create swag, from custom plushies to swag items made specifically for an event or audience.
Sustainability - PerkUp is also a Pledge 1% member and Stripe Climate partner, and you can choose swag made from recycled or more sustainable materials, if that’s a priority for your swag program.
Companies running successful swag programs with PerkUp
Impiricus
Impiricus worked with PerkUp to create a full collection of premium branded apparel. Like Notion’s Waltz jacket, the swag focused on apparel that Impiricus employees would want to wear outside work, with branding that fits naturally into the design.
Euna Solutions
For the GFOA conference, Euna Solutions ordered 1,500 branded bouncy balls to hand out at its booth. It’s a different kind of swag from Notion’s uchiwa fan, but both show how you can choose something that makes sense for the event itself. For Euna, the bouncy balls gave attendees something fun to interact with and take home instead of another standard conference giveaway.
TigerConnect
TigerConnect uses PerkUp for several swag programs, including new hire kits, work anniversaries, sales kickoffs, and culture events. The company combines bulk and On Demand swag, so it can manage different employee sends without having to work with different swag vendors for each one.
Conclusion
Notion shows how much you can do with swag when you put thought into the item itself. Its different swag items and designs all give people something they want to keep. The takeaway from that is you can try the same approach with your team! Start with a swag item that makes sense for your audience, work with the right designers, and have a trusted swag platform like PerkUp handle the logistics. Check out how PerkUp can help you bring your swag idea to life and provide a stress-free swag fulfillment process!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PerkUp produce premium apparel that matches our design standards?
Yes! PerkUp offers several decoration methods, including embroidery, DTG, DTF, screen printing, and laser engraving. You can also add custom details such as side labels, nape labels, and inner tags to make the apparel feel more like your own collection. In-house designers can work with you on the artwork alongside your dedicated Customer Success Manager. If you have a more specific item in mind, custom sourcing can help you create apparel or specialty swag that you won't find in a standard catalog.
How do you run swag for a community or ambassador program, not just employees?
With PerkUp, you can create separate swag stores or collections for different groups, so your employees, ambassadors, and event attendees don't all have to receive the same swag. For example, you might reserve a custom jacket for your ambassadors while offering a smaller collection of tees, caps, and stickers to your employees. You can also set different budgets and control which swag each group can access.
Can we run a public-facing store rather than an internal one?
Definitely! PerkUp supports public-facing swag stores, so you can make your collection available to customers, fans, or your wider community instead of limiting it to employees. You can customize the storefront with your branding so it aligns with your company. Our guide to PerkUp's swag store explains the available storefront options and how you can set them up.
Can a fintech or financial services team run a swag program with PerkUp?
Absolutely! PerkUp is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and offers SSO as an add-on, which can help when your company has additional security and access requirements, which is something that fintech and finance teams especially need from a swag management platform.
How far ahead do we need to plan for an event date?
For On Demand swag, plan for about three weeks because each item goes into production after someone places an order. Bulk swag generally needs around five to six weeks before shipping. That includes roughly three weeks for production, one week for kitting, and one week for approvals. If you want fully custom swag, specialty decoration, or custom packaging, allow additional time for design and sampling.
