Apparel & Merchandise Graphic Designer for Dubai F&B Brand

About the Brand We are a Dubai-based F&B business and lifestyle brand known for our premium Japanese matcha and café experience. We are currently developing a new merchandise collection that moves beyond traditional F&B merchandise and into a stronger lifestyle and fashion direction. We are looking for a talented Apparel & Merchandise Graphic Designer who can take our creative ideas, references and brand direction and turn them into original, commercially appealing, production-ready designs. The goal is to create merchandise that people genuinely want to wear and use — not simply products with a logo printed on them. Creative Direction The new collection should feel: Modern and fashion-forward Playful but premium Youthful and culturally relevant Bold and recognizable Japanese-inspired without being overly traditional Suitable for lifestyle/streetwear Visually consistent across the entire collection Strong enough to stand independently as a fashion/lifestyle product Our creative references include: Retro and nostalgic graphics 90s / early 2000s aesthetics Illustrated characters Hand-drawn elements Strong typography Playful slogans and phrases Japanese-inspired graphics Food & beverage culture Youth/lifestyle culture Editorial and streetwear-inspired compositions We will provide creative references and concepts from our team. We expect the designer to develop these ideas into polished, original artwork rather than simply recreating or copying the references. Merchandise We Are Developing The collection may include: Oversized T-shirts T-shirts Hoodies Sweatshirts Caps Tote bags Water bottles Mugs / cups Socks Keychains Notebooks Matcha cans Matcha cups Matcha Whisk container Matcha stand-up pouch Matcha box set Other lifestyle accessories We will confirm the final product range during the project. Your Role You will develop the visual artwork for the new merchandise collection. Develop packaging graphics and artwork for matcha products, including stand-up pouches, cans and box sets Print dimensions and artwork correctly prepared according to manufacturer specifications Main responsibilities: Develop apparel graphics from our concepts and references Create original illustrations and graphic elements Develop strong typography-based designs Create interesting compositions and layouts Develop slogans and graphic treatments based on our direction Adapt designs across different merchandise products Create front, back and sleeve artwork where required Develop color variations Maintain a consistent visual language across the collection Refine existing concepts based on feedback Contribute your own creative ideas where appropriate Ensure designs are commercially appealing and wearable Prepare final artwork for manufacturing and printing Create high-quality product mockups for approval Make revisions based on feedback Important — What We Are Looking For We are not looking for a basic graphic designer who simply places a logo on a T-shirt. Our previous merchandise was primarily brand-led. For this new collection, we want to evolve the brand into a stronger lifestyle identity. The new designs should have: Personality + Concept + Fashion Appeal + Strong Visual Identity We want someone who understands how to create merchandise that feels like a real lifestyle/fashion collection, while still being connected to the F&B brand. You should be comfortable working with illustration, typography, characters, slogans, graphic compositions and fashion-oriented artwork. Deliverables For each approved design, we require: High-resolution final artwork Editable source files AI / PSD files Vector files where applicable Transparent PNG files Print-ready files Color specifications Front / back / sleeve artwork where applicable Production-ready artwork High-quality mockups All final approved artwork and source files must be provided at the end of the project. Ideal Candidate We are looking for someone with: Proven experience designing apparel and merchandise A strong portfolio of T-shirts, hoodies or streetwear graphics Excellent typography skills Strong illustration skills Strong understanding of composition and color Experience creating original apparel graphics Experience preparing artwork for printing and manufacturing Understanding of current fashion and streetwear aesthetics Strong attention to detail Ability to translate references into original designs Ability to take creative direction and develop it further Good communication and responsiveness Experience working with F&B, lifestyle, fashion, wellness or consumer brands is a strong plus. Portfolio Requirements Please do not apply without a relevant portfolio. When applying, please send: Your portfolio 3–5 of your best apparel/merchandise designs Examples of T-shirt, hoodie or streetwear graphics Examples of illustration or character-based work Examples of typography-led designs Examples of work developed from a creative reference or brief Your preferred design software Your estimated price for an initial batch of 3–5 designs Estimated turnaround time We will review portfolios based on creative quality and relevance, not simply the number of years of experience. Project Structure We would like to start with a small initial phase of 3–5 designs. This allows us to evaluate the creative direction, quality, communication and ability to work with our brand. If the first phase is successful, we will continue with the development of the full merchandise collection, which may include approximately 8–12+ designs across different products. There is potential for ongoing design work for future collections, seasonal drops and additional merchandise. Reference Materials We will provide: Current Matcha Vibes brand references Previous merchandise designs New creative concepts and visual references Product direction Feedback during the design process Please note: The previous merchandise is provided for brand reference only. We do NOT want the new collection to recreate the old designs. We want the new collection to feel like a clear evolution of the brand with a fresh, distinctive and more fashion-forward identity. To Apply Please start your proposal with “MATCHA” so we know you have read the brief. We are looking for a designer who can bring strong creative thinking, originality and commercial fashion sense to this project.