7 min to readLast update on 11 September 2026

How to Set Up Product Colors?

With Custy you can offer shoppers a list of product colors, and charge a little more for premium colors if you want. Shoppers pick a color in the Design Lab.

You can build color sets once and reuse them on many products. Changing a color set does not delete your Shopify products.

Two places to work with colors

You will use colors in two spots. Both use the same color sets.

1Products → Create Colors tab: build and edit shared color sets for the whole store
2Customize Product → Product Colors: pick which color set this one product uses

Step 1: Open Create Colors

In Custy, click Products on the left. At the top, click the Create Colors tab. This is where you manage shared color sets.

Products page with Create Colors tab and color set list — Open **Create Colors** to build color lists you can reuse.

Step 2: Create a new color set

Click Add Color Set. The Create Color Set window opens.

Enter a Color Set Name (for example Tee Basics or Mug Solids).
Under Colors, click Add Color for each color you sell.
Fill in Color Name, Hex Value (6 digits, no #), optional Icon, Price ($), Dark Color, and Image Instead of Color.
Drag rows to reorder. Use the trash icon to remove a color.
Click Save.

Create Color Set modal with color name, hex, price, and dark color — Name the set, add colors and optional extra prices, then click **Save**.

Full Color Set (built in)

Custy includes a system set named Full Color Set. It is marked Default in the list. Shoppers get a free color picker instead of a fixed swatch list.

You cannot edit Full Color Set

Edit, copy, and Delete stay disabled for Full Color Set. Build your own set when you want a fixed list of store colors.

Step 3: Edit, copy, or delete a color set

On the Create Colors list, use the row actions:

Edit: open Edit Color Set, change names or prices, then click Update.
Duplicate (copy icon): makes {name} (Copy) so you can tweak a new list without changing the original.
Delete: confirm Delete color set. You cannot delete Full Color Set.

Color set table with Edit, duplicate, and Delete actions — Edit or copy a set anytime. **Full Color Set** cannot be edited or deleted.

Step 4: Assign a color set on Customize Product

Open the product (Make it customizable or Edit). Scroll to Product Colors.

Open Select Color Set and pick a set (or leave Select color set empty).
Optional: click New Color Set (or the + icon) to create a set here.
Optional: click the pencil to edit the selected custom set.
Check Applied To for the side names on this product (for example Front, Back).

Default color

The starting color shoppers see is set in Advanced Settings (Design Tool Setup), not in this table. Open Advanced Settings, click Set default color, pick a color, then Save.

Customize Product Product Colors section with color set dropdown — Pick a color set for this product. Shoppers switch colors from that list in the Design Lab.

Step 5: Mark colors that need their own photo

Some colors look better as a real photo (camo, heather, prints) instead of tinting a grayscale mockup. For those colors, turn on Image Instead of Color in the color set first. Then you will upload a matching photo on the product.

Open Create Colors (or edit the set from Product Colors with the pencil).
Find the color row (for example Black Heather or Camo).
Under Image Instead of Color, click Yes.
Leave No on colors you want Custy to tint from grayscale with the hex code.
Click Update (or Save if you are creating the set).

Color set modal with Image Instead of Color Yes and No on a color row — Set **Image Instead of Color** to **Yes** for any color that needs its own product photo.

Step 5a: Open Upload Images & Styles

Photos are uploaded per product side, not on the color set screen. After the color set is assigned to the product, open Advanced Settings for each side that shoppers can design.

On Customize Product, scroll to Design Tool Setup.
On the side you want (Front, Back, and so on), click Advanced Settings.
Open the Upload Images & Styles tab.

Do this for each side

If Front and Back both need color photos, repeat the upload steps for each side.

Design Tool Setup with Advanced Settings leading to Upload Images and Styles — Open **Advanced Settings** on a side, then choose **Upload Images & Styles**.

Step 5b: Upload Default (Grayscale) for tintable colors

For every color still set to Image Instead of Color = No, Custy needs one grayscale mockup. It recolors that photo with the hex when shoppers pick a color.

On Upload Images & Styles, find the card Default (Grayscale).
Click Upload Image and choose a clear product photo (solid look, good lighting; a light/gray base works best for tinting).
Wait until the preview shows. Use Remove if you need to replace it.

Upload Images and Styles with Default Grayscale card — Upload **Default (Grayscale)** so tintable colors can recolor the mockup.

Step 5c: Upload a photo for each Image Instead color

After you marked colors as Yes, Advanced Settings shows a card for each of those colors (named like the color, for example Black or Camo). Upload the real product photo for that color.

Confirm the product still uses this color set under Product Colors.
In Advanced Settings → Upload Images & Styles, find the card named after the color (not Default Grayscale).
Click Upload Image on that card and choose the photo of the product in that color.
Repeat for every color that has Image Instead of Color = Yes.
Click Update at the bottom of Advanced Settings to save this side.
Back on Customize Product, click Save if you still need to save the whole product.

Upload Images and Styles with per-color image cards for Image Instead colors — Each **Image Instead** color gets its own upload card. Add a photo, then click **Update**.

What to do next

Next, prepare and upload product photos if you have not yet, or finish print areas and printing fees. Then set Active on designer to Yes and click Save on the product.