As the name states, Challenge coins are a coin that military members or athletes often carry. Each coin usually has a design on one side and a secret message or code on the other. They are given out to signify achievements such as completing a specific task for their unit, army base, stadium, or school.
If you love designing and don’t know where to start with challenging coins, then this guide is for you! In this article, we give you some quick tips and tricks on how to begin designing your challenge coins.
Challenge coins are popular amongst the military and Olympic athletes. However, companies like challengecoins4less.com help you design your challenge coins according to your budget and requirements.
Challenge Coin Design Tips
- Tip #1 – Know Your Audience – When designing a challenge coin, you first must know who you are designing it for. Knowing your audience will make the design process much easier, as you will be able to deliver something they will be proud of and appreciate. Who’s the coin meant for? Military members? School student-athletes? Firefighter volunteers? Knowing your audience is crucial to truly understand their needs and wants, which helps when delivering a great design that will resonate with them.
- Tip #2 – Know Your Object – Challenge coins are designed to signify achievement. For example, a firefighter’s coin would show that they completed the required tasks of their station or battalion. An Olympic athlete’s coin might have a special event such as the bronze medal or silver medal. Other examples of what an object can be are a team, school sports team, or organization token after completing a specific task.
- Tip #3 – Think About Your Design Constraints – What are you limited to? This question helps you determine which elements of your design work the best together. For example, if you don’t have the opportunity to include a special event on the coin, then you will need to think about which other design elements can be used instead.
- Tip #4 – Design With Function In Mind – Challenge coins are for showing achievement, not for pure beauty. Some other examples of what is used as a constraint are law enforcement, military, sports teams, etc. Therefore, your design must have a functional purpose. This can be done by hand-crafting the design or using die-cutting equipment and stamping supplies.
- Tip #5 – Make Sure Your Design Is Legible – Make sure that your designs are easy to read and recognize by people who might use them. See if you can find a font or font style that fits the coin’s design or theme.
- Tip #6 – Add Color – Color makes a design much more appealing. Studies have shown that color essentially draws customers in and draws their attention, which is exactly what you want to happen when you deliver your challenge coin design to someone.
- Tip #7 – Make It Personal – While some people might push this point aside, it is essential to make sure your challenge coin design is up to par with the expectations of your audience. Make sure your t-shirt has personal touches like pictures, signatures, or sayings on them.
- Tip #8 – Create A Design That Fits The Function – Designing a coin that signifies some event is one thing, but making sure it has a general purpose is another. The design should also fit with the function and theme of the coin. When designing your challenge coin, make sure that the design fits what your audience expects from their coins.
- Tip #9 – Use Convoluted Designs – Sometimes, it’s nice to try and think outside the box when designing a challenge coin. For example, if you are designing a coin for a firefighter’s station and want the logo to be seen, make it curved or have design elements pop up out of the coin.
- Tip #10 – Add Your Signature – When designing your challenge coin, don’t forget to add your mark on it as well. If you include a signature/indication on the coin, it becomes recognizable as yours, and that’s something that people will appreciate
If you follow these tips, you’ll find it much easier to design your challenge coin or a coin that someone else can use. Just remember that every coin is unique and should be treated as such. Even though they may all look similar, each one has a special meaning that makes them more memorable than others.
By taking a look at challengecoins4less.com, you’ll get more insight on challenge coin design and find how fascinating the process is.