Tips for Creating Outstanding Custom Challenge Coins

Custom challenge coin styling and design are a ton of fun, but there are a ton of factors to take into account before getting started. Today, we'll walk you through and reveal the things to think about when designing unique custom challenge coins, enabling you to offer your clients reasonably priced custom challenge coins. These pointers will assist you in taking a basic idea and turning it into a remarkably personalized challenge coin, regardless of your level of experience or need for motivation.

1. Procedures for making personalized challenge coins

1.1 Generating an idea

Every custom challenge coin begins with an idea, which is followed by several revisions until the customer's vision is realized. Therefore, coming up with an idea is the first challenge in making custom challenge coins. It is advisable to begin considering the type of pattern, artwork, or design that you would like to have on the front and back of your personalized challenge coins. Next, consider the intended audience for your coins. You can design custom challenge coins for masonic organizations or the military to sell, but you will need to make your coin designs appropriately. Click here for Custom 3D Challenge Coins.

The greatest personalized challenge coins have mascots, slogans, and logos, but you can design anything you can think of on your custom challenge coins, so don't let these limitations restrict your creativity. Use the internet to find inspiration. Once you have the concepts, design, and images ready, describe the appearance of your custom challenge coins in writing. Then, without any restrictions, begin creating your coins.

It's usually a good idea to quickly sketch the artwork we have in mind to help us visualize it. If you are not an expert sketch artist, don't worry. The goal of sketching is to be able to visualize how your idea will appear in the layout and, eventually, in the coin design artwork.

1.2 Select possible challenge coin designs

In addition to logos, text, images, and many other elements, the design of custom challenge coins also includes size, shape, metal plating, edging, and several other elements. There are countless ways to combine textures and colors to create the overall look and feel that the design conveys. We will attempt to cover as many options as we can because there are too many to take into account when designing a coin.

Form and Dimensions

The smallest size for personalized challenge coins is 1.5". Although they are typically 1.75 inches in diameter, 2-inch coins are growing in popularity daily because they allow more space for the artwork. Maintaining simplicity in the artwork is essential for capturing the clarity of the design and artwork.

Your cue to choose the shape of your coins will come when you determine their size. Custom challenge coins are not limited to round shapes; they can also have dynamic shapes like ovals, squares, or triangles.

Custom shapes will undoubtedly give your coins a unique appearance, regardless of whether you're looking to create a design that stands out from the crowd or one that is functional. Your tastes and decisions will ultimately count, and it will all come down to what you believe will look the best.

Consider the feel of your coins after you've decided how they should appear.

Texture and weight

For personalized challenge coins, feel is just as important as design. One of the best ways to stand out is to alter the background texture and the weight. The texture and weight can be altered in several ways. First, let's talk about the thickness. Custom challenge coins are typically 3 mm thick. Occasionally, you will come across 3.5 mm personalized challenge coins.

You can choose the artwork's background texture once you've decided on the design's thickness. For your personalized challenge coins, you can choose any design, whether you like 2D or 3D.

To make it stand out, you can also make a custom background texture. One of the best ways to alter the texture of your coins is to create 3D artwork. The 3D coins' sculpted artwork adds a remarkable level of depth and detail to your piece.

Custom edging, metal plating, and enamel color

You must decide on the kind of color you wish to use for your designs when making custom challenge coins. There are various types of enamel available, including glow, glitter, matte, translucent, hard, and soft enamel. To get a good effect, you can experiment with mixing and matching different types of enamel. You also need to pay attention to custom edging and metal plating when using enamel colors.

High-polish gold and silver plating are the most widely used types of metal plating. Custom challenge coins also look good when made of antique nickel and antique copper. You get a rich feeling from it because even the smallest details have a big impact.

The last thing to consider is edging. A regular flat edge will do the trick, but you can also experiment with other options to add more intricate artwork to your coin. The distinct texture of crosscut and oblique line challenge coins alters how users interact with them.

Requesting revisions and artwork

Requesting revisions and artwork is the final stage in creating personalized challenge coins. Since it's uncommon to get the design perfect the first time, adjustments and corrections are necessary. Changes could be made to the size, edging, metal plating, and other features. As soon as you receive the first proof of the artwork, you should double-check all the details, including the colors, edges, and spelling. The unique challenge coin design is complete once the artwork is finalized. Ordering those coins is now the only thing left to do.

2. Advice on creating excellent personalized challenge coins

2.1 Examine the function and goal of the coin

Find out for whom you are designing the coin and why it needs to be exceptional before you begin designing your custom challenge coins. The rationale and goal ought to be crystal apparent to you. Whether you are offering it as a sign of courage and pride, or because you wish to honor a particular deed or service. Whether you are selling them to raise money for a cause, paying your respects, or just honoring a single deed, custom challenge coins are made with a purpose. Just remember that you are creating a symbol, and symbols serve a specific function.

2.2 Examine the idea behind the coin

It is ideal to begin creating your personalized challenge coins without any prior experience requirements and to start with a well-defined idea before sharing your thoughts. You can sketch out your concepts, gather material, and develop an alternative version of your production vision. Select the text, images, colors, and other elements to utilize, then sell those personalized challenge coins at a discount to the wholesale price.

2.3 Make use of top-notch vector graphics

It is a well-known fact that improving your artwork through hard work will yield better results. If your artwork is better, matching a professional look will be simpler. To make the original design easier to scale and to ensure that you give them the exact colors and features of the design from the start, try to use high-quality vector artwork.

2.4 Create a design that is scaled

Maintaining your custom challenge coin design at the desired size and scale will enable you to see the finished product clearly, no matter how big or small it is—it can be as small as a quarter or as large as a dinner platter. Whether you're looking for custom military or masonic challenge coins, the greatest design will provide you with a fulfilling experience of holding and creating a fantastic custom challenge coin.

2.5 The importance of plating

The plating of your custom challenge coins is an important consideration when designing them because it establishes the overall look and feel of the piece. You can use any plating, whether it's polished or antique, gold or silver. The background or canvas of your entire design will be influenced by the plating you choose. To create a new look, you can also pair it with coin natural plating, typography, and color choices.

2.6 Verify your design twice

Make sure that every wording, artwork, and color selection on your custom challenge coin is precisely how you want it to look and feel if you want to get it at a reasonable price without sacrificing quality. Before confirming the design, check it again. To make sure your customer enjoys your product and buys it again, you have to make sure every last detail is in place.

2.7 Recount a story

If the narrative on your personalized challenge coins relates to a historical event, it will be fascinating to observe. It may tell the tale of a unit, a particular deployment, or a place. Even discrete soldiers can be honored with custom military challenge coins, so consider a relevant narrative before committing to a design. The impact of a coin story can be maximized by keeping it brief and uncomplicated. Your inexpensive custom challenge coin won't be able to adequately convey your story if it is too long or too complicated.