Wearing or presenting a challenge coin is an age-old custom among the US Military Force. The purpose of them being to signify honor, pride and identity of the troop they belong in.
However, over the years, this tradition has passed on to several other work forces as well. For instance, the fire fighters or the paramedics who serve for their nation. In order to show honor and respect, many events present them with challenge coins.
Now each challenge coin must be unique and signify the significance of it. In simpler words your coin must make a statement of its own. Therefore, the real challenge lies in the making of the challenge coin is the design department.
Below, we have listed out some tips that will help you design your challenge coin to make a statement.
1. Convey a story
One of the crucial aims of a challenge coin design is to convey a story. It could be the story of your squad, department or even a location. The design could be to commemorate a specific event or an individual as well.
When you begin with the designing of your challenge coin a wise approach would be to channel your focus on what you want out of the design. The story doesn’t necessarily have to be exaggerated or complex. In fact, the best way to convey your story through a challenge coin design is by briefing it up.
A broad story can be too overwhelming and will only create difficulty for the designer to focus on the vital details.
2. Initiate the design with an image
Once you are clear with your story it’s time for you to progress toward the image of your challenge coin. A majority of challenge coins feature an image or an illustration in the center of the coin.
This is done to provide a focal point in the coin and around which the text and other elements are added. Now most of the clients go for the image of a flag or logo of the squad they belong to.
However, make sure to use a perfect sized image for the coin. Size too big or too small can ruin the whole design of your challenge coin. It is always recommended to seek help from professional designers and coins makers to decide upon the size of the image.
3. Keep the text short
Now your image might be the focal point of the challenge coin, however, the text you pick is equally important. The text wraps up the entire challenge coin design perfectly. Hence, it is important to give extra attention when deciding on a text.
Your text could be a date or a name or anything really. But it is important to keep in mind that you keep the text short and crisp.
If your text has too many words in it then the font size would be small. This will only create difficulty in reading out that text and you certainly don’t want that to happen.
4. Pay attention to the back of the coin
When you are done finishing up the design make sure to pay your attention to the back of the coin as well. Many individuals make the mistake of ignoring the back of the coin.
This gives a very odd look to the challenge coin. In fact, your challenge coins may look unfinished if you keep the back of it blank. What you can do for the back design is add a single word that defines your squad or unit.
This will give a complete finish to the designing your challenge coin.
Conclusion
So, what are you waiting for? Keep the above listed tips in your mind the next time you plan to design a challenge coin for your squad. By implementing these simple tips, you will create a statement challenge coin for sure.
