Tips for making great custom challenge coins

Styling and designing custom challenge coins is loads of fun, but on the other hand, there is a mammoth load of things to consider prior to beginning. Today we will guide you and disclose to you the tips to consider while creating creative custom challenge coins so you can provide affordable custom challenge coins to your customers. Regardless of whether you are new to the game or merely searching for a boost, these tips will help you take a cardinal thought and transform it into an extraordinary custom challenge coins.

Steps for creating custom challenge coins

 

First Step: Coming up with an idea

Every custom challenge coin starts with a thought, then the preparation begins for artwork, after that many revisions happen until the customer's vision is met. So, the first challenge in the creation of custom challenge coins is to come up with an idea. You should start thinking about what kind of design, pattern, or artwork you want on the front and back sides of your custom challenge coins. Then, think about for whom you are designing the coins, you can create custom masonic challenge coins or custom military challenge coins for sale, but you will have to design your coins accordingly.
Best custom challenge coins focus on logos, slogans, and mascots, but do not limit your imagination by these restrictions as you can put anything you can dream of on your custom challenge coins. Look out for inspiration using the internet. Once you get the ideas, layout, and pictures ready, write down the description for how you want your custom challenge coins to look and then start designing your custom challenge coins with no minimum criteria.
A quick sketch is always a good idea that helps us with the visualization of the artwork you have in our mind. Do not worry if you are not a professional sketch artist; the purpose of sketching is to be able to see how your vision will look in the layout and ultimately in the artwork of your coin design.

Second step: Choose challenge coin design options

Custom challenge coins' artwork contains things like logos, text, images, and many more, but the design of coin construction includes size, shape, metal plating, edging, and several other elements as well. The design gives an overall look and feels, which includes countless combinations of textures and colors. There are too many options to consider in the design of a coin, we will try to cover as many as possible.

Shape & Size

Custom challenge coins can be as small as 1.5''. The average size of them is 1.75'', but 2'' coins are becoming popular every day because it gives the artwork room to breathe. It is vital to keep the artwork simple to capture artwork and design crystal clear.
When you decide the size of your coins that will be your cue to select the shape for your coins. Custom challenge coins can be oval, square, or triangular as well; round is not the default size for coins; they can have dynamic shapes.  
Whether you need a functional custom challenge coin design or you want to create a design that stands out from the crowd, one thing is sure that custom shapes will provide an innovative look to your coins. In the end, your preferences and choices will matter, and everything will boil down to what you think will look best.
After deciding on the looks of your coins, you should think about how they will feel.

Weight and texture

Design is not everything for custom challenge coins, it should also feel good. Customizing the weight and the background texture is one of the best ways to make an impact. There are various ways to change the weight and texture. Let's first discuss the thickness. Most custom challenge coins are 3mm thick. You will see 3.5 mm custom challenge coins, occasionally.
Once you decide on the thickness of your design, you can decide on the background texture of the artwork. Whether you prefer 2D or 3D design, you can select anything for your custom challenge coins.
You can also create a unique background texture to make it unique. 3D artwork is one of the best ways to change the texture of your coins. The sculpted artwork of 3D coins gives your artwork an incredible depth and detail.

Enamel color, metal plating and custom edging

When you create custom challenge coins, you have to select the type of color you want to use in your designs. There are soft enamel, hard enamel, translucent enamel, matte enamel, glitter enamel, and glow enamel available. You can try to mix and match different types of enamel to create a good impact. With enamel colors, you have to focus on metal plating and custom edging as well.
In metal plating, high polish gold and silver plating are the most popular options. Antique nickel and antique copper also look good on custom challenge coins. It gives you a rich feeling with the smallest details to make a big impression.
Edging is the last thing to think about. A standard flat edge will work just fine, but to give your coin a more elaborate artwork, you can try other options as well. Crosscut and oblique line challenge coins have a unique texture that changes the way people interact with coins.

Requesting artwork and revisions

Requesting artwork and revisions is the last step in the design of custom challenge coins. Getting the design right at the first go is a rare event that is why alteration and correction happen. The revisions may occur in size, edging, metal plating, and other options. When you get your first proof of artwork, you make sure to double-check everything like colors, edges, spelling, etc. Once you finalize the artwork, the custom challenge coin design is finished. Now, the only thing which is left is ordering those coins.

Tips for making great custom challenge coins

 

Consider coin’s role and purpose

Before starting designing your custom challenge coins, first, discover who you are planning to design to coin for and why your custom coin design should be magnificent. The purpose and reason should be very clear in your mind. Whether you want to recognize a specific act or service or you are giving it as a symbol of pride and fortitude. Custom challenge coins are designed with purpose, regardless of whether you are honoring a single deed, paying your respects, or just selling it to raise money for a cause. Just keep in mind that you are designing a symbol, and symbols have a purpose.

Explore coin’s concept

It is good when you start designing your custom challenge coins with no minimum experience and have a clear concept before giving your ideas. You can draw your ideas, collect your content, and come up with a different variation of your vision for the production. Pick the imagery, colors, materials, and what content or text to use and then sell those custom challenge coins at wholesale rate.

Use high-quality vectored artwork

It is not rocket science that it will be better if you work hard to develop your artwork. It will be easier to match a professional look and if your artwork is better. Try to use high-quality vectored artwork so that the initial design remains easier to scale but also will allow you to give them the exact colors and features of the design right on the first go.

Draw a design to scale

Whether it is as small as a quarter or as big as a dinner platter, keeping your custom challenge coins design at the size and scale you desire will help you to envision the product perfectly. Whether it is custom masonic challenge coins or custom military challenge coins, the best design will give you a wholesome experience of owning and drawing a great custom challenge coin.

Plating matters

While designing affordable custom challenge coins, you must take care of plating as it sets the tone and vision for your entire design. Gold or silver, polished or antiques, you can use any plating. Your choice of plating will impact the canvas or backdrop of your entire design. You can also combine it with coin natural plating with typography and color options to create a fresh look.

Double-check your design

If you want to have a top-quality and affordable custom challenge coin, then make sure that every piece of text, artwork, and color choice is exactly the way you did envision it. Double-check it before confirming the design. You must ensure that every little detail is matched so that your customer likes your product and purchase it again.

Tell a tale

It will be intriguing to notice if your custom challenge coins tell a story about some event or history. It can be a story of a unit, a specific deployment, or a location. Custom military challenge coins can even honor discrete soldiers, so before finalizing your design, you can think of a narrative that is relevant as well. The story of coins don't have to be very complicated, the brief story will create the maximum impact. If your story is too broad or too complex, then it will be difficult to covey it through your affordable custom challenge coin.