A challenge coin can tell you a lot about an organisation - its history, values, and culture. That's the magic of great design at work. But when faced with creating one yourself, it can feel like you're staring at a blank canvas, unsure of where to start.
Feeling overwhelmed is natural, but it doesn't have to stop you.
We've helped thousands of organisations design stunning custom challenge coins.
But, to create a design that truly resonates with your organisation, you need to ask yourself some key questions early on.
This allows you to speed up the design process and better bring your vision to life.
In this post, you'll learn the 6 questions you need to answer before designing a custom challenge coin.
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What is the purpose of the challenge coin?
Before you design a challenge coin, you need to know its purpose.
Is it to recognise someone’s hard work, promote your brand, or bring a team closer together?
Knowing why you’re making the coin helps guide all your design choices.
For example, if your challenge coin is meant to recognise someone’s achievements, consider adding personal touches like their name, nickname, unit number, or start date. This makes the coin feel more special to the people that receive it.
Meanwhile, if you're trying to promote your brand, then perhaps you should only use your organisation's colours and logos.
Knowing the purpose of your challenge coin can help you with designing.
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Who is the intended recipient?
Knowing your audience helps you create a design that means something special to them.
Consider their age, interests and cultural background.
For example, if the challenge coins are for seniors, some of whom are visually impaired, consider adding high-contrast colours and raised elements to the coin. This will allow them to appreciate the coin with their fingers and eyes.
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What size coin do you envision?
Most challenge coins are about 50mm wide.
This size is a classic choice because it’s big enough to show off details but small enough to carry around easily.
However, the perfect size for your custom challenge coin depends on its purpose and who will receive it.
Bigger coins can show more detail and make a stronger impression than normal-sized coins.
For example, in 2023 the Nike Melbourne Marathon gave its race winners 80mm-wide challenge coins. The idea was to show off more of the coin's details and make the winners feel like they were getting an Olympic medal, which is traditionally large.
Smaller coins, on the other hand, are easier to carry around.
If you want the challenge coin to be something people always keep with them, a smaller size might be better.
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What colours, text or symbols are important to you?
When designing a challenge coin, it’s important to consider the colours, text, and symbols that represent your organisation, and how they can be added to your coin. Doing so creates a coin that is not only nice looking but rich in meaning and significance.
For example, if you're designing a coin for a fire brigade, you might include the brigade's motto and the date it was established to add a bit of history. You could also use colours associated with fire, like red, orange, yellow, or white as a nod to the brigade's purpose.
If you're unsure what to include, turn to your brand style guideline. This is a document used by most organisations to help guide their branding. It covers everything from logos and colour palettes to fonts and images. Each guideline is unique to your organisation, making it a great source of inspiration for your coin's design.
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How will the coin be presented?
Many people put a lot of thought into designing their coin but forget how it will be presented. Most coins come in plastic sleeves, which can feel underwhelming to hand them over. Take the time now to consider whether you'd like something different.
The most popular alternative is boxes, followed by clear plastic capsules.
Challenge coin boxes usually come in velvet, cardboard or vegan leather. Velvet and vegan leather boxes are the more well-liked of the three, because they have a satin-lined lid and a velvet base, making your custom challenge coins look fancier. Some suppliers, like us at Badges And Medals, will let you customise your box for free to make your challenge coin stand out. Most people use this service to add their logo to their box.
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How can you make your coin stand out from the crowd?
Everyone wants their challenge coin to leave a lasting impression.
So before you place your order, consider what design features you can use to make your coin more memorable.
Custom shapes, detailed edge patterns, and unique challenge coin colours can all add a wow factor.
You could also include practical elements like bottle openers or glow-in-the-dark colours to make the coin more novel.
For a detailed list of eye-catching coin design ideas, check out our blog posts 'Top 11 Challenge Coin Ideas [With Examples]' and 'Top 6 Most Popular Challenge Coin Edges'.
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What can you afford?
Finally, consider your budget.
It’s tempting to include many intricate details on your challenge coin, but you need to balance your design ideas with what you can afford.
Decide how much you or your organisation is willing to spend on each coin, considering both the quantity you need and the quality you want.
Once you've set your budget, it’s time to understand the costs of different design elements.
Each feature, from the coin's size and shape to its materials and finishes can affect the overall cost.
Researching these costs allows you to make an informed decision about what elements to include and which to cut.
For a detailed look at costs, read, 'What Do Challenge Coins Cost?'
You can also tell your supplier your price range right from the start.
This way, they can create a coin that fits within your budget, so you don’t end up with something expensive.
Start your challenge coin design!
It's normal to feel overwhelmed when starting your challenge coin design journey.
With so many details and options to consider, it's easy to feel lost about where to begin.
That's why we at Badges And Medals created this guide: to give you the right questions to ask yourself before starting your design. By thinking about your purpose, audience, design elements, and budget, we've helped turn your confusion into a clear plan.
Now that you have a clear idea of what you want your design to look like, it’s time to bring it to life!
Fill out this short form today for a free, personalised challenge coin design.