Designing something from scratch can be daunting, especially when it’s made of metal, is meant for distribution and can be expensive. If the last time you practice your art skills was in elementary school, then you might not feel as confident in the ability to create a custom design on your own. Even if you are a well trained artist, you know that giving your work over to someone else to translate into a new medium (like a metal coin face for example) can be nerve wracking. Whichever the case, don’t worry. If you aren’t well-versed in the nuances of coin design and creation, there’s no need to fret, we are!
We designed our first coin back in 2001, which means that we’ve made our fair share of mistakes and picked up a few tricks along the way. While we think we offer the best service and quality in the industry, bar none, we wanted to share the below tips with the world at large and not just our customer base.
With almost two decades of creating custom challenge coins for a wide range of customers under our belt, we’ve seen just about every challenge coin design concept imaginable. We know what will work to make your custom coin as unique as possible, and we know what design choices are best to be reconsidered. Here’s a list of some of the most common design mistakes we run into and a few pointers on how best to avoid them on your order.
1. Buying a Coin That’s Too Small
When we look back at a history of all of our orders, 1.75” is the most popular size by a wide margin. Recently though, there’s been somewhat of an arms race in coin size and thickness with each customer trying to outdo their predecessors. Two inches is quickly becoming the average challenge coin size. Though we can go smaller (1.50”), we definitely don’t recommend it. Numerous factors affect the coin size chosen - preference, purpose, budget, ego, etc. Bigger isn’t always better, but almost everyone regrets getting a 1.50” challenge coin and not bumping up to at least 1.75”. While a 0.25” difference in diameter doesn’t seem like a big deal, volume and the surface area of the coin face is the name of game, and that 0.25” difference is significant in hand (36.11% difference in volume and surface area).
Also, keep in mind that shape is a big factor in how big the coin feels in hand, even if the diameter is the same.
2. Losing sight of legibility
This problem manifests itself in two ways. It can lead to an overly detailed design that is hard to make sense of at true size, and it can lead to fixation on integrating details that aren’t functional at a given size.
Legibility is of the utmost importance to us, but is dependent on two factors — precision of manufacturing, and eyesight. Our molding machines are very precise and can make text incredibly small. In fact, they can make text that is too small to be discernible without a magnifying glass. If you’re looking to add hidden messages, this is perfect. If you want the text to be readily readable though, it’s vital to keep the actual size of the coin in mind. (Editor’s Note: You can print out your proof at 100% scale and the coin in the size grid should be true to size as long as your printer settings haven’t been tweaked.)
Even in the absence of text on a design, simpler imagery can be more striking. There’s a reason that a simple bust of George Washington was used for the quarter inside of the iconic Crossing the Delaware image.
If you’re a fanatic for detail, we’ve got you covered too, though.
The size of your challenge coin shouldn’t only be considered in regard to the legibility of the text on your coin. One of our popular customization options is including the ability for the final product to be used as a bottle opener. While this creates a fun incentive for recipients to carry your coin and gives it a more practical purpose, it’s also important to remember that no coin under 2” is going to have a functional bottle opener. Ultimately, for bottle opener coins, bigger is almost always going to be better.
3. Choosing Non-Complementary Colors
You might know that light text on a light colored background is never going to end well, but when creating a custom challenge coin, the considerations go deeper than that. That’s because smart color combination doesn’t stop at the different tones chosen on the coin face. It includes making smart choices with your plating options.
When it comes to plating, a lot of customers want to go with the high polish gold or silver options. Given how much it can increase the perceived value of your coin, it’s easy to see why. One thing to take into consideration is the manner in which the high polish finish can make finer details, like text, a little (or a lot) harder to make out. Whenever possible, use a high polish finish on the portions of your coin that feature bold images, and avoid high polished text, unless you’re going to surround it with a dark paint color. Another consideration to make when choosing your plating is to pair your high polish plating with darker colors to make sure those details pop. High polish plating with lots of white paint will tend look washed out and be especially illegible under bright lights.
Separate from the consideration of plating is the use of color in general on your coin. Coins that incorporate large swathes of standard opaque color fill can look a bit cheap. Color is great for detail, but it shouldn’t be used to paint in large portions of your coin. If you want to make use of a base color, consider choosing one of our colored metal finishes instead. Another incredible option for large areas is our translucent colorfill, which gives you the color you’re looking for and adds visual depth.
4. Not Checking, and Then Double Checking, Your Proof
Since we often make coins for groups stationed overseas, foreign languages and very niche vocabulary is common on coins. While we make every effort to triple check all our work before it goes out to you, sometimes small details or words outside of normal vernacular can slip through. Unsurprisingly, a lot of errors can be avoided by simply paying close attention to the proof of your coin when you receive it. We tell all of our customers to pay close attention to the spelling on their proofs. This applies to all text on the coin, but in particular, you should pay close attention to names, acronyms and any words in a language other than English. If part of your proof is too hard to read, just ask a member of the sales team to send you a higher-res version or an enlarged cross-section of that area.
Editing your proof shouldn’t stop at spellcheck though. Checking content and colors is a must. Included in your proof is a list of the different Pantone colors being used on each side of your coin. Double check to make sure they’re the exact shade you intended.
During this proofing stage, one thing we often see from customers is a reluctance to list out all of the edits they need made for fear of overloading the artist. In fact, the opposite is true; when you get your proof, you should try to suggest all of the needed revisions at once. We offer free unlimited revisions, but the longer the revision process takes, the longer it will take for you to get your coin. In addition to that, we make edits daily, but our art team makes these edits on a first come, first served basis. If you suggest only one edit at a time, each new suggestion bumps your project down to the bottom of the queue and adds time to the overall completion of your project.
5. To 3D, or Not to 3D
The detail possible with a 3D mold is one of the many reasons this customization option is quickly becoming one of the most popular among our customers. But that doesn’t mean that the decision to make use of a 3D mold should be taken lightly. 3D molded coins are usually much more detailed when we can model them off of a real object and a high resolution photo. That means that if the best reference photo you have available is blurry or of a statue 15 yards away, you might want to stick with the stylized 2D coin option.
It’s also important to note that faces can be difficult to capture properly in metal. If you’re creating a challenge coin in honor of a specific person and you’re hoping to represent them on the coin, offset printing or going with a 2D artistic interpretation or silhouette might be a better option than the 3D mold.
6. Process Problems
When you contact us, we will endeavor to create whatever you ask us to in exactly the manner you request. Our art team is very talented and well versed in creating unique coins based on very little information, but the more content you’re capable of giving them initially, the better and quicker they’ll be able to deliver on exactly what you envisioned. If you want them to flex their creativity a little more for you, just let us know! They’re always up for the challenge.
Some of the most common pre-planning concerns to keep in mind include:
- Don’t try to please everyone. Too often, we see coins attempting to be created by committee. While more attention to detail can help catch small mistakes, getting a large group to agree on something is often difficult at best. Whenever necessary, allow one person to be the primary decision maker. This typically results in all parties happier in the end and avoids every committee member having to “put their mark on it.”
- Keep it simple. Even with slightly larger coins, you’re working with a limited surface area. The best way to make sure you maximize the space you do have is to try not to cram too much in. We can create an amazingly detailed seal or crest for your coin, but if it has to share space with a company name, motto, logo and important dates, the details of that crest are going to be lost. Simpler (whenever possible) is almost always better.
- Try to use reference images. Our art team has created great coins with nothing more than verbal instructions in the past. But the easiest way to ensure you’re getting exactly what you want is to use reference images whenever possible. Whether it’s a detailed high resolution shot you found on Google or just a rough sketch on a cocktail napkin, some baseline of what you’re looking for will always go a long way. This is particularly useful when you want a specific model of plane, weapon, ship or motorcycle on your coin. You might know which AR-15 rifle you want represented, but if all our artists know is that you want an AR-15, they’re left to guess which one of thousands of variations. Including an image with your request leaves no uncertainty about what will show up on your coin.
- Be upfront about all deadlines. We’ll always work hard to get your perfect challenge coin to you as quickly as possible, but the easiest way to ensure we can succeed at that is for you to be upfront about your hard deadlines. Let us know when is the latest you can possibly have your order delivered, and let us know about any concerns you might have about meeting those deadlines. We’re sure we can come up with a solution and avoid any problems before they arise.
By choosing Signature Coins, you’ve already made the best choice possible for the creation of your custom challenge coins. Now, if you follow the advice above, we’ll be best suited to make sure that your coins exceed even your expectations and are delivered in a timely manner.
