From Concept to Creation: The Journey of Designing a Custom Lapel Pin

From fashion statements to powerful branding and marketing tools, many businesses are starting to recognize the potential power that a custom lapel pin carries. If you’re one of those who have just caught the bug, you may be wondering what the process of creating a customized pin looks like. 

Creating Personalized lapel pins for your business is a complex, multi-stage process that can also be exciting. There’s a lot of room for creativity. However, there are some rules to follow and pitfalls to avoid as well. In this article, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide for designing custom lapel pins from the initial sketch to the final product. We’ll also highlight the best practices and common pitfalls to avoid in the process. 

Designing a Custom Lapel Pin – A Step-by-Step Guide 

To design a custom lapel pin, some people go the easy route and simply hire a designer to get the work done. Although this skips a lot of steps, there are still a few decisions in the design process that are up to you. It’s more helpful if you have a clear understanding of what it takes to create custom lapel pins. This way, you can design it yourself or participate actively in the creation process even if you hire a designer. Here’s an overview of the steps for designing a custom lapel pin. 

Choose A Design Concept 

The first step in creating a custom lapel pin is to settle on a design concept. As you will discover, there’s a long list of design possibilities when it comes to creating lapel pins. To give your project some sense of direction, you need to settle on a design concept. The concept for your lapel pin design depends on factors like the purpose of the pin and the target audience. Look at examples, do some research, and brainstorm ideas to find a fitting concept for your lapel pin. 

Determine Your Design Specifications 

Work out the elements of your design such as the size, shape, complexity, and color scheme of your custom lapel pin. You want to choose colors that represent your brand perfectly and will translate well on the final design. You should also consider the level of detail that will go onto the pin and how it will be worn. These factors will influence how you will proceed with the next phase of the design process. 

Create a Sketch 

Before you start creating digital versions of your designs, you can create hand-drawn sketches first. Tinkering with your ideas and creating sketches can help you refine the concept. It’s quick and free, which means you can create multiple sketches within a short period. Some lapel pin manufacturers can even work with hand-drawn designs, so you won’t necessarily have to create a digital version. They can simply create the pin based on your sketch. 

Create a Digital Design 

Here, you can use a software to convert your hand-drawn designs into a digital version or you could simply scan your paper mockups and convert them into PDF files. Some custom lapel pin manufacturers also have design software built into their websites. If you know your way around these design tools, you can create custom designs by simply tinkering with them. This is a much better approach since hand-drawn designs have the potential to lose quality when converted into digital artworks.  

Send your Design to a Factory 

With the digital version of the design ready, you can send it to a factory to have your enamel pin produced. Be sure to double-check your designs before sending them in. You’ll also be required to indicate the lapel pin specifications like the size, material, attachment style, design style and so on. Be as specific as possible with your specifications. 

Custom pins can be as large as 2 inches or as small as 0.75 inches. The ideal size depends on how the pin will be used. Another important decision is the type of pin you want. Soft enamel pins are the most common, but they’re generally not as durable and refined as cloisonne pins. Die-struck pins are also renowned for their durability, while offset pins are the best choice for detailed or brightly colored designs.  

Once the factory receives your design and specifications, they’ll translate it into a final mockup. In most cases, this mockup will be sent to you for final approval. This allows you to check the final design before it is mass-produced by the factory. 

Best Practices & Common Pitfalls to Avoid

If you’re new to lapel pin design, you should know that there are some limitations and potential pitfalls to avoid. Following these basic rules and best practices will ensure that your custom designs turn out perfectly. 

• Colors are delimited by lines : Since lapel pins are typically made from metal with colored enamel fillings, raised metal edges are used to create a physical barrier between the different colors of your design. This is why all colors in your design should be delimited by lines. The thickness of every line in your design will directly translate to the thickness of the raised metal edges on the pin. Don’t use thick lines or shade sections of your sketch to ensure your design comes out clean and crisp. 
• Make your design as simple as possible: intricate lines typically don’t translate well on a custom pin’s small canvas. Putting too much detail on your design will leave you with a messy pin. 
• Avoid complex outer shapes or gaps: Think of all the details of your design that can create problems for the manufacturer like complex edges, gaps or holes. Even if the manufacturer can replicate these perfectly, it’ll cost you more
• Consider the size of the final pin: How your design will turn out depends on the size of the pin. If you’re creating a small pin for a hat for instance, you have a smaller canvas for your design compared to a full-size pin for clothes or bags. 
• Leave room for variations : In most cases, your design will not turn out the exact way you envisioned it. The factory may not deliver the exact Pantone colors you choose or get every detail of the design right. Don’t set unrealistic expectations. As long as the basics are right, you’re good to go. This is another reason to keep the design simple and practical.

Conclusion 

Your customized pin design process will deliver the best results when you work with professionals. Since you won’t be creating the pin yourself, it is best to partner with experts to get the job done efficiently. A professional on-demand service like THE/STUDIO will assist with your designs and help you make all the right decisions. 

We have an online product creation tool to customize every aspect of custom lapel pin design to your specifications. You can also upload your sketch or hire a designer to bring your vision to life. Your design will be created from scratch and sent to you when they’re ready. Contact us now to get started with your design.