I have been a big fan of custom lapel pins for a long time. It started as a hobby and then soon a business. I receive great pleasure when I see a well designed lapel pin. In my opinion it is taking an art and creating something tangible.

Custom Lapel Pins come in any imaginable shape and size. You imagination is the only limit when you are designing a custom pin for your organziation.

I will discuss some elements to make sure that your custom lapel pin comes out perfect when you are in the designing phase. Whether you have designed a pin in the past or not, I will try to guide you with some of the experiences I have had and help you every step of the way.

You can check out a cool article that shows 7 Steps to create a better lapel pin at Scribd.com . 

Custom lapel pins have been used for many different reasons over the last few decades. Whether they are used for employee recognition, fundraising, corporate branding, symbols of achievement, promotional give a ways, a wasy to show support for a cause, or just to show patriotism,

Let me show you exactly how effective a good custom lapel pin could be. Let's use the example of a fundraiser for a University. Custom lapel pins run in price from $3.00 to $1.00 (approx.). They can be made in various metal colors, like Gold, Silver, or Bronze.

So let's say we have 300 contributors to an Alumni Foundation or Association. Let's further say that the standard donation is $100. If the prospect is told that for $100 they receive a bronze lapel pin, $200 they receive a silver lapel pin, and for $250 they receive a gold lapel pin. The prospect knows that when they go to an alumni function that everyone wears their lapel pin and the reason for going to the alumni association function is to network for business (like most functions are), does the prospect really want people to know that he only donated $100? Of course not! He knows that for the tax deductable donation of $250, he could wear the gold lapel pin, and it might entitle him to an earlier cocktail hour of high level donors (which translates to the more successful business owners), you could easily increase your fundraising efforts 150% without even adding new donors. All from a simple custom lapel pin. FYI, it does not cost anymore to make custom lapel pins mixed and matched between Gold, Silver and Bronze.

There it is a simple way to increase funrasiing efforts over 150% without adding any new donors to your fundraising effort.

Let's discuss designing your own lapel pin. When creating your design, keep it simple. Remember it is a lapel pin and will be small in size. Intricate designs can often not translate well.

This is a short list of things that you should remember to make sure that when creating a lapel pin:

1. Keep Fonts Simple .

2. Small details are usually done in metal color.

3. The thickness of the metal lines will effect your overall design.

4. Choosing Colors. Most Lapel Pin Manufacturers use the PMS Color Chart. Specify the colors you want to use.

5. Raised and lowered metal on Soft Enamel pins can create a great effect, however if you do not sandblast the background, or use a foggy paint, then the pin could become a shiny mess.

6. Choose the right lapel pin size! How a pin is measured is simple. Draw a square or rectangle, around your design. On the straight plane measure the longest side. That is how pins are measured!

Keeping these design tips in mind when creating your design should make your design translate into a success or you can visit our Lapel Pin Tutorial online for more information.