Are you planning a big event? Whether it’s a charity event for a non-profit organization, a concert, or a geeky convention, one of the things you’ll need is a custom lanyard. Aside from serving as an easy way to hold a badge that identifies an attendee, a personalized lanyard also doubles as an exclusive, take-home souvenir.
Handing out lanyards is easy but having well-designed personalized lanyards require some careful decision making. You’d want lanyards that are easy to use, nice to look at, and they have to fit the overall theme of your event. Here are a few helpful tips on coming up with a great custom lanyards.
- Set Design Goals
The best way to start designing your personalized lanyard is to figure out what it should be. Do you want something with a minimalistic design? Should it have the name of the event designed prominently? Do you want it to represent your organization? Depending on these factors, you can set goals that would speed up the entire designing process.
- Choose Your Color(s)
There are two key questions when choosing the color of your lanyard:
- Do you need lanyards with different colors for different levels of access to the event?
- Do you need a color scheme that matches your organization or your event’s overall theme?
By answering these two questions, you should have no trouble picking the right color schemes for your lanyard. Of course, if you’re having trouble, you can always pick neutral colors such as black or grey, or white since those go well with most design elements.
- Define the Visual Elements
The colors will serve as the base of the entire lanyard’s design, but you still have to work out the finer details. Figure out the different visual elements that you want in your customized lanyard. How much text should be in it? What about your preferred font choices? How prominent should your organization’s logo be? Do you put your organization’s name in the lanyard, just the event name, or both? Just be careful not to go overboard when it comes to designing since too many details can make the lanyard look tacky.
- Material Matters
Picking the right material for the lanyard is not as simple as one might think. Depending on your budget and the expected amount of attendees, you might end up spending too much on a huge batch of lanyards. On the other hand, you’d want something more special or durable than throwaway lanyards for more exclusive or more formal events. Choosing a material is a fine balancing act between esthetics, comfort, cost-efficiency, and durability.
- Pick Your Attachments
The lanyard’s design is almost complete, but you still have to figure out what kind of attachment it should have. Picking the right lanyard attachment greatly depends on its intended use. For example, split rings are considered very secure for attaching even heavier items, but they’re not easy to use. Swivels and clips are easy to use, but they’re not as secure as rings. Hooks are durable and secure, but they also tend to be more expensive than other attachments.
- Accessorize
Accessories are a great way to enhance the usability of your personalized lanyards. For example, the lanyards can come with badge holders which can also be used to hold an attendee’s ID outside of the event. You may also want to include a phone attachment that also doubles as a safety measure. Last but not least, you can add a breakaway clip that would prevent the lanyard from choking the wearer’s neck in case it gets snagged somewhere.
Finding the right kind of lanyard for your event can be a challenging yet fulfilling activity. Always consider the type of event you’ll be hosting and if the lanyards you’ll be using match it. In the end, your lanyards can become a prominent part of what makes your event stand out while becoming a memorable souvenir for your attendees.
