The marketing and brand promotion realm calls for genuine creativity to design winning tools to help you make your brand stand out amid all of the competing brands. Enamel pins are unique and trendy tools that many businesses have already discovered have immense power to help them showcase their brand identity and connect with their target audiences, leaving a lasting impression and impact.
Thanks to their compact yet impactful nature, enamel pins offer companies a great canvas to express their brand’s values, personality, and aesthetic. However, it takes a degree of creativity for businesses to design enamel pins. It is a long journey that starts with an idea and ends with the production of the enamel pins. Each step of the process plays a crucial role in seeing the concept come to life.
In this blog post, we will explore the journey of designing enamel pins for promoting brands so that you can make informed decisions if you’re considering crafting these tools for your brand.
Understanding enamel pins
These are miniature works of art that are made using enamel—a coloured powdered glass—that is heated at very high temperatures, resulting in a glossy finish. The production of enamel pins involves several techniques such as die striking, colouring, and plating. The end result is miniature pieces of art in various sizes, shapes, and styles, giving the makers room to be creative with designing them.
The process of designing enamel pins for brand promotion
Below are some steps companies can follow to design enamel pins to promote their brands:
Know the target audience
As companies design enamel pins to promote their brands, they should start by thinking about their target audience. They need to ask themselves who they’re aiming to reach with the enamel pins. The essence of understanding the demographics as well as the interests of your target audience is so that you can come up with designs that resonate with them.
Brainstorm and research
When understand the purpose of your enamel pins is to promote your brand and you know your target audience, the next step is to brainstorm and research these works of art. You can seek inspiration from sources such as art and design books, other companies’ enamel pins, and even social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.
As you brainstorm and do your research, think about the elements that make an enamel pin visually appealing, including the colours, symbols, typography, and other themes. During your research phase, collect ideas and create a mood board to help you visualise the final look and the feeling you aspire for the pin to have.
Sketch and refine the idea
Having gathered a pool of ideas, get down to sketching the enamel pin you want with a pencil and paper. You shouldn’t worry about perfection, the aim here is to put the ideas on paper. It is good to experiment with various shapes, compositions, and styles until you develop a design that reflects your brand and suits your target audience.
While sketching, consider your enamel pin’s size and shape, as the pins can come in various sizes, such as square, round, and custom shapes. You should ensure your design can go well with the chosen shape and size of the pin.
Come up with a digital design
With the sketch done, you need to convert it into a digital and detailed mock-up of the enamel pin. You need to use graphic design software for this work and be attentive to colour schemes, lines and various details. Because of their limited size, an enamel pin design must be precise to convey the intended message clearly.
Talk to a professional manufacturer
When you complete your digital design, the next step to take is to consult a professional manufacturer of enamel pins. It is crucial to research and work with reputable manufacturers, such as Rocket Badge who are well-versed in creating enamel pins, and get a quote.
The best manufacturers will offer you valuable insights into the production process, pin capabilities, and any changes that may be advisable to change the design into an enamel pin that can be easily produced. You also need to decide on the pin’s base metal, which is usually iron or brass, and the plating, which can be silver, gold or other finishes.
Finalise the design and create a prototype
Before placing an order with the manufacturer to produce huge quantities of your enamel pins, create a prototype. This step in the design of enamel pins helps you to see and get a feel of actual enamel pins, so you can make any necessary changes to your pin’s design and materials.
You need to check the prototype for the colour, size and overall look accuracy. This stage also allows you to get feedback from your team and trusted peers, as a fresh pair of eyes can help you improve your enamel pins.
Production and quality control
After reviewing the prototype, requesting any modifications, and getting the improved version, you can approve the prototype to allow it to move to the production stage. During the manufacturing phase, conduct quality control inspections to be sure that every pin is up to your standards. You conduct checks on colour accuracy, imperfections, and proper finishes.
Package and brand the enamel pins
Having completed the design and production of your enamel pins, you need to get the miniature promo tools packaged in a way that complements them and aligns with your brand’s values and aesthetics. Use eco-friendly materials or unique designs to package your enamel pins so you give your customers an exceptional unboxing experience.
Distribute and promote
With your enamel pins ready and packaged, you need to start distributing them and promoting your brand. It is vital to consider different marketing strategies to help get your pins to your target audience. Some techniques you can employ include:
- Offering them as giveaways (freebies) or incentives
- Collaborating with influencers to distribute them and promote your brand
- Selling the enamel pins as merchandise
- Sharing photos of your enamel pins on social sites
- Hosting contests and other events and giving the enamel pins as prizes or as freebies to the attendees
Conclusion
The journey of designing enamel pins is a long one, but it is worth the effort and it can be exciting. Your well-designed enamel pins can go a long way in promoting your brand and providing your target audience with a lasting impression of your brand. It would be best to constantly monitor the success of your enamel pins promotion through various metrics and get insights to help you improve in the future.
