School lanyards are now more than just accessories for holding the school I.D. The availability of customization means that it can be a part of the school uniform and its identity. Carrying the school colors, a lanyard can even embody the school spirit in its design as well as promote causes and ideas worth sharing.
The trick is to get the right design that resonates with the school’s stakeholders such as the students, faculty, staff, and even parents. You don’t even need to hire expensive professional graphic designers to do the job. You can take on this task yourself with the help of online apps where you can specify the color, layout, and logo of your lanyard. What you need are simple and practical tips for a professional-looking customized school lanyard that you can be proud of. Here are just a few:
- Simple Design Layout – Lanyard width varies from as thin as ¼ inch to a wider 1 inch. While the most common designs feature a replicated image and text, you can also use the full-length of the lanyard to incorporate a more complex design. Your creativity shouldn’t be limited by the narrow space of the lanyard; however, you shouldn’t go overboard with so many design elements at once as well. Maintaining a critical eye and learning to edit your design will help keep it polished and concise. Another tip is to check out the hundreds of designs on the internet to get inspiration and ideas.
- Incorporating School Colors – A great school lanyard is one that’s easily identifiable as belonging to your school. It presents an opportunity to use the school colors in your lanyard design. Choose school colors that complement each other or create an interesting contrast. For university students, you can even choose colors that identify your specific courses of study. According to the Academic Costume Code by the American Council on Education, there are specific colors associated with different disciplines. For example, orange for engineering, purple for law, green for medicine, and so on.
- Contrasting Text – In any design, it’s important to get the message across easily and quickly. That’s why it’s important to have readable text that you don’t have to squint to decipher. Achieve this by making sure there’s enough color contrast from the background. If you have a rainbow of colors as a backdrop, then perhaps a simple solid white text would stand out better. An outline is also a good idea to ensure the words are clear against a busy background.
- Simple Fonts – With a narrow 3/8-inch or 1-inch space, a lanyard is not the best place to put a flourishing calligraphy unless it’s the only design. You can choose your school’s official font or a minimal font like Arial or Times that’s easily readable from afar if you plan on having a lot of text elements. It’s also a good idea to limit the number of font styles to just 1 or 2 to keep the design uncluttered and professional.
- Consistent Theme – Creating a lanyard for specific school events is also a great idea for school merchandise. Keep the design consistent with the event’s theme by using the same background or logo as the invitation or brochure. Moreover, the lanyard can also be used as promotional material for causes such as autism awareness or anti-bullying campaigns. Add appropriate graphics that you can use to highlight the message of the campaigns. Autism awareness, for example, uses a puzzle piece for symbolism while anti-bullying campaigns are synonymous with a stop sign. Campaigning for autism awareness can also be paired with autism bracelets for a wider reach.
Designing your school’s next lanyard is an opportunity to get your creative juices flowing. What’s more, it’s awesome to see students get excited about their new school accessory. What other elements are you planning to incorporate in your school’s lanyard design?
