How to Design Custom Medals: Style, Size, Ribbon and Finish
Designing a custom medal comes down to five choices: the medal style, the size, the ribbon, the metal finish, and the packaging. Style controls how your artwork is reproduced, size sets the physical presence and cost, and the ribbon decides how the medal hangs and how much room you have for event branding. This guide walks through each choice in the order you will meet it on the product page, so you can configure a medal, see the price, and upload artwork in one sitting.
Quick Answer
- Best for
- Sports events, races, schools, clubs, corporate awards, service recognition
- Medal styles
- Soft Enamel, Die Struck, 3D Die Cast
- Sizes
- 2", 2.5", 3"
- Ribbon
- 1", 1.5" or 2" width; three loop types
- Finishes
- Gold, Silver (Nickel), Copper, plus antique versions of each
- Minimum order
- 25 pieces per design
- Artwork
- Uploaded on the product page — JPG, PNG, PDF, AI, EPS, SVG or PSD
- Proof
- Free digital proof, revised until you approve it
Start with the medal style
The style determines how your artwork is physically formed in the metal. It is the first choice on the page because everything after it — how fine your details can be, how the finish reads — follows from it.
Soft Enamel
Colour is filled into recessed areas, leaving raised metal lines between them. You can feel the texture with a fingertip. The most economical of the three and the widest-used for event medals.
Die Struck
No colour fill — the design is stamped into the metal and reads through light and shadow alone. Looks restrained and traditional, and pairs well with antique finishes.
3D Die Cast
The surface is sculpted with real depth, so figures, faces and contoured shapes have dimension rather than flat outlines. The most expensive option and the most demanding on artwork.
| Style | How it looks | Artwork it suits | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Enamel | Bright colour, textured surface, visible metal outlines | Logos with defined colour areas and clear line work | Races, tournaments, school awards, club events |
| Die Struck | Single metal tone, detail carried by relief and shadow | Crests, seals, text-heavy or monochrome designs | Service recognition, commemoratives, formal awards |
| 3D Die Cast | Sculpted relief with genuine depth and contour | Figures, mascots, animals, anything with modelled form | Flagship event medals, championship awards |
Choose Soft Enamel if your design is logo-based, you want strong colour, and you are ordering for a large field of participants.
Choose Die Struck if your design is a crest or seal, or you want the medal to read as formal rather than colourful.
Consider another option if your artwork is a photograph or a fine gradient — those reproduce better as printed products than as struck or cast metal.
Pick the size
Three sizes are offered: 2 inch, 2.5 inch and 3 inch. Size affects three things at once — how the medal feels in the hand, how much detail survives, and the per-piece cost.
| Size | Character | Detail capacity | Common fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 inch | Light, compact, easy to hand out in volume | Comfortable for a logo, a short line of text and a year | Youth sport, school field days, large participation fields |
| 2.5 inch | Noticeably more substantial without becoming heavy | Room for a logo, event name, date and placement wording | Road races, tournaments, club championships |
| 3 inch | Clear physical weight; reads as a headline award | Best choice for sculpted 3D work or dense crest detail | Marathons, finals, annual corporate awards |
A practical rule: if your design includes small text — sponsor names, a long event title, a list of categories — step up a size rather than shrinking the type. Text that looks fine on screen can close up once it is struck into metal at 2 inches.
Choose the ribbon
The ribbon is two separate decisions on the product page: the loop the ribbon passes through, and the width of the ribbon itself.
Loop type
- Round Loop — a simple ring at the top of the medal. The standard choice and the most compact.
- Wide Sewn Loop — a flat, wider opening with the ribbon sewn in place. Holds a broad ribbon flat and keeps the medal from twisting as it hangs.
- Free-Moving Wide Loop — a wide opening the ribbon runs through freely, so the medal can rotate and settle on its own.
Ribbon width
Ribbons come in 1 inch, 1.5 inch and 2 inch. Wider ribbons carry printed event branding more legibly and balance larger medals; narrower ribbons suit 2 inch medals and younger recipients. As a starting point, pair 1 inch with 2 inch medals, 1.5 inch with 2.5 inch medals, and 2 inch with 3 inch medals — then adjust if you are printing text along the ribbon.
Choose a wide sewn loop if you are using a 2 inch ribbon and want it to sit flat and square against the medal.
Choose a round loop if you want the simplest, lowest-cost setup and are using a narrower ribbon.
Select the metal finish
Six finishes are available: Gold, Silver (Nickel), Copper, and antique versions of all three. Polished and antique differ in more than colour. An antique finish leaves darker tone sitting in the recessed areas, which pushes relief detail forward and makes sculpted or struck work read more clearly.
- Gold, Silver (Nickel), Copper — bright and reflective, with a clean modern look. These suit soft enamel colour work and are the usual choice for first, second and third place sets.
- Antique Gold, Antique Silver, Antique Bronze — darkened recesses and a muted sheen. These pair well with die struck crests and 3D sculpted detail, where contrast does the work that colour would otherwise do.
If you are producing a placement set, the usual approach is one design in three finishes — gold, silver and copper — rather than three separate designs. Note that the 25-piece minimum applies per design, so a three-finish set of the same artwork is planned accordingly.
Finish with packaging
Four packaging options are offered, and the right one depends less on budget than on how the medals will be handed over.
- Clear Bag — the standard. Keeps medals separated and untangled for fast distribution at a finish line or ceremony.
- Plastic Box — light protection and a more finished presentation at modest cost.
- Velvet Pouch — soft protection, good for medals that will be posted or carried home.
- Velvet Box — presentation-grade, suited to a small number of headline awards handed over individually.
A common approach for larger events: clear bags for the participation field, and a small run of velvet boxes for the podium.
If you are still weighing formats, it is worth comparing medals against custom challenge coins — coins suit recognition that gets carried rather than worn, and they take a different kind of artwork. You can also browse the medal range to see finished examples before you start configuring.
What it costs
Custom medals start at $18.90 per piece at the published starting price, and the total changes as you select style, size, ribbon, finish and packaging. Soft Enamel is the base style, with Die Struck and 3D Die Cast adding a per-piece amount; wider loops and upgraded packaging add smaller increments. Per-piece cost falls as quantity increases.
The product page updates the price as you make each selection, so you can compare configurations before committing. There are no mould or setup fees, and the starting price is not a fixed price for every configuration — check the live figure on the page for your exact build.
Before you order
- Artwork in a workable format — JPG, PNG, PDF, AI, EPS, SVG or PSD
- Vector artwork where you have it; it reproduces detail more reliably than a low-resolution image
- Event name, year and any placement wording finalised — changes after proof approval are harder to make
- Text sized so it still reads at your chosen medal size
- Quantity per design confirmed, remembering the 25-piece minimum applies to each design
- Delivery date noted in your order notes if you are working to an event deadline
After you order, you receive a free digital proof by email. Revisions are unlimited until you approve it, and production begins only after your approval — so the proof stage is the moment to check spelling, dates, artwork placement and finish direction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum order for custom medals?
Twenty pieces per design. If you are producing gold, silver and copper versions of the same artwork, plan quantities with that per-design minimum in mind.
Can I put different artwork on the front and back?
Front and back artwork can both be customised. Include both files and note which is which when you upload, and check the placement on your digital proof.
Which medal style handles small text best?
Die struck and 3D die cast carry fine relief well, but the more reliable variable is size rather than style. If your design has small text, moving from 2 inch to 2.5 inch usually helps more than changing the style.
Will the medal match the colours on my screen?
A digital proof lets you check artwork, text, placement, finish direction and your selected configuration. Screens vary, and metal reflects light in ways a flat image cannot show, so treat the proof as confirmation of the design rather than an exact colour match.
Do I pay a mould or setup fee?
No. Mould and setup fees are not charged, so the cost you configure on the page is the cost of the medals themselves.
What if I need more than 100 pieces?
Quantities beyond the online range are handled by email. Contact MZIHO with your design, size and quantity for a volume quote.
Design your medal
Choose your style, size, ribbon, finish and packaging, see your price update as you go, and upload your artwork — all on one page.
Start Customizing