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Personalised lanyards – get creative

Only-Lanyards-Creative

If you like the functionality of a lanyard, but you want to up the ante with something a bit more creative, then we can help. Lanyards can be customised in all sorts of ways – in this blog, we'll show you how to get creative with plenty of examples to inspire you.

How to get creative with your lanyards

There are lots of ways to customise a lanyard but the best way of putting your stamp on these popular items is to make changes to the:

  • material
  • design
  • clips and attachments

Material (printing process)

The material of your lanyard is usually dictated by the printing process. Your design can either be printed onto flat, weave polyester or heat transferred onto a smoother, silkier, type of polyester. Though polyester is the most commonly used material, if you want something out of the ordinary lanyards can be made in a variety of other materials.

Personalised lanyards – design

No customised lanyard is complete without a design perfectly created to reflect your visual identity and fulfil your marketing objective (s). Whether you're submitting your own complete artwork or you'd like us to design your lanyard for you, we can help.

Clips and attachments 

Our lanyards come with a metal trigger clip as standard but you can choose from a wide variety of clips to suit your requirements. Lanyard card holders are popular with our customers, but you may wish to add a PVC pouch, a set of keys, a mobile phone or a water bottle holder – there are a whole range of creative options.

Creative lanyards – top 5 countdown 

To help inspire you, we've put together a list of our top five creative lanyards.

  1. Double-ended lanyards 

Made fashionable by VIPs at high profile events and athletes at the Olympics, this type of lanyard has the edge over the traditional single clip version more commonly used. A double-ended lanyard has two clips instead of one, so you can attach each clip to the top corners of your lanyard card holder. This stops it flipping over to a back-to-front position, which is a practical solution to your ID not being visible and it’s on-trend too.

  1. Woven lanyards 

For something creative that stands out from the crowd, why not consider a woven lanyard? Instead of your logo being printed or dyed onto the material of your lanyard, the design is incorporated into the weave of the jacquard fabric so it lasts forever. We'd recommend this for special events where you want to make an impression.

3. Lanyards for keys  

If you're looking for a creative use for a lanyard that appeals to a broad range of audiences, then this ticks all the right boxes. Using a lanyard to hold your keys is a safe way to carry them without having to take a bag everywhere you go. For carrying keys, we would recommend using a heavy duty clip, either a carabiner or a lobster claw.

4. Printing on both sides

With dye sublimation – a printing process also known as heat transfer – you can utilise the space on both sides of your lanyard. Having the design of your lanyard printed on both sides is a great way of making sure your design stands out from the crowd.

5. Clear PVC pouches 

Clear PVC pouches make great alternatives to rigid plastic lanyard card holders. They're a fun and practical way to display your ID, tickets, venue passes, and more. They come in a range of sizes and they can accommodate single-ended or double-ended lanyards.

The versatility of the PVC pouch is what makes it so popular – whether it's a hen party itinerary or a festival guide, if you can print it then you can display it in the pouch.

Getting creative with your design

To get your lanyard design right, we recommend a less-is-more approach. We know how hard it can be to create something that fits the narrow width of a lanyard, which is why we offer a free design service for all our customers. Using your colour references and logo, our experienced team of professionals can create something really impactful.

If you'd prefer to design the lanyards yourself, you can also submit complete artwork. Our team at Only Lanyards have put together these top tips to help:

  • stick to one typeface – too many can look messy and unprofessional
  • use bold, contrasting colours so your logo is legible from a distance
  • keep every element simple and avoid anything that needs to be seen close-up

The more striking your design, the better chance you have of it being remembered, which is key if your objective is brand exposure. For something really creative, try combining a unique design element with an unusual material or attachment.

If you've opted for a dye sublimated lanyard that can be printed on both sides, why not try taking advantage of this feature by printing two different colours on either side.

Or if your lanyard is for a VIP with a clear PVC pouch that contains an all-access pass, then you could opt to have your logo woven into the material to give it a superior look.

Creative lanyards – the key takeaway 

There are lots of ways you can be creative with a lanyard, from your choice of material to its clips and attachments. When it comes to getting the design right, keeping it simple with clean lines and bold colours is an effective way to make an impression.

At Only Lanyards, we pride ourselves on being customer-service led with a focus on making the order process as easy as possible. Since we were established in 2001, we've worked with some of the biggest household names in Britain, including Age UK, Nationwide (building society), Sony, Tour de Yorkshire and the Royal Albert Hall.

If you choose to work with us, we are so confident that you'll like the finished product, that we promise to refund your money if you’re not completely satisfied. Contact our team today and let's start the process of creating your personalised lanyards.