School Graduation Medals: Designing for Two Generations at Once 🎓

A graduation medal hangs in two places: the graduate's bedroom, and the parents' living room shelf. Designing for both audiences without compromising either is the craft.

The Front Speaks to Parents

School crest, year, and 'Graduate' in the most formal serif the engraver offers. This is the side that gets photographed by family and posted to parents' social-media. Resist the urge to add modern motifs here — formality on the front earns the school the respect it spent 12 years building.

The Back Speaks to the Graduate

Class motto, graduation year in a contemporary sans-serif, maybe a small QR code linking to the class group chat — the back is where the graduate's personality lives. This is the side they show friends. Two-sided design with distinct voices for each costs no more than a single-sided design and reads as twice the thought.