Create badges and merchandise

How to order bespoke badges and merchandise

Through our personalised merchandise service, it's easy to order bespoke badges and items for your unit or area.

They're perfect for special events or celebrating key dates in the Girlguiding calendar. Create your own to generate excitement, reward participation or to raise funds in your area.  

Why order through us?  

  • All our products are tested, safe and have been sourced using our ethical factories.  
  • We can let you know if your design needs tweaking to make sure it’s on brand.  
  • You’re making a difference - we're the only bespoke service that guarantees all profits go back to guiding.

How to create a bespoke badge  

If you’d like to create your own design for a badge, you can send us the design and we’ll take care of the rest. Bespoke badges take 6 weeks to produce from confirmation of order and pricing is provided upon enquiry. All you need to do to order your own bespoke badge is follow the steps below.  

  1. Create your design-the guidelines on this page will ensure you create a badge that is both fun and attractive, while adhering to our brand guidelines and avoiding potential trouble with other organisations. We recommend using a 70mm circle or square woven badge. 
  2. Order your badge-fill out an order formand send it to[email protected].  

If you're ordering your badge from an external supplier, check the design with our team by emailing [email protected] 

Badges that don't fit the requirements below may need to be recalled - so please follow them carefully.  

How can I order personalised clothing?  

  1. If you’d like to order personalised clothing please email us at[email protected].
  2. You can prepare your designusing our guidelines below.  
  3. Download and complete a personalised clothing order form,then return it to us using the details provided on the form.  
  4. Well contact you once we get your order formto confirm your design or advise of any changes that need to be made. You'll be sent confirmation of your final design for approval before we make it.  
  5. You’ll receive a final quote for your order, including standard delivery. We’ll then confirm how you can make payment for your order.  

How can I order ID badges, neckerchiefs or event materials?  

Designs should be submitted in .pdf, .jpeg or .eps format, and in RGB, CMYK or Pantone colour. If you don’t have a full design, a scanned drawing is fine.  

How do I design my badge or merchandise?  

Members can make use of our trademarked designs on locally produced products. But to protect our image, we need to make sure that these designs are used responsibly.  

Designing a badge 

All locally produced badges need to have 3 elements on them:  

  • The trefoil  
  • Your unit or area name  
  • The name of your event or challenge 

We ask for these so it's obvious at a glance that a badge has been produced by a particular guiding area rather than being an official Girlguiding badge.  

When using the trefoil:  

  • Pick the right colour and background for your section. Each section has its own trefoil colour and background colour that it must be on. If your item is for multiple sections use the Girlguiding masterbrand which is a white trefoil on the Girlguiding dark blue. Read our brand guidelines for more information.  
  • Don’t change it in any way or use the elements separately.  
  • Don’t use the trefoil as a pattern, upside down, at an angle or as part of another design or picture.  

When including your area or unit name:  

  • If the item is for an area such as a district, division or county, include 'Girlguiding' before the name.  
  • Use your full unit name when creating an item for a specific unit (the word Girlguiding does not need to be used in this instance). 
  • Create a logoin the online design centre if you need to make a local logo.  

Never use 'Girlguiding' without a local area name - this implies that a badge has been created on a national level and is an official badge.  

You also need to include the name of your challenge or event, for example ‘County camp 2023’ or ‘Woodland challenge’. On a badge this can be tricky, so we recommend positioning names around the edge to leave space for a design in the middle.

Examples of bespoke badges:

Designing merchandise 

All locally produced merchandise needs to have a localised Girlguiding logo.

Follow the brand guidelines for minimum size and safe clear around the logo. The logos can be downloaded from the ODC.

If the item is too small for the minimum size logo, it should have a trefoil and your unit or Girlguiding area name instead of a full logo.

This is so it's obvious at a glance that the item has been produced by a particular guiding area rather than being official Girlguiding merchandise.  

Don’t forget to:

  • Pick the right logo, with correct background colour, for your section. Each section has its own logo colour and background colour that it must be on. If your item is for multiple sections use the Girlguiding masterbrand which is a white trefoil on the Girlguiding dark blue. Read our brand guidelines for more information.  
    • Don’t change it in any way or use the elements separately. 
    • Don’t use the trefoil as a pattern, upside down, at an angle or as part of another design or picture. 
  • Never use 'Girlguiding' without a local area name - this implies that the item has been created on a national level and is an official piece of merchandise. 
  • Localised logos will always have Girlguiding included, but if you’re using a trefoil due to size limitations, make sure you include ‘Girlguiding' before the name of an area such as a district, division or county.
  • District, division and county are lower case following the area name.
  • Use your full unit name when creating an item for a specific unit.

You can also add an event or challenge name, but this is optional. 

Designing bespoke clothing 

You can create bespoke clothing for your unit or local Girlguiding area for events, trips or camps but it should not be used in place of uniform.

To create a bespoke clothing design, follow the advice below:

  • Use a localised Girlguiding masterbrand logo. This is so it's obvious at a glance that the item has been produced by a particular guiding area rather than being official Girlguiding merchandise. Localised logos can be downloaded from the ODC.
    • Follow the brand guidelines for minimum size and clear space around the logo.
    • Never use just the main 'Girlguiding' logo without a local area or unit name - this implies that the item has been created on a national level and is an official piece of merchandise. 
    • District, division and county are lower case following the area name.
    • Use your full unit name when creating an item for a specific unit.
  • The localised Girlguiding masterbrand logo can be used in Girlguiding dark blue or white. You should choose the option which provides the most contrast from the base colour so that it’s easy and clear to see.
  • Base of the garment can be selected from the range of accent colours from the Girlguiding masterbrand or section brands. These colours can be found on page 25, 51, 63, 75, and 87 in the brand guidelines.
    • You should not use the Girlguiding dark blue listed as an accent within the sections.
    • You should not use the primary colours from the Girlguiding masterbrand or section brands while we’re exploring the uniform project.
  • You can also add an event or challenge name, but this is optional and should be placed separately to the localised logo.
  • Don’t use the trefoil as a pattern, upside down, at an angle or as part of another design or picture. 

Please send designs to [email protected] to be reviewed before they’re created.

Design dos and don'ts  

Do:  

  • Make sure the trefoil, your unit or area name and the name of your event or challenge are clear and visible at a glance.  
  • Make sure the text is clear and easy to read.  
  • Use our Poppins font. Download Poppins for free. And go to our how we look webpage for more advice.
  • Make sure the colour combinations are accessible. 
  • Use our brand guidelines for more advice on colours and fonts to ensure your item is on brand, and recognisable as part of Girlguiding .
  • Involve your girls! You could give them a template with the 3 key elements on as a starting point.  

Don't:  

  • Use other company or partner logos on your design. 
  • Use the trefoil more than once. It’s a standalone element, it cannot be altered or used as a pattern. 

Other people’s trademarks  

If your challenge or event has a theme, you may want to create an item that ties in with this. However, you need to be careful if your theme involves any images or logos that are owned or trademarked by other organisations.   

For example, if you are running a Disney-themed camp or a technology challenge you might want a badge featuring Mickey Mouse or the Apple logo, both of which are protected trademarks.  

By including copyrighted images, you run the risk of being sued. Pleasefollow our guidelines on how to check copyright,and make sure to get permission for any images you do use.  

Badges and merchandise for national or international events  

Sometimes groups taking part in events organised nationally by Girlguiding may wish to produce badges - for example, forGOLDor a charity challenge. Teams will be given specific badge design information that relates to these projects - please don't make one yourself withoutconsulting our marketing teamfirst. Email [email protected] to speak to the team.   

Joint badges with Scouts  

If you're producing a badge jointly with a local Scout group or area, follow the rules of both organisations. You can find guidance about theScouts’ branding on their website.