Custom Design

10 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Designing a Custom Coat of Arms

September 17, 2026

A coat of arms has to work hard for its living. It must read clearly at the size of a signet ring, hold its own carved into oak or stitched into silk, and still say something honest about a family, a place or a business. After years of turning sketches into painted panels, engraved glass and embroidered banners, we can tell you that the disappointing designs are rarely the ambitious ones. They are the ones that trip over the same handful of snags: symbolism that means nothing, a shield stuffed past the point of legibility, colours that dissolve into each other. Here are the ten errors worth sidestepping before you commit to anything.

Mistake 1: Calling the Crest the Coat of Arms

The shield is the coat of arms. The crest is the small device that sits on top of the helmet above the shield. Add the helmet, the twisted wreath of cloth, the mantling draped around it and, if you have them, supporters and a motto scroll, and you have an achievement of arms.

This matters more than pedantry. People commission "a crest" and receive a griffin perched on a wreath with nothing underneath, which cannot then serve as the central, repeatable element of anything. Before you brief anyone, decide what you actually want. The shield on its own is the most flexible option and will work on a bookplate, a gate or a business card. Shield plus crest gives you the full picture. Everything beyond that adds cost and clutter.

To avoid confusion, here is a quick breakdown of the parts of an achievement:

The shield (or escutcheon): the central element, and the part that is properly called the coat of arms.
The crest: a device mounted on top of the helmet, often an animal or object.
The helmet and mantling: the decorative cloth draped around the helmet.
Supporters: figures (often animals) that stand on either side of the shield.
The motto: a phrase on a scroll, usually below the shield.

Knowing these terms will help you communicate clearly with a designer or heraldic artist, and it will save you from commissioning something that does not actually do what you need it to do.

Mistake 2: Choosing Charges From a Meaning List

Search for heraldic symbols and you will find lists promising that a lion means courage, an oak means strength and a bee means industry. Those lists are modern inventions. Charges in heraldry do carry broad associations, but there is no fixed code, no dictionary you can look up and no authority that will tell you an otter officially means loyalty.

So do not choose a charge because a website told you what it means. Choose it because it means something to you, and because you can explain that meaning in one sentence to a stranger. A shuttle for a family that worked in textiles. Three holly leaves for a garden that has been in the family for decades. An otter for a childhood spent on a river. Two or three charges with real stories behind them will always beat six borrowed from a template.

Instead, make a short list of what matters to you: places, trades, hobbies, values, family stories. Then look for simple, recognisable objects that represent them. A hammer for a carpenter, a quill for a writer, a mountain for a beloved home. The best charges are those that need no explanation because the story is embedded in your family's history.

Mistake 3: Borrowing Arms That Belong to Another Family

A great deal of heraldry sold online is invented and unrecorded, and some of it comes uncomfortably close to arms that already exist. Sharing a surname does not entitle you to a set of arms you found on a mug: arms belong to a specific line and pass by descent, not to everyone who happens to spell the name the same way. Nor is it wise to take a well-known design and simply change the colours. It will still be recognised as a variation of the original, and you will spend the rest of your life explaining that it isn't really yours.

If you want to be sure, check with the relevant heraldic authority. The College of Arms in London, the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh and similar bodies in other countries can tell you whether a design is already in use and whether you have any right to it. If you have no documented right to arms, you can design a new one that is distinct. Do not copy. A coat of arms is a mark of identity, and borrowing someone else's identity is never a good look.

Mistake 4: Overloading the Shield

A shield is not a canvas for everything you have ever loved. Too many charges turn a coat of arms into a cluttered mess, especially when it is reduced to the size of a button. Imagine a shield that contains a lion, three stars, a chevron, a border, a small castle, and a motto floating above it all. At a distance, it becomes a blur of shapes and colours. The eye has nowhere to rest.

The rule of thumb is simple: one main charge, or a simple group of two or three. Use the rest of the achievement—the crest, supporters, motto—for additional elements if you must. But keep the shield itself bold and uncluttered. A single, well-drawn lion rampant is far more powerful than a dozen tiny symbols fighting for attention.

Mistake 5: Ignoring the Rule of Tincture

Heraldry has one great technical rule: never place a colour on a colour, or a metal on a metal. The metals are gold (or) and silver (argent). The colours are red (gules), blue (azure), black (sable), green (vert) and purple (purpure). A red lion on a blue field will look like a dark blob from any distance. A gold star on a silver background will shimmer into invisibility.

This rule is not arbitrary. It exists to ensure contrast and legibility. When you follow it, your design will read clearly whether it is painted on a shield, stamped on a bookplate or embroidered on a banner. There are exceptions—furs, patterns like vair and ermine, and charges "proper" (in their natural colours)—but for a beginner, stick to the rule. It will save you from a design that looks muddy and confused.

Mistake 6: Using Too Many Colours

Even if you follow the rule of tincture, using five or six different colours creates a rainbow effect. A coat of arms should be memorable, not a paint sample. Limit yourself to two or three tinctures plus a metal. Think of the great flags of the world: most use only two or three colours, and they are instantly recognisable. Your arms should be the same.

Consider a design with a blue field, a gold lion, and red claws and tongue. That is three tinctures—blue, gold, red—and it is already rich enough. Add a green border and a purple chief, and the eye loses focus. Simplicity is the friend of heraldry. Fewer colours mean stronger impact and easier reproduction in embroidery, engraving and printing.

Mistake 7: Designing Only for Large Format

Your coat of arms will be reproduced small: on a signet ring, a tie pin, a letterhead, a wine label. If you design with fine lines, tiny details and delicate shading, those details will disappear when the image is scaled down. What looks beautiful on a large painted panel may look like a smudge on a business card.

Test your design at one inch square. If you cannot tell what it is, simplify. Bold shapes, strong contrasts and few elements are the key to scalability. A good heraldic artist will always check the design at multiple sizes before finalising it. You should do the same.

Mistake 8: Using Clip Art or Inconsistent Styles

Many people assemble a coat of arms from clip art found online. The results look like a collage: a photorealistic lion, a cartoon helmet, a medieval font, and a modern scroll all pasted together. The lack of a unified style undermines the dignity and coherence of the design.

A professional heraldic artist will create a cohesive design in a single style, whether traditional, modern, or stylised. If you must use existing elements, make sure they share the same line weight, level of detail and artistic approach. Consistency is what makes a coat of arms look like a single, deliberate creation rather than a collection of parts.

Mistake 9: Treating the Motto as an Afterthought

The motto is often the most personal part of a coat of arms. It can be in any language, though Latin and French are traditional. Do not just pick "Fortune Favors the Bold" because it sounds good. Choose words that reflect your family's values or a phrase that has meaning to you. A motto should be something you would be proud to say aloud.

Also consider how it will fit on the scroll. A long motto may need to be abbreviated or split across two lines. Work with your designer to find a phrase that is concise, meaningful and legible. The motto is not decoration; it is a statement of identity.

Mistake 10: Forgetting About the Future

A coat of arms is meant to be inherited. If you plan to pass it down, think about how it will be used by future generations. You might want to include a cadency mark—a small symbol indicating birth order—for younger children. Or you might design a basic shield that can be differenced over time. Heraldry is a living tradition, and your arms should be flexible enough to grow with your family.

Also, consider whether you want to register the arms with a heraldic authority. Registration provides official recognition and can guide future use, ensuring that your descendants have a clear record of their inheritance. It is an extra step, but it is one that many families find worthwhile.

A Quick Checklist Before You Commission

Before you finalise your design, run through this simple checklist:

Can you describe your arms in one sentence?
Does it follow the rule of tincture?
Is it legible at the size of a thumbprint?
Are all the charges meaningful to you?
Have you avoided copying existing arms?
Does it use no more than three tinctures?
Is the motto something you would be proud to say aloud?

If you can answer yes to all of these, you are well on your way to a coat of arms that will serve your family for generations.

Final Thoughts

Designing a coat of arms is an exercise in restraint. The most memorable arms are often the simplest: a single charge, two colours, a clear message. Do not try to say everything at once. Say one thing well. And remember that heraldry is a living tradition; your arms will evolve as your family does. Start with a solid foundation, and you will have something worth passing down.