Why Keeping It Simple Makes The Most Effective Conference Badges

There’s a lot of chatter online about what makes a good conference badge. For some events, the perfect name badge is a status symbol, with attendee names laser-etched into sanded oak plaques, or photos printed onto plastic cards. If you don’t have the budget though, a basic paper badge will be able to instantly convey all the information that it needs to without breaking the bank. Here are some tips for creating effective basic conference badges:

Definitely place your conference logo on the badge in order to keep people from recycling their badges from the last event.

Unless the business climate of your event is formal, the most prominent item on the badge should be the first name. Ideally, the first name should be centred on the X axis, and in a size large enough to be read from 10 feet away.

A lot is said about you (and by extension, your event) by the font you use on your communications:

Arial: No-nonsense, clear and easy to read, Arial conveys professionalism without being flashy.

 

 

Comic Sans: While a sans-serif font is always recommended for the sake of readability, an exception must be made for Comic Sans. Long the bane of administrative professionals everywhere, Comic Sans conveys a sense of dangerous incompetence, or a child trapped in an adult’s body (or both!)

 

Papyrus: You may be tempted to try something exotic-looking. We strongly encourage you not to go for this kind of look for a badge. Here’s a sample font that sets off most reputable graphic designers. Is your event being held at a closed down vegan restaurant? Even if it is, steer clear.

 

For maximum readability, keep your badges black on white stock. If you want to add some colour, go for colour-coded badge holders. In fact, besides jazzing up the badge, colour-coded badge holders add a marginal layer of security to your meeting: use different colours for different levels of access. You don’t necessarily want one for every single category, but rather it should be keyed so that event staff and security personnel are able to instantly determine if someone is not where they should be:

What about speakers and other VIPs? They don’t need their own colour, but you might want to give them a ribbon, if you have it in your budget.

Ribbons are a nice way to recognize VIPs and have them stand out against the crowd. The trick with ribbons is that less is more.

 

Remember: Once you surpass three ribbons on a badge, the correlation between dignity and the number of ribbons becomes inverted. Don’t have every delegate at your meeting festooned with useless ribbons, or the ones dedicated to your VIPs become meaningless.

The upshot of all of this is that to have a useful, easy to read badge, use the KISS rule – Keep It Simple! The ePly system now has a tool to help you design and print your badges. Read more about this new feature, or contact us at [email protected]!

Why Keeping It Simple Makes The Most Effective Conference Badges

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  • Colour 1: Full Conference. For the category that allows access to most events (exhibit hall during standard hours, session rooms, non-ticketed receptions, etc.)
  • Colour 2 / 3: One Day Only. See above, but for the reduced rate one day registrations.
  • Colour 4: Exhibitor. Not only does it give fair warning to the delegate chatting with him or her that they’re likely about to be pitched something, it also lets staff and security know that this person is allowed in the exhibitor area during off-hours.
  • Colour 5: Staff. This colour lets attendees know who you are, and where to direct the questions…it also allows you into areas in the venue that nobody else will have access.
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Mar 5th, 2015Sign Up to have new posts emailed to you

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