Aug 05, 2014 A Badge, By Any Other Name
Big badges, small badges, badges with advertising, scannable badges, paper badges, plastic badges…
If you do an internet search on conference badges you find thousands of products along with many strong blog opinions about how your badges should look. Here at Wilsonwest we prefer to guide our clients to keep their badges simple and clean. Less is more when it comes to badging for an executive meeting or conference. Name, company, and event (or hosting company) logo on a 3.5″ x 2.25″ badge is often all one needs. Titles can be included if you feel it enhances the quality of networking, but the new economy has done much to change the value of traditional job titles. We are careful to find the balance between First Names that are clearly legible a few feet away and 72 point font walking billboards!
If you find it necessary to use a bigger badge for scanning purposes or to address sponsorship concerns, make sure to use the back side of the badge for information useful to your attendees, such as a brief schedule of events or a map of the meeting space. Function follows form in these instances, but often these add-ons are very effective event collateral enhancements.
Badge holders come in many different styles and sizes. Again, think simple. We like to use the magnetic backed holders that are easily affixed to any article of clothing and won’t mar the wearer’s suit or shirt. Have back-up clip style holders for a second option for attendees with pacemakers or anything else that a magnet might interfere with. Stay away from lanyards and ribbons if at all possible. A longtime favorite of the conventioneer set, they tend to look out of place at executive level and social events.
One production tip: a small detail a lot of planners forget is to have your speakers and presenters remove their badge before walking on to the stage. An awkward looking badge can ruin a photo or video.
Don’t over-think your badges. Keep them simple and focus on their main purpose: identifying who your attendees are.
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