12 Name Badge Ideas For Your Next Event (#9 is Awesome)
Got ya — You’re on the lookout for more creative name badge ideas that set yourself apart, encourage networking, and get attendees to interact with each other.
Well, you came to the right place.
Here are some fancy, cool, simple, sophisticated, funky & traditional name badge ideas for your next event, trade show, meetup or conference.
Let’s go…Let’s go…Let’s go…
Name Badge Ideas Overview:
- The Conversation Starter Badge 💬
- The Eco-Friendly Badge 🌼
- The Bamboo Badge
- The “Put The Schedule On The Back” Badge
- The “Map on Back” Badge 🗺️
- The Digital Display Badge
- The Old School Tech & Hipster Badge 💾
- The Booklet Badge
- The Bluetooth Enabled Smart Badge
- The Flashing Name Badge
- The “Write-On / Write-Off” Badge 🖊️
- The “Show Me Your Personality” Badge
- CONCLUSION
Check Out These Creative Name Badge Ideas 👇
#1 The “Conversation Starter” Name Badge 💬
We’ve already talked about this type of badge in our Event Badges 101 Guide. TED used these types of badge during their TEDActive event series a couple of years ago. They are simple, but they work.
Why this type of badge works?
Starting a conversation with strangers is most feared after public speaking. Having 1–3 topics to spark up a conversation makes it so much easier. Come on, if someone stood in front of you with a badge that says: “Talk to me about home-brewing beer” could you resist?
Up next:
#2 The Eco-Friendly Name Badge 🌼
If you’re looking for sustainable and eco-friendly name badge ideas, this one could be for you. TEDx MileHigh used these eco-friendly badges to make a dent in the industry.
Literally!
Long gone are the days where you simply throw away your plastic badge after a conference or trade show. The whole events industry is looking for ways to become more sustainable, right?
Guess what…this eco-friendly name badge automatically dissolves and turns into seeds that you can plant to grow a 🌼🌸❀✿🌷
Why this type of name badge works?
Using eco-friendly name badges shows that you care about planet Earth and Mother Nature. Second, giving your attendees something that they can plant afterward is a thoughtful gesture that won’t go unnoticed.
Here’s another eco-friendly name badge idea 👇
#3 The Bamboo Badge
Badges don’t always need to made of plastic or paper.
Using a bamboo badge, names, job titles, artwork, and logos can be engraved into the wood using state-of-the-art laser engravers. Many companies offering these types of badges at an affordable price point.
(TRC offers various badge types for on-demand badge printing. Paper or plastic is a more suitable option for larger events. If you want to learn more, you can contact us here or request a quote!)
The engraving of wooden name badges gives your text and logo a slight burning effect into the wood and provides a subtle contrast of dark and light.
Overall, bamboo badges look awesome.
Why this type of name badge works?
Would you use a bamboo badge for your 1,000+ conference or trade show? Probably not. But for smaller meetings or events, bamboo badges can give your event that sustainable and eco-friendly touch and feel. It’s just a little different.
#4 The “Put The Schedule On The Back” Badge
Putting the schedule on the back of the badge makes total sense.
Why would you waste any space with a blank page?
You only have a limited area for your attendees’ personal information so you could make use of the back of the badge to print the agenda like so 👇
Why this type of name badge works?
It’s simple. People don’t want to fiddle with their phone or mobile event app to find the times for their next workshop or session. By putting the agenda on the back of the badge, you’re increasing the chance of people actually attending the session.
Otherwise, they might forget, right? No brainer.
But hold on…There’s more you can do:
#5 The “Put The Map On The Back” Badge 🗺️
In our Event Badges Guide, we talked about the importance of utilizing badge real estate.
There are various ways how you can do that.
As mentioned in #4, the agenda is one of the things that make perfect sense to put on the back. Add some more “Awesomeness” & “Usefulness” by printing an overview of the venue, a map.
Maps, agendas & emergency information are the perfect candidates here.
It’s a non-techy way of allowing attendees to always have an overview of where rooms are located or where sessions take place. Color-coded with labels, they are also great on the eye. Badges like the one below look stunning.
Why this type of name badge works?
Putting the map on the back of the badge could be a great way to speed up conference interim times. It gives attendees an all-around overview of the venue for better orientation and quicker travel time from A to B.
#6 The Digital Display Name Badge
Are you looking for high-tech name badge ideas? The digital display name badge could be one idea for your next event.
Digital display name badges will allow you to replace your static badges with dynamic information such as videos, contact information, images or other media. You can use software to load messages onto the badge’s display.
One of the downsides: With a wholesale price of anywhere between $40.00 — $70.00 a pop, they’re super expensive. Plus, will attendees actually like it?
In fact, very few event organizers are using digital display name badges. They just seem a little bit too “gimmicky”.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below 👇
#7 The Old School Tech & Hipster Badge 💾
This one’s kinda cool. We love it.
William Gallus used old school floppy disks (remember those?) and a good ol’ marker pen to create name badges for the Tech Fest 2015 conference in London.
These badges would work great for any “tech event” so if you want to spark nostalgia amongst your millennial or pre-millennial attendees, this type of badge would be awesome for it.
They are also low in cost.
You can pick up a box of 10 floppy disks and labels for about 5 bucks on eBay. All you need is a marker pen and you’re good to go.
#8 The Booklet Badge
We’re not actually sure if POSE is a real conference or just a badge design project from students. In any case, creating a little mini-fold booklet with colored tabs is an amazing idea for a name badge.
Again, it’s all about making it more useful for attendees and increasing the attendee experience.
A booklet badge makes it incredibly easy for attendees to find what they need. Examples predestined for these types of badges are the agenda, event map, workshops, WiFi codes & sponsorships/partners.
The next one we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE ❤️
#9 The Bluetooth Enabled Smart Badge
Did you know that you can attach small BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) tags to your badge so you can simplify attendee tracking and understand attendees’ behavior?
Wait..what?
Yes, you can use your badge to track attendees around the event.
You can see their location on a heatmap.
You can capture valuable data for event marketing & event logistical purposes.
And you can show exhibitors and sponsors the most valuable areas to exhibit.
Can you imagine how many insights you can gather and how this will affect your overall event ROI?
With Bluetooth Low Energy enabled smart badges you can collect all the data and then analyze it in real-time. Just like this:
Attendee tracking solutions make this possible and smart badges are definitely here to stay.
To learn more about BLE enabled attendee tracking technology, contact us here.
#10 The Flashing Name Badge
Are you looking for some fun name badge ideas?
You can use flashing name badges like the one in the video below to draw attention and are a definite eye-catcher. This lit badge is definitely a show-stopper.
#11 Write-On & Wipe-Off Badges 🖊️
Simple.
I mean, really simple.
And budget-friendly, too.
Write-on and wipe-off badges can be made from reusable materials. All you need is a marker pen and a wet finger.
Let’s move on with our last name badge idea:
#12 The “Show Me Your Personality” Badge
Given the popularity of stacking badge ribbons, it seems like an Olympic discipline.
Why are they so damn popular?
It’s because they allow attendees to let their personalities shine through. No matter if attendees are showcasing their membership at ICCA or MPI or some custom message, badge ribbons are awesome.
You can custom print them with any message you can think of or you can buy them in an assortment of humourous packs.
The question is: What message would you put on your event badge ribbons?
Conclusion
Hopefully, you could get some inspiration from these name badge ideas. We’re keen to learn from you if you’ve seen any crazy, fun or simply different name badges. Or are you more of a traditional event professional preferring paper & plastic? Let us know in the comments below.
Our team at TRC Badgerite has successfully conducted 1000+ events and can provide you with on-demand badge printing and attendee tracking solutions that increase the experience. Step up your onsite game and arrange a call today.
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