10 Event Badge Ideas You Must Use in 2019

March 5, 2019 Susan Serena

The most influential tool for a corporate event planner in NYC to connect attendees to a business event are event badges. Here are 10 ideas to use for conference name badges that will connect attendees to your event.

In the grand scheme of corporate event planning ideas, an event badge can seem like a minor and understated detail. However, as people often say, the devil is in the details and what may appear to be a tiny component turns out to be a bit more than a simple neck ornament.

When it comes to the attendee experience, event badges are an indispensable fragment of your bag of corporate event planning ideas. They’re the key that gets you inside. You can look at event badges as:

  • A map
  • A program
  • A badge of honor
  • A behavior analyst
  • A keepsake
  • An icebreaker
  • A brand ambassador
  • Your saving grace when for the life of you someone’s name just isn’t populating in your head.

When done right, this influential tool can go a long way at any corporate event, but Corporate Event Planners in NYC must first understand the essentials.

When brainstorming corporate event ideas, remember that the appearance and impression of an event badge will reflect the event itself. So how do ensure that you are putting your best foot forward? No worries, we got you. We’ve broken down this event staple into five pieces.

Attention Attracter

A clever event badge design will always command attention. An attractive, trendy, and unique badge gets people’s attention and makes an impact on the entire attendee experience. So Corporate Event Planners in NYC need to step their game up and transform their event badges from trash to treasure. By putting extra effort into the design of your event badge, you are ensuring that your memento will live on long way after the event has concluded.

Stay Simple

Not all corporate event planning ideas need a clever design with a bunch of pointless clutter, especially since they have very limited space to design on. Your creation should be striking, but more importantly you have to highlight the essential information in a seamless format. Avoid adding a plethora of colors, images and wording when you design your badge. As a rule of thumb, less is more.

Remember the Purpose

Shoot for showcasing information that supports and serves your event goal. Every event design situation is not a one-size-fits-all. A corporate conference that runs for several days will value different data than say a VIP bracelet for a party goer. A corporate event badge should emphasize the participant’s first name, in bold, large font, and it should be easily read from a distance. Whereas a concert badge, would emphasize more on the VIP status. The bottom line is this: make your message clear and keep the design concise with the highlighted purpose at the forefront.

Increase Value

When you carefully consider the design elements of your event badge, you will be taking your corporate event ideas to the next level because you’re also converting the event into a complete marketing collateral. Your event badge will be seen a multitude of times which means that it’s a critical chance to showcase the event brand or company. Sponsors really love seeing their logo on an event badge. A stylish badge is way more appealing because they are generally the token that an attendee wants to hold onto throughout the duration of the event.

Keep it Personal

Find ways to personalize the area where the attendees’ name goes and stretch your creativity beyond adding just their name. This is a great place to add a personal fun fact, A sponsor level acknowledgment, an image with a headshot, or their social media handles. This isn’t only corporate networking at its finest, but the comfort level will produce an inviting icebreaker and help people identify one another later on.

Here are a few rules of thumb The Event Planner Expo team wants you to bear in mind when designing your event badge:

Boast a Large, Bold, First Name

In business events like conferences or trade shows where networking is the main goal, an attendees’ first name is one of the most imperative elements on the badge. That’s why you should design it so that their name is in large, bold, and legible font with a color that is easily read from afar.

Strive for Clean Lines & Minimal Design

If you keep it crisp and clean, you’ll help place attention where it needs to be.

Small Color Palette

When you use too many colors with event badges, you are not only making the badge more problematic to read but you’re taking away from the chief message. So try to keep it clean and classic and do your best not to use too many colors.

Double-Sided

When using lanyard as your medium, create it so that it’s a double-sided badge that has at least the participant’s first name on both sides unless you choose to use a no-twist lanyard. 

Corporate Event Planners in NYC can really step things up by looking for ways to make the badge work double duty. To add to the attendee experience, make the event badge creative and engaging. For example, you can create a:

Digital Caricature Experience

The big buzzword in the events industry today is “experience”. Event badges are not exempt from being an object that will deliver an experience to attendees. This opportunity is golden. When attendees are registering, you can have a digital artist sketch up a cartoon drawing really quickly for each participant. You can then insert the printed paper into a badge holder that they can wear each day of the event. This will work towards being an instant icebreaker for conversations and it’s a creative keepsake.

Event name badge ideas don’t necessarily have to be fancy schmancy or costly to get the job done. Event Planners in NYC can still deliver quality on a budget. Think about some of the options below when planning for a corporate event.

Badge Generators

Some corporate event ideas would include a badge-generator or perhaps event badge templates as a free feature. This is an easy and fast self-serve approach that will do away with the need to create custom graphic design fees. However, you can still customize the event badges so that you can stick to branding. They can also be printed easily right onsite for those last-minute attendees. It’s important for Corporate Event Planners in NYC to learn how to make event badges because it’s an essential part of registration! 

DIY Design

Another cost-saving name tag solution is do-it-yourself design. There are free and low-cost online badge makers available like Canva or Adobe Spark. These tools can help you create beautiful custom event badges within minutes with little to no design knowledge necessary.

Simple Materials

There are some event badge options that require several individual pieces to make it whole. Each one vying for a piece of your event budget pie. Choose instead a badge design that does not require the extra bells and whistles, but still serves your purpose. For instance, use holder-less badges. Ditch the plastic holder and consider printing on a heavier paper. Ditch the lanyard and choose event badges that adhere using a pin, clip, magnet or sticker. Any of these choices can still make an impact while keeping an eye on your bottom line.

Buy in Bulk

Look for opportunities to order in larger quantities. By ordering more supplies at one time you will save more money per event badge in the long-run. Try to plan ahead and order stock for the year ahead if you can.

Seek a Sponsor

You may be able to seek a sponsor to help offset some or all of your event badge cost. In exchange, you may have to give up a little space on the badge for their logo. A small price to pay though when you consider the savings power.

Use Reusable Goods

Look to choose materials that can be reused. Items like plastic sleeves and lanyards can be collected after an event and used again. Create collection areas so guests can easily dispose of them as they exit. Another idea is to create a reusable generic design on a badge. The personalized data can be adhered with a sticker. If there are badges leftover, you can save on design and printing costs and reuse the same shell for the next event.

Now that we’ve gone over the purpose, the best design tactics, and ways to save on cost, let’s review the list we compiled of 10 event name badge ideas that will help you leverage from their potential and use them to your every advantage.

These are The Event Planner Expo’s 10 favorite event badge ideas to help Corporate Event Planners in NYC design event badges that stand out:

1. Custom Die Cut Laser Engraved Acrylic

An artistic twist for the standard plastic event badge is adding a laser inscription to acrylic. When etched this sturdy plastic creates a frosted carving that illuminates from specific angles. Any color, shape, and size are possible.

2. Name Badge With a Digital Caricature

The biggest buzzword in corporate event planning right now is “experience”. Business event badges are not exempted from adding to attendee experiences. This opportunity is a gem. While attendees are registering, a digital artist can quickly sketch a cartoon caricature for every participant. The drawing will then be printed on the spot and placed inside the badge holder so that attendees can wear it all over the event. This is sure to be an instant conversation starter and a favorite as far as keepsakes go.

3. Recycled Artisan Lanyards

Bring some authenticity to your events with handmade lanyards made by skilled workers. Let them tell a story and add depth to your event. Often these handcrafted works of art are made from recycled material like these colorful handmade lanyards created out of recycled fishing line.

4. Reclaimed Wood

Nothing matches reclaimed woods for uniqueness and character. Name badges repurposed from cast-off lumber gives new life to both the material and to your event.

5. VIP Veteran Charms

A loyal attendee is the best attendee. Incorporate a creative way to thank this VIP conference veteran and give them the acknowledgment they deserve. In this rockstar example, miniature pins were affixed to the VIP badge for each year of attendance.

6. VIP Charging Lanyard

Entertainer Lady Gaga awarded her concert VIP’s the high-tech charging lanyard with their VIP pass.

7. Floating Name Badges Made of Acrylic

Sometimes the name is all you need for an event badge to serve its purpose. This custom design is a show-stopper.

8. The Laser Lit Badge

This LED lit lanyard will ensure VIP’s are recognizable in the day and the night.

9. Paperless Tech Badge

Technology has proven to be an invaluable driving force when it comes to elevating the event badge objectives. Here are some of the event technology trends for name badges and event tag examples that went for high-tech gold.

10. Artsy Henna Name Design

Henna is a dye used to decorate the body. Turn it into a name badge alternative and a memorable onsite event experience all in one.

Event Planners in NYC are always looking for new corporate event ideas that will help attendees connect with the event. Each year The Event Planner Expo opens an exhibit hall filled with vendors and sponsors that bring all that is new in event planning to the table. Be sure to get your tickets to attend the 2019 Event Planner Expo before they run out!

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