As people gather this Thanksgiving to enjoy a holiday meal some families have a tradition of sharing something they are thankful for. Well… grab a chair and pass the cranberries because I’d like to share something that I am thankful for in the world of design.
I recently attended a conference; when I arrived at the event, I checked-in and was handed a schedule and name badge. While I didn’t think much about it at the time, as the day went on I realized it was one of the best designed name badges I had ever seen.
Of course, name badges are rarely the focal point of any event. However, many companies approach them without any real thought to function and effectiveness. It’s something that they know they need to have, but don’t think through how best to serve the participants.
These badges actually impacted my experience at the event for the better.
Good design solves a problem. Always. In the case of this event, the name badges assisted me in a significant way during the networking portion of the conference. I’m not always strong with names, especially over the course of a day when I am meeting a lot of people.
These name badges provided a defined hierarchy of information in a way that was clear and concise for the attendees. I, for one, found that extremely helpful.
First, I could clearly see the first name, because the font was large and the lettering was tracked out. (Tracking is the space between letters) That made it easy to catch someone’s name throughout conversation, or even in passing, if I want to make my own introduction.
The last name is the same point size as the first name, but has a lighter weight font. It is a simple, but well-defined hierarchy.
The company name is much smaller, but still easily readable, and followed by the attendee’s job title.
One mistake I commonly see in the design of name badges is making the name of the event one of the largest elements on the badge.
While you definitely want the brand to be present, the people attending know where they are. Therefore, it’s not be a good design choice to have the brand be one of the largest visuals on the badge. And it definitely isn’t going to help anyone while they are attempting to network and meet people.
When you are designing, keep in mind the function of the piece. Are you informing your audience on a topic? If so, are your visuals working in support of that purpose?
If you want them to do something, is your call to action clearly presented?
As you review your printed materials, keep in mind that good design solves a problem. If your current pieces aren’t working for you, it may be time to revisit your content and refresh your approach to find better solutions.
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