Your marketing team need them to reflect brand guidelines and your security team need the ID and access permissions to be clear. A correctly designed badge that contains anti-counterfeit measures and the right information will give your contractors, staff and media efficient access to your event and help keep illegal workers, ticket fraudsters and potential criminals out.
- Branding. Badges are the gateway to your event, so you want them to look good. Make sure there is room for your logo and try to incorporate brand colours where possible.
- Photo. A quick and easy way for your security team to check whether a person is who they say they are.
- Credentials. Make sure there is sufficient space to print someone’s name, plus job title and company if required.
- Badge type. Different groups of people will have different privileges, so add an icon or a colour strip to signify whether someone is media, a VIP, or part of the catering team.
- Access permissions. Whether it’s a green dot to signal backstage access, a dinner plate icon to get into the kitchens, or an initial to indicate a specific access zone, make sure access permissions are clear on the badge.
- Unique ID. Hide a unique ID number for every person in a bar code, QR code or RFID chip and a quick scan at your access control points will instantly tell you if that pass is valid, and whether that person can gain entry into a specific area of the event.
- Anti-counterfeit measures. The addition of a hologram, black light ink, micro printing or thermal ink make it very difficult for anyone to forge a badge or ticket.
Other things to consider:
- Include something on the back – a venue map, emergency plan, terms and conditions or event schedule is useful and makes it harder for someone to forge.
- Use large badges to make the ID of photos and access zones easy for your security team.
- Keep new designs confidential to decrease any opportunity for forgery.
