Name Tag Etiquette: Part 2

Printing Event Badges

Providing pre-printed event badges is one of the most effective investments you can make to the success of an event, especially a networking event. Yet many people waste this opportunity to help guests meet and greet at an optimum level. Here are a few tips to ensure your event name badges look great and are the most productive.

Keep the Printing Simple

All your event badges need is a first and last name with your affiliation or company underneath. Think twice about the need to provide any more information beyond these basics.

Printing the first name larger than the last name

While there are no hard and fast rules governing whether to enlarge the person’s first name, I submit that it’s best to print both the first and last name in the same size font. You will obviously see the person’s first name. However, if the last name is too small to be easily read, an opportunity to connect is lost since a person’s identity comes from knowing both a person’s first and last name.

No Honorifics and Titles for Event Badges

Do not place honorifics such as Ph.D. or Dr. or titles such as President or Sales Manager on event badges. You can learn this information as you converse. Only at special events will honorifics or titles be helpful, such as a doctor’s convention where the doctor’s specialties are important or a company conference where titles let others know what that person’s responsibilities are.

Adding a Company or Organization Name

Badge holder insert hase three lines, Name, title, association.

Besides a person’s first and last name, the only other information to print for an event badge is a person’s company or organization name; this is a great way to begin conversations. While we should all be proud of our affiliated organizations, seeing the person’s name is more important than knowing their affiliated company. Therefore, place the company name or logo at the bottom of the tag in a font size that’s easy to read yet smaller than the person’s name.

Host and Sponsor Organizations

Give acknowledgment to the sponsors of your event through the design of the badges, but never allow that information to override the all-important role of a name badge which is to introduce the person who is wearing it.

Choose a Font

Use big, bold fonts for printing and avoid script or fancy fonts. The goal is to make the badges easy to read, so choose your font wisely. With several thousand choices on most computers, your name badges do not need to be boring when selecting a font for readability. Some popular fonts for name badges include Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, Calibri and Times.

Font size matters

Print the names on the badges in a font size that practically fills the tag. It is a waste of an excellent networking tool to print the information on any badges in small type. Instead, begin with a large 40-point font and adjust the size to fit the names on each line. Some names are larger or shorter, so adjust the font size accordingly.

Print a Test of the Event Badges

Before printing your badges, print a single badge and look at it from the same distance it will be viewed at the event. Then, if there is any difficulty in reading any of the information, go back and make adjustments and try it again.

Now that you have your event badges, learn how to wear them!
Name Tag Etiquette: Part 1 – What Name Badges Are and How to Wear Them

Syndi Seid is a leading international business protocol and social etiquette expert. For more information on Syndi and other free tips, see www.AdvancedEtiquette.com.

Event Name Badge Etiquette: Part 1

Event name badges are the best way to identify yourself, especially when networking is a primary focus. Follow these guidelines and you will always be safe from sabotaging your own success. So, what is an event name badge and how do you wear them properly?

Should I bring my own name badge to events?

While arriving with your custom designed name tag assures your name and affiliation are printed the way you like. It may not be in your best interest to do so. Consider this: event planners usually create badges specific to a particular occasion to identify those who legitimately belong at the event and those who don’t. Wearing a name badge from outside the event may inadvertently convey the impression that you are crashing the party.

Squint Factor

There is nothing more disappointing than arriving at check-in to see ineffective badges. The logo of the hosting or sponsoring organization dominates the event badge. At the same time, names, company affiliations and every other detail, except your birth date, are printed so small they are not easy to read.

Remember the Purpose of the Badge

When preparing event name badges, think through the purpose of the tag. The badge should make communicating and networking easy for your event attendees. Always show names in spoken order, given name followed by surname, followed by your affiliation or company underneath. Think twice about the need to provide any more information beyond these basics.

Hosts and Sponsors

Sponsors and hosts are important to every event, and they deserve recognition. However, it is essential to remember that the person’s name is the most important information on the badge. Therefore, the majority of space should be devoted to presenting the person’s name. Thus, the logo or sponsoring affiliation should be smaller than the attendee’s name. It should never be the reverse.

“Hello, my name is” Name Badges

I confess to not liking this particular style of name tag. They only serve a purpose for kids, are a waste of space, and should not be used in professional settings. Instead, it is best to use clean, professional looking adhesive badges with or without colored borders.

Handwriting vs. Printing on Event Name Badges

Badge holder with printed insert and written name

Having badges printed and waiting is the perfect way to start an event. When this is impossible, provide dark pens and encourage everyone to write large enough that you can easily read their information from a distance, at least one half inch in height. Allow as much white space as possible; it helps others to read the badge more easily.

Printed Tags

When generating pre-printed tags on a computer, choose a font that is easy to read. Arial, Myriad Web and Garamond are always good starting points. Sometimes it takes extra time to employ a little trial and error to find the correct font size and balance. However, it will be well worth the effort for optimum results. See part 2 of this article for information on printing event badges.

Wearing an Event Name Badge

Where should you place a name tag for networking? Wearing the badge high on your right shoulder gives other people the best view of the tag and your face. As you extend your right hand for a handshake, your eye and arm immediately draw to the right side of the person you are greeting. Because the uppermost part of your chest is the flattest area below your shoulder, this helps your tag to lie flat and be more secure. For women, this also prevents the awkwardness of drawing attention to a location we want to avoid having someone staring at. Placing the name tag high up in an easy-to-read and visible place keeps the focus on the tag where it should be.

Company Name Tags

Many businesses require their staff to wear name badges for identification. In this case, wearing such badges on the left shoulder is appropriate.

BONUS: Placing name tags straight and in plain view.

Never wear your name tag crooked, sideways or upside down. It sends a negative message to others, usually implying a lack of respect for the occasion or a lack of care or interest in your appearance.

What other tips do you have to add to this list? Let us hear from you.

Byline: Guest blogger Syndi Seid is a leading international business protocol and social etiquette expert. For more information on Syndi and other tips, visit www.Advanced Etiquette.com.

NEXT – Part 2: Printing Name Tags

Thanksgiving Place Holders

name tags-nameplates-nametags-ribbons-lanyards-shipping

Thanksgiving is coming up fast! A great way to make the holiday special is to make custom place holders for all of your guests. Everyone will find their seats in record time!

The place holders are made with our laser engraver and made of sturdy plastic.

Our pumpkin is tangerine over white, the pilgrim’s hat is black over white. The turkey place holder is medium brown over white, the leaf is brushed copper over black, and finally the rectangle place card is euro. gold over black.

These place holders take about 2 days to order and make. Order now to make make sure you have your place cards by Thanksgiving!

Spooky Signs are a must for Halloween!

October is here and everyone is getting excited for the spookiest holiday on the calender! Every hates turning away the cute little ones when you’re out of candy at the end of the night. If your heart strings just can’t take it this year then take our advice and get a sign made for your door! This way the adorable vampires and ghosts will see it and move on to the next house, thus leaving you to a quit, guilt free evening.

The sign above is made from laser engraved plastic. The color is tangerine with white lettering. The size of this sign is 6×8 inches.

You can get this sign made up for you by clicking the button below!

What is a Full Bleed??

Our lovely customer service agent have recently been getting a few questions regarding our full bleed process and what that means. We thought it would be helpful to do an explanation of our full bleed process. This only applies to our full color printed tags.

So for starters: A full or partial bleed is when you would like color printed over the whole or half of the tag.

Full Bleed:

A full bleed is when you want a certain color printed over the entire tag. It will extend all the way to the edge of the tag. This is a great way to completely customize the way your tags look.

Partial Bleed:

A partial bleed is when you would like color to spread over only some of the tag. This is usually a style choice.

Any time you choose to have a full or partial bleed on your tags it will add an additional $0.60 per tag.

Still have questions? Give one of our customer service agents a call today!

Author: Haelee Wood