Traditional marketing goes beyond print and TV advertising. Never underestimate the marketing power of a memorable work uniform.
The right brand shirt, style, or badge goes a long way in cementing trust with people. Badges, especially, project credibility and professionalism. Customers, visitors, and clients are more likely to approach an employee or service member when they’re wearing a badge, providing more opportunities to practice good service.
You don’t have to be a graphic design expert to design a badge, either.
Follow these tips to create a memorable badge that will grow your small business or public service.
1. Choose From Different Types of Badges
First, you need to find a relevant badge shape for your business or service.
If you manage a public service department like a police station or firehouse, you must pick a classic “police badge” design. For these industries, you can’t go outside the norm. The same applies to military bases.
However, when it comes to small businesses, you can be more creative.
For example, if you’re marketing a donut shop, you could design custom donut-shaped badges. These badges may be customized with various colors, illustrations, and textures. They also work as lanyards or as pins.
2. Design a Badge With the Perfect Logo
Designing a badge is a good opportunity to assess your current logo design.
A good logo should scale down to any size, making an impact on any piece of marketing material, whether it’s an envelope or a work badge.
Font logos work great for this type of marketing. If you want a shape logo, focus on simple shapes like no-fuss circles and squares. Over-designed logos don’t translate well on badges.
Your business name should be legible from a decent distance. Leave enough room for employees’ names on the badge. Store managers, police captains, and other supervisors should be readily identified by their badge. Make sure your logo doesn’t distract from these titles.
Assess your current color scheme, as well. Does this palette make sense for your brand or service? Consistency in marketing is so important for imprinting on customers.
Employees also respond positively to marketing consistency, helping them follow a template for success.
3. Ask Your Team For Feedback
It helps to ask a series of questions when designing custom badges.
If you’re undergoing a rebrand of your public service or small business, you should elicit feedback from your team or clientele. Ask them what they would change about the current badge. This also applies to materials and manufacturing.
For example, is the badge too heavy or cumbersome for your staff to wear? Does it look too outdated for the brand? Would the badge look (or feel) better on a lanyard than pinned on a shirt?
Create these feedback forms and distribute them at your next meeting or via email.
Update Your Badge For the New Year
There are core things to consider when you design a badges.
Remember to choose an industry-appropriate template, review your current logo, and ask your team and customers for feedback.
There are many more ideas in the blog to inspire your projects.
Follow along for more posts!
