Card design tips

How to design an id badge?

You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

In fact, it only takes people 10 seconds to get an idea of you and your organization, whether it be a company, club, or institution.

ID cards help to create a good first impression, which is why we have decided to tell you the basic principles you should apply and the traps to avoid falling into when creating all kinds of  badges:

  • Membership cards
  • School ID cards
  • Employee badges
  • Loyalty cards
  • Business cards, etc.

What information to put on the card?

Always start by making an list of the elements you want to include on the cards:

  • Text
  • Illustrations: logos and images
  • Photo of the cardholder
  • Barcodes or QR codes

Do you plan to encode data on your badge with a magnetic strip or contact chip?

If so, the space taken up by the magnetic strip and the contact chip needs to be left empty. The specialized software used for creating cards takes these special cases into account by offering adapted layout templates.

Single or double sided?

Whether you choose single-sided or double-sided largely depends on the amount of information you want to include on the badge.

The most important information must be visible on the front of the card, while information of secondary importance can be on the back.

Ensuring readability

The first sign of a successful card: readability. The main purpose of your badge is to convey information to your partners and
customers. We generally advise to opt for simplicity.

Need more advices?

  • Use of colors 
  • Which font to choose for your text?
  • What quality for the picture?
  • Use of barcodes or QR