The Complete Guide to Custom Badges
A small badge can make a big statement. From custom button badges through to custom embroidered badges, Best Badges, one of the UK’s leading providers, has you covered. In this comprehensive guide, we will take you through the different custom badge types and their uses. We will also look at designing and ordering custom badges and how easy it is. In this guide, we cover custom enamel badges, custom embroidered & woven badges, custom button badges and custom name badges.
Why Choose Custom Badges? The power of personalisation
Brand visibility: Custom badges with your logo or brand colours turn every wearer into a walking advertisement for your brand. The small size of badges makes it easy to extend your brand’s reach to a much wider audience.
Strengthen Team Identity: Custom badges help strengthen your team’s, club’s or volunteer’s identity and create a sense of belonging. If names or roles are present on badges, it helps connect customers and colleagues on a more personal level.
Enhance Event Security and Organisation: Custom badges and ID cards, featuring photos or names, serve as effective tools for distinguishing between visitors and staff within your organisation. Implementing varied designs for different categories allows for quick visual identification of an individual’s role. At events, the same premise applies, which not only helps with security but also helps create a more streamlined, organised event.
Promotional Giveaways: Custom badges, especially custom button badges, are perfect, affordable giveaway items. They can spark conversation and engagement if your design is creative and fun. If kept, they act as a constant reminder of your brand and the message you are trying to get across.
Encourage Personal Expression: Custom badges are a fun way to express your beliefs, personality or passions. For brands, you can encourage staff to express themselves, whilst still maintaining brand guidelines. For others, custom badges are a great way to show support for your favourite bands, teams and more.
The Main Types of Custom Badges: A Visual Comparison
| Custom Enamel & Pin Badges | Custom Embroidered & Woven Badges | Custom Button Badges | Custom Name Badges |
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| Frequently nicknamed ‘Pin Badges’, enamel badges are made of metal and then filled with enamel (which is quite similar to glass or resin). These are often found to be collectable ‘pin badges’, used as fashion accessories, souvenirs or for awards or recognition. Also, feel free to read our Guide to Enamel & Metal pin badges on our blog here. | Although they look similar, embroidered and woven badges are made entirely differently. These are also commonly called ‘patches’. Embroidered badges are made by stitching threads onto a fabric base, whereas woven badges are made by weaving different coloured threads together. Both make perfect badges for Scouts, Girl Guides and other clubs like martial arts. They also look great on a denim jacket to show support for your favourite band. Our range of fabric badges can be found here. Take some time to learn the differences between embroidered and woven badges on our blog here. | Our custom button badges are easily the most popular and most affordable type of badge. These are made up of a metal back, paper insert (with your design on), and then finished with a plastic (mylar) front. These components are crimped together to create a badge that looks similar to what you would find on a birthday card. These are by far the fastest badges to make and are perfect for brand slogans, political campaigns or great to show off your number-one boy band member! Our range of button badges can be found here. We also have a handy guide on our blog that gives you an idea of button badge sizes and how they compare to common household objects. | Name badges come in flat rectangle, oval and domed designs. Name badges are a flat, rectangular surface onto which your design is printed in any colour combination. These are great for everyday staff use. Oval name badges have all the same functionality as regular name badges, with a softer shape, and are often used in customer-facing roles. Domed name badges are once again printed and then topped with a resin dome for a nice glossy finish. These are slightly longer-lasting as the print is protected by the resin domed finish. Our range of name badges can be found here. |
Designing Your Custom Badge: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Defining Your Purpose & Audience
Here are some points to think about when defining your audience and the purpose of your badge:
- Why are you creating this badge?
- Is it for branding, an event or for merchandise?
- Who is your target audience? Who will be wearing the badge? Fans, customers or staff?
- Where and how will it be worn? On a lapel? On a jacket? This all affects the badge type and fastener choice.
- Think of the design elements – the shape, colour and size.
Step 2: Choosing the Right Size and Shape
There are many different sizes of custom button badges at Best Badges, ranging from 25mm (1 inch) all the way up to 77mm (3 inches). But how do you know which size you’ll need? Below are the main sizes we offer at Best Badges and how to visualise these sizes ready for you to order. The images below should also help you visualise other custom badge types like embroidered and woven.
| 25mm (1 inch) | 32mm (1.25 inch) | 38mm (1.5 inch) | 45mm (1.75 inch) | 58mm (2.25 inch) | 77mm (3 inch) |
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Step 3: Artwork & Design Best Practices
- We can accept artwork in almost any format, but what we really like is a fairly high resolution jpg (300 dpi), or an eps or pdf.
- We have a few design templates on our website that make sending your artwork to us even easier.
- The simplest way to make sure you send your artwork in the right format would be to use our badge designer on our website. You proof your own badge, and they go straight into production once you have completed the checkout process. Please note that the designer is only available on selected products.
We also have a handy page on our website that has everything you need to know about artwork here.
Step 4: Selecting a Backing & Fastener
The type of custom badge selected will denote which type of fastener you can have on your badge. Here are some of the options we provide:
- Safety pin/wire D-Pin: Found most commonly on our button badges, safety pins are great to fit to pretty much any fabric! They are easy to pin and unpin quickly. The sharp point isn’t very child-friendly, and the sharp pin can cause small holes or rips in clothing if not applied properly.
- Kidsafe fastener: This fastener is great if you’re looking to create some badges for children to use. They don’t have a sharp point like safety pins and can slide straight onto your pocket. One downside is they are slightly less secure than safety pins, which means you may lose your badge if you’re not careful!
- Magnet fitting: If you are concerned about piercing your garments, the magnet fitting offers an excellent solution. For smaller badges, we offer circular magnets, and for larger badges, bar magnets.
- Butterfly Clutch (metal or rubber clutch): The butterfly clutch and post fitting is the most popular choice for our enamelled and printed lapel badges. The clutch piece is a separate piece of metal with two ‘butterfly wings’ that release the badge when pinched together.
- Brooch Pin: The brooch pin fitting is often favoured for a slightly larger badge, because it secures the badge by two points rather than the single point of the butterfly clutch pin. For a smaller badge, the brooch pin fitting can become slightly fiddly to use, so we would usually recommend the clutch pin instead.
- Stick Pin: Using a stick pin attachment for your custom can create a simple jewellery item. The stick and cover fitting is suitable for ties, cravats and lapels.
- Tie-Pin: A tie-pin attachment added to a custom enamelled emblem lends itself perfectly to use as an executive gift or a club keepsake. The sprung clip attachment offers a strong hold to the tie without piercing or damaging it.
- Cufflink: Turn your badges into cufflinks by changing the badge fixings for cufflink fittings. Remember to order them in pairs!
The Ordering Process: From Quote to Delivery
- Enter how many units you need in the live price calculator to show you the total cost of your order (all inclusive of VAT).
- If you have your artwork ready, you can upload your artwork using the ‘Upload Files’ button on the product page. One upload per product. If you have multiple designs, please upload them in a compressed ZIP folder. You can also use our badge designer to make your own custom design and save it. Hit ‘Add to Basket’ and follow the steps through to checkout. Select your payment method from bank transfer, credit/debit card, or posted cheque.
- If you have already placed your order, email your artwork and any special instructions along with your order number to info@bestbadges.co.uk (no need to send artwork for a stock product).
- Be sure to let us know of any deadline that you have for receiving your order. You can add this in the checkout or send it through via email.
- For all custom-made orders, we will email a jpg proof for your review and approval. There are no limitations on artwork revisions, so you can rest assured that your badge will be exactly how you want it.
- We will keep you posted on the progress of your order and let you know when the order will be dispatched.
- Once dispatched, you will receive an email from us with any tracking information.
Check out our How to Order page.
Custom Badges for Every Occasion
For Businesses & Brands (Corporate logos, promotional events)
For Bands & Artists (Merchandise that fans love)
For Schools & Clubs (Team spirit and identification)
For Personal Expression (Weddings, parties, personal designs)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is the minimum order quantity? The minimum order quantity is shown on all product pages on the website. For button badges, we can make anything from a single badge upwards!
- How long does it take to get my custom badges? The lead times are available for all products on the website. For button badges, our standard lead time is two weeks, or we offer an express service for one-week delivery.
- Can I include multiple designs? Yes, you can include up to five different designs in your button badge order at no extra cost. Simply place your order for the total quantity you need, and then either upload your designs during the order process or email them to info@bestbadges.co.uk.
- Can you help me with my design? Struggling with design software or artistic skills? No problem! Simply email us your ideas, and our team will craft a custom badge design for you. We offer unlimited revisions to ensure your badges are exactly what you envisioned.
- What’s the difference between hard and soft enamel? Hard enamel is polished flat, giving a smooth, polished finish. Soft enamel has recessed areas, which give the badges much more depth and a dimensional feel.
Ready to Create Your Custom Badges?
Take a look at the badges we offer in our shop. Shop Badges & Merchandise
Still not sure which badge you need? Fill out the contact form. Contact Us for Custom Orders
