How a badge gets made
- 1
Sketch
We start on paper. Your theme and your budget set the rules, and most ideas get cut here, where cutting is free.
- 2
Prototype
3D prints, cardstock, and laser-cut acrylic tell us how it feels in a hand before anything gets soldered.
- 3
Board and firmware
We design the circuit board and write the firmware together, so the games and the hardware fit each other.
- 4
Production
We source parts, manage the factory run, deal with customs, and get boxes to your venue.
The whole process for one badge is written up in our four-part THOTCON 0xD build log.
Six badges, 2017 to 2025
- 2025THOTCON 0xD BadgeTHOTCON asked for a Tamagotchi. We built 2,000 egg-shaped badges with a screen, a touch wheel, and a village to look after, and shipped them in six months.
- 2023THOTCON 0xC BadgeThe theme was Contra, so the badge is a laser tag game the whole conference plays, in a molded plastic shell shaped like the target at the end of the first stage.
- 2021THOTCON 0xB BadgeThe theme was Bozo the Clown. The badge is an NES controller crossed with a circus ticket. It plays the circus song, and when you tilt it, it turns into a synthesizer.
- 2019THOTCON 0xA BadgeThe 0xA badge is about sound. It has a speaker, a microphone, and a face that lights up, and its firmware was a puzzle for the whole conference.
- 2018THOTCON 0x9 BadgeTHOTCON asked for a badge shaped like a key, then for a WarGames theme on top. It has Space Invaders, a currency called ThotCoin, and a game of Pokémon the whole conference played at once.
- 2017THOTCON 0x8 BadgeA game console with no screen. The game, tesserHack, is a maze inside a cube. You steer with three knobs and read the maze from four colored lights.
Badge questions
- What is an electronic conference badge?
- It's a conference badge that is also a working device: a circuit board with a microcontroller, lights or a screen, and usually a game. Attendees wear it, play it, and take it home to reprogram.
- How many badges can you make?
- Our largest run so far is 2,000 badges, for THOTCON 0xD in 2025. The THOTCON 0xC run in 2023 was about the same size.
- How long does a badge take?
- THOTCON 0xD took six months from the first sketch to 2,000 badges at the venue. Parts and customs are the slow steps, so the earlier you start, the more options you have.
- What does a custom badge cost?
- It depends on quantity, parts, and the enclosure. A screen costs more than LEDs, and a molded case costs more than laser-cut acrylic. Send us your headcount, date, and budget and we'll tell you what fits.
- Can attendees hack the badge after the event?
- Yes, and we design for it. We've published firmware or example code for the THOTCON 0x9, 0xA, 0xB, and 0xD badges on GitHub, and we've taught badge hacking workshops at the conference.
- Do you only work with security conferences?
- No. Most of our badges have been for THOTCON, but the same process works for any event that wants attendees to carry something they'll keep.
Have an event coming up?
Send us the date, the headcount, and the theme.
Writing about the badges? Get the press kit.