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Handcraft Strikes Back: Buttons, Badges, Pins and Clips
Buttons, badges and pins stand for a medium which is often underestimated and not taken seriously. That’s a pity, because designed properly, badges and buttons can effectively communicate ideas to your potential customers and impress them with something creative and beautiful.
In this post we cover some interesting ideas for design of buttons, badges, pins and clips — traditional handcraft which can be attached to cloth, bags, documents and whatever you can think of. You may use them to deliver some idea or message, in web design (e.g. Missy makes use of them) or in the merchandise for promotion purposes.
Not all examples presented below fit to all environments; some of them are more likely to be used in informal environments. You don’t want to have a Bart Simpson screaming at your boss during the job interview, do you? You may want to check out some ideas for laptop sleeves, skins and stickers as well.
[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter.]
Why buttons?
Buttons are powerful because they show what is important to the person wearing it, which ideas he or she supports and what kind of a person you are dealing with. Some buttons can make people pass away with a subtle smile, the other ones can send a message to the world, and as such, pose a very powerful medium to explore. Which is why we, designers, can make use of them, packaging ideas in small and “portable” objects of daily life.
So why not surprise your clients by handing in some pretty and creative pins, buttons or stickers one can attach to cloth, bags, laptops or personal documents? In most online-shops you can upload your own designs and produce dozens of buttons at a very cheap price. Therefore we want to focus your attention on the power of buttons and badges and give you some ideas for your future designs.
Buttons and Badges
Toy Robots – pinback buttons
Robots in the town! And they are pretty sweet, too!
We steal your mail to keep you safe
“Just in time for the postal rate increase.” Sometimes, buttons can make something think or laugh. This button may not make any sense, but it is provoking and as such desevers a place in our selection.
Ampersand button
If you love ampersands, you’ll love this button, too.
Bird Talk (Red) badge
A twittering button for Twitter users. Or maybe talking about birds is one of your favourite subjects?
Cassette Tape buttons
Cassette Tape for record collectors. You can show what is important to you without saying a word about it.
Angel Tea badge
“Tea is a gift from the gods. Coffee is a gift from the ninnies.”
Simpsons badges
Badges: good. The Simpsons badges: better.
Buttons for Designers
Nintendo DS Lite button, Mario, Adobe and… do you recognize the man at the right in the second row?
BSW Buttons by ~thagerott
Pure typography can also be used for badges and buttons.
Mozilla and RSS buttons
The promotion of your products can be done with badges. In the examples below Firefox, Thunderbird and RSS buttons are presented. Well, literally RSS-buttons.
Dessert K: Kiwi Jelly
Mmmmm, tasty! Dessert Kiwi Jelly and Apple Pie. This fruity dessert is really happy. Dessert A-Z button series by hakee+ from Hong Kong.
Hello Jupiter Four Buttons
Buttons can also be pretty colorful.
sketchBot Buttons
These characters are pretty tough and sweet.
“i love u…” button
That’s an interesting idea. Two characters communicate via, well, external medium — a piece of thread.
Pop Labs Buttons
Pop Labs buttons have the form of a bottle cap.
Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel Buttons
Bota Fora Goma!
Buttons have a form of a cloth button.
Space Invader badges
Space Invaders are coming back. Pixel art can be used for badges as well.
Geek Set
Have you even been in love with the square root?
Uber Geek Badges
Have you even been in loved with the square root?
Empressr Buttons
Icons can communicate ideas in your design projects. They can communicate ideas through your buttons as well.
1 + 1 = 2
Well, that’s kind of clear, but cute also.
Stencil Graffiti Button Set – Star Wars Fighters
Grunge and Graffiti art applied to buttons design.
Bookworm buttons
Sending the message in the office.
Skull Rock 6-Pack
Skulls don’t have to be scary. They can be sweet, too.
Spock pins
Made from 1960s Star Trek comic book.
ajoelha
Pop art collage. “Get on your knees and confess”.
Toilet Paper Buttons
Hm, this is an unusual theme for buttons design. But that’s exactly what makes them different. We don’t know what is the idea behind, though.
Mi prima Carnal
Love is in the air. And on your button.
Proud to be green
Simple, nice and clean pattern on greenish buttons.
Sweet Skull 6-Pack
Unusual design: these pinback buttons with Japanese skulls and sweets on silver and red shiny, sparkly hologram papers.
Rob Jan’s “Fantastique” badge cloak
This is the back of a Star Trek Klingon patterned Science Fiction and Fantasy trophy cloak. This view shows the back and two side panels fully deployed. All of the badges are either drawn in the computer, obtained on line or hand drawn and painted by Rob Jan. Impressive.
Handcraft
Crafting 365, day 173 – pink teacups
Last Click
Sources and Resources
- Buttons, Badges and Pins collection
- Badge Club
- Pin Collectors
- Pins, Buttons, Badges Pool
- koolbadges Buttons Stream
- Etsy is a marketplace where buttons designers offer literally thousands of various buttons, badges, pins and further handmade artworks.
Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine (www.smashingmagazine.com), an online magazine dedicated to designers and developers.
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Loading ...- 50 Comments
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May 19th, 2008 1:37 amOMG these are amazing. I want them all! I’m particularly fond of the one looking like a clothing button and the fabric ones. I should really invest in a button-machine.
thanks for the great post. - 3May 19th, 2008 1:48 am
The guy is Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem from the movie No Country for Old Men. I really want one of those…
- 4May 19th, 2008 1:50 am
very good :) i like it
- 5May 19th, 2008 1:52 am
Hi :)
Any tutorials on how to make those nice badges @ home ?
- 6May 19th, 2008 2:16 am
Awesome post!
The man at the right in the second row in buttons for designers… is he the guy from No country for old men?
Thats one of the coolest ive ever seen! :) - 7May 19th, 2008 2:44 am
just found this site and I think it is worth mentioning here: http://www.prickie.com. They’ve got tons of buttons designed by over a hundred different artists. This should keep you busy for some time.
- 8May 19th, 2008 2:47 am
I agree buttons can make a nice thankyou for a client (not that I believe it would be enough on its own). Love the one that says “No I won’t fix your computer” man I need millions of those!!!
- 9May 19th, 2008 3:51 am
Oh..My God. Great Smashingmagazine. keeeeeep posting.
- 10May 19th, 2008 3:57 am
I REALLY want those robot buttons!
- 11May 19th, 2008 3:58 am
Firefox button melts my heart.
- 12May 19th, 2008 4:11 am
Never thought about buttons before, but I’ll love them from now on!
- 13May 19th, 2008 5:12 am
Stick to websites
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- 15May 19th, 2008 8:01 am
Can anyone point me to a link to a PSD for a button-pin? Please? :)
- 16May 19th, 2008 8:40 am
For my 30th birthday my girlfriend and her daughter made buttons with some of my old school pictures and other childhood images on them for guests to wear at my party. They were a hit and it was hilarious to see everyone walking around with my old dorky photos pinned on them.
- 17May 19th, 2008 9:53 am
web design…?
- 18May 19th, 2008 10:22 am
Awesome, the creativity on some of those…. great work as usual! There is also quite a lot about actual lapel pins online… a great site with tons of info is Pins.com…
- 19May 19th, 2008 10:46 am
Awesome!
Can anybody recommended a place to get my own buttons printed? Google throws up so many options I don’t know which ones to trust.
- 20May 19th, 2008 11:54 am
Really COOL!
thanks for this post!
- 21May 19th, 2008 3:36 pm
really cool this works.
I’m also preparing a collection of buttons, soon i will upload it - 22May 19th, 2008 5:08 pm
:O omg…i want one!
- 23May 19th, 2008 5:25 pm
Thanks for this update on such an intellectually bankrupt subject. My loins quiver with anticipation of your next piece of so-called “designer” inspiration.
- 24May 19th, 2008 6:31 pm
Reminds me of my doodling days over at the drawing board….
- 25May 19th, 2008 11:17 pm
My favorite by far is the toilet paper button!
- 26May 20th, 2008 1:38 am
Justr bought a button making machine two daus before I saw this article. Pins RULE!
- 27May 20th, 2008 5:43 am
lots of awesome and original designs! i’m particularly fond of the Pop Labs buttons but of course I’m a little biased! Go Melly!
- 28May 20th, 2008 5:45 am
A lot of original and unique designs! I’m particularly fond of the Pop Labs buttons but of course I’m a little biased! Go Melly!
- 29May 20th, 2008 6:33 am
Ahaha! Cuteness!
- 30May 20th, 2008 7:49 am
Love this post – inspired me to make something not computer related!
- 31May 20th, 2008 10:51 am
Shesh, doesn’t anyone remember wearitwithpride.com? kick ass button site in the threadless vein, they had some superdope buttons on there.
- 32May 20th, 2008 10:42 pm
Thank you for your nice review.
We’re the ones than make the “love” badges. Greetings from the sunny Alicante (Spain). - 33May 20th, 2008 11:11 pm
haha !!!
badgesquared, based in Bendigo!!
Awesome! Time for me to finally get those badges that I designed 10 years ago made :-P
- 34May 21st, 2008 3:57 am
Thanks for featuring my Sketchbot buttons in your article. Really cool to see the diversity of designs and styles out there!
- 35May 21st, 2008 12:42 pm
Aaargh….!!! Where was this post two weeks ago? Our non-profit organization just did buttons to raise money. Fortunately, we have regular access to a machine and we have plenty of cool parts left over. :) Thanks for the future inspiration.
- 36May 21st, 2008 9:43 pm
Cool!
Need: “No I wont fix your computer” - 37May 22nd, 2008 3:04 pm
I LOVE those!!! I want the CS3 logo ones :)
- 38May 22nd, 2008 3:09 pm
I absolutely LOVE the CS3 icon ones!
Another cool button site http://www.button-bitch.com
- 39May 22nd, 2008 8:39 pm
I didn’t see PinPops on there
- 40May 26th, 2008 7:34 pm
I used to make buttons to sell in my old DIY distro a few years ago.. I sold a lot of punk-related stuff but also had a category for geeky buttons (gamer culture, old school computers etc) that were just as popular. I closed the distro when I moved but thinking of bringing it back.
Still got a lot of parts for 1″ buttons.. should use these up somehow (doc@websurfsyou.su) ;)
- 41June 21st, 2008 2:12 pm
I’m trying to find a way to make pin buttons for my church with our own design; do you know a website for that?
- 42July 5th, 2008 12:16 pm
could you tell me what is the smallist dia you make iam looking for a 4mm…. it would be the corps badge of the royal marines i can supply the photo of the badge if you can help i would be very greatful … johnwelshno1@tiscali.co.uk
- 43August 12th, 2008 4:33 am
omg i love it
- 44August 22nd, 2008 3:15 am
That was stupid!
- 45September 10th, 2008 2:57 am
An honour to discover my wee badge cloak ranked amongst such good company!
Ta very much.
- 46September 16th, 2008 1:37 am
I only make 3 inch buttons, pin-back or key-chain. I can help if you can’t find a source. All I need is a good picture file.
Williemail68-plus@yahoo.com - 47December 1st, 2008 8:49 pm
StumbleGenius just Stumbling on thru, StumbleUpon big thumbs up to you, hope to see you on more stumble trips soon. Merry seasons greetings.
lol button up tight now ;)
Read you later or tweet me on Twitter @StumbleGenius … tweet you soon ???
- 48December 10th, 2008 12:30 pm
Nice collection! You might also want to check out http://www.lollypins.com for some very unique and original buttons.
- 49January 21st, 2009 5:37 am
<3 them …. :D
- 50May 1st, 2009 8:37 pm
I am looking for a source that can produce a two-color, heavy gauge plastic (or light metal) pin or badge that would measure roughly 4 inches square. There will be three different variants of the same basic design. The initial production would be about 5,000 pieces. I am interested in receiving some bids.
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