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Handcraft Strikes Back: Buttons, Badges, Pins and Clips

Quick Summary

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.

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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.

You may want to take a look at the following related posts:

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?

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!

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Toy Robots - pinback buttons

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.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - pseudotecnico:blog » Il fotografo della domenica #44

Ampersand button If you love ampersands, you’ll love this button, too.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Ampersand

Bird Talk (Red) badge A twittering button for Twitter users. Or maybe talking about birds is one of your favourite subjects?

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Bird Talk (Red) badge

Cassette Tape buttons Cassette Tape for record collectors. You can show what is important to you without saying a word about it.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Cassette Tape buttons

Angel Tea badge “Tea is a gift from the gods. Coffee is a gift from the ninnies.”

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Angel Tea badge

Simpsons badges Badges: good. The Simpsons badges: better.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Simpsons badges

Buttons for Designers Nintendo DS Lite button, Mario, Adobe and… do you recognize the man at the right in the second row?

Pins, Badges and Buttons - IMG_1186

BSW Buttons by ~thagerott Pure typography can also be used for badges and buttons.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - BSW Buttons by ~thagerott

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.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - pseudotecnico:blog » Il fotografo della domenica #44

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.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Dessert K: Kiwi Jelly
Pins, Badges and Buttons - Dessert A: Apple Pie

Hello Jupiter Four Buttons Buttons can also be pretty colorful.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Hello Jupiter Four Buttons

sketchBot Buttons These characters are pretty tough and sweet.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - sketchBot Buttons

“i love u…” button That’s an interesting idea. Two characters communicate via, well, external medium — a piece of thread.

Pins, Badges and Buttons -

Pop Labs Buttons Pop Labs buttons have the form of a bottle cap.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Pop Labs Buttons
Pins, Badges and Buttons - New Pop Labs Buttons

buttons by ~scrape

Pins, Badges and Buttons - buttons by ~scrape

Love

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Love

badges

Pins, Badges and Buttons - badges

Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel Buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel Buttons

Bota Fora Goma! Buttons have a form of a cloth button.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Bota Fora Goma!
Pins, Badges and Buttons - My buttons available @ Prickie

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?

Pins, Badges and Buttons - My buttons available @ Prickie

Uber Geek Badges Have you even been in loved with the square root?

Pins, Badges and Buttons - My buttons available @ Prickie

Empressr Buttons Icons can communicate ideas in your design projects. They can communicate ideas through your buttons as well.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Empressr Buttons

1 + 1 = 2 Well, that’s kind of clear, but cute also.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - : buttons

Stencil Graffiti Button Set - Star Wars Fighters Grunge and Graffiti art applied to buttons design.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Stencil Graffiti Button Set - Star Wars Fighters

Bookworm buttons Sending the message in the office.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Bookworm buttons

TV Dinner Monster Pins

Pins, Badges and Buttons - TV Dinner Monster Pins

Skull Rock 6-Pack Skulls don’t have to be scary. They can be sweet, too.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - (Another) ☠★ Skull Rock 6-Pack ★ â˜

Hand-drawn Buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - hand drawn 1

Fabric buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - fabric buttons

Spock pins Made from 1960s Star Trek comic book.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - spock pins

Cassette Badge Sets

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Cassette Badge Sets

ajoelha Pop art collage. “Get on your knees and confess”.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - ajoelha

Birthday Surprise!

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Birthday Surprise!

New Pocket Mirrors!

Pins, Badges and Buttons - New Pocket Mirrors!

Radial Pattern buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Radial Pattern buttons

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.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - : buttons

DeathGob Badges

Pins, Badges and Buttons - DeathGob Badges

DSCN2932

Pins, Badges and Buttons - DSCN2932

Filter017 Pins

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Filter017 Pins

origami badges

Pins, Badges and Buttons - origami badges

I Love Pirates button

Pins, Badges and Buttons - I Love Pirates button

Hey Cupcake! pinback buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Hey Cupcake! pinback buttons

Mi prima Carnal Love is in the air. And on your button.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Mi prima Carnal

Reading is Sexy button

Pins, Badges and Buttons - DSCN2390-

Proud to be green Simple, nice and clean pattern on greenish buttons.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - DSCF0153

Sweet Skull 6-Pack Unusual design: these pinback buttons with Japanese skulls and sweets on silver and red shiny, sparkly hologram papers.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - ★ Sweet Skull 6-Pack ★

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.

Pins, Badges and Buttons - ROB JAN'S

Handcraft

bt2 pincushion

Pins, Badges and Buttons - bt2 pincushion

old pin cushion

Pins, Badges and Buttons - old pin cushion

pin cushion 2

Pins, Badges and Buttons - pin cushion 2

Pincushions

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Pincushions

Le Ragazzine

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Le Ragazzine

Buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Buttons

Blossom badges

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Blossom badges

Petit Petisserie

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Petit Pâtisserie

Warm ‘n Fuzzy Flower Buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - - Warm 'n Fuzzy - .: Flower Buttons:.

Blossom badges

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Blossom badges

drought relief - felt art

Pins, Badges and Buttons - drought relief - felt art

‘Strawberry Sundae’ wall art

Pins, Badges and Buttons - 'Strawberry Sundae' wall art

Crafting 365, day 173 - pink teacups

Pins, Badges and Buttons - Crafting 365, day 173 - pink teacups

Last Click

Bee buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - bee buttons

Cupcake buttons

Pins, Badges and Buttons - cupcake buttons

Plates of tarts

Pins, Badges and Buttons - plates of tarts