According to the World Health Organization, about 1.3 billion people have a disability. That’s 16% of the world’s population.
In terms of event management, this means that one or two of every ten guests will likely have some kind of disability. Some may be obvious—like those with service dogs, mobility canes, or wheelchairs—while others may be invisible.
No matter the disability, it’s up to you to make your event as inclusive and accessible as possible. While there are many components to consider, one place to start is with the design of your event badges.
Why Offer Inclusive Badges
Especially at business conferences, nearly all of your guests will come to your event to network and connect with others. Unfortunately, many guests will have an incredibly difficult time doing so if they can’t read or understand what’s on others’ badges.
Designing inclusive badges goes beyond accommodations for disabilities, too. Many guests look for inclusivity in their everyday lives, and when their event badge doesn’t support that, they’ll have an uncomfortable experience.
Still, more guests may want to attend your event but aren’t fluent in the language. Providing interpreters is a big step toward inclusivity, but it doesn’t do much to offer these guests independence and help them feel more comfortable at your event. When you offer inclusive badges with translations to help everyone understand and network with foreign guests, you’re helping everyone at your event connect on a more personal level.
Several guests may choose not to attend your event at all if they know they won’t have enough accommodations. Creating an inclusive event by starting with your badges widens your reach to those who require accommodations. It can even strengthen your brand loyalty and create a growing pool of repeat guests at future events.
How to Provide Inclusive Badges
Comprehensive Registration Software
The first step in designing inclusive badges is to ensure that everyone can easily enter the information for their badges. This means providing user-friendly online event registration management software.
Your registration system should allow guests to choose whether to display their disabilities on their badge. Some—like those with epilepsy—may find this to be incredibly important, while others prefer to be more private about their disabilities.
Additionally, your site should allow guests to customize their badges to a certain point. Even though guests aren’t at the badge printing stage yet, many will need to know before the event that their badges feature things like extra-large words, legible fonts, and high-contrast colors.
Offer a Range of Accommodations
Offering custom event badges is becoming more popular, but many event managers forget that custom means more than just allowing guests a degree of creative control. Individuals with disabilities may require their badges to have special accommodations.
When guests enter information to include on their badges, your software should offer them several options, including:
- Enlarged fonts
- Heightened contrast between text and background
- Symbols to indicate a physical accommodation or disability
- Translations between a guest’s native tongue and the primary language spoken at your event
- Emergency contact information
- Preferred pronouns
Each of these options will help guests feel safer and more comfortable at your event without sacrificing a sense of uniformity between everyone’s badges.
Offer Assistance
If you are unable to provide badge-specific accommodations for your guests, keep someone handy by the check-in area who can assist anyone who might need additional assistance.
Streamlined Check-In and Badge-Printing System
Once guests arrive at your event, those with disabilities will need check-in accommodations. You should fully streamline your check-in process to reduce lines so those with wheelchairs can easily navigate the room. At least one check-in kiosk should be height-accessible, and your software program should offer enlarged fonts for easy reading.
If any guests need a badge with extra accommodations but didn’t select it during the registration process, make sure your software offers them a chance to do so before they print their badges. This is vital for ensuring that every guest feels valued and comfortable.
An Inclusive Event Starts with Badges
Designing custom, inclusive event badges might initially seem like an unnecessarily complicated idea. With so much to plan for your event, you might be tempted to let optional inclusivity take a backseat.
However, offering an inclusive event is about more than just helping guests feel comfortable (though that should be a priority, too). It’s about complying with regulations and allowing guests from every background to not only attend your event but thrive within it.
When you plan an inclusive event, you should consider everything from the layout of your venue to your seating capacity. But what many event managers forget to think about is the personal connections that guests want to have.
You can give them the chance to make deeper connections with others simply by offering accessible and inclusive badges. From individuals with disabilities to those who just want to feel more comfortable and accepted, a custom badge can go a long way toward helping everyone make meaningful connections and lasting memories at your event.