I redesigned the Microsoft employee badge
Creative
visual design mockup
SHOW HN2014
322points
152comments
#43of 2,272 in 2014
Top 2%of 2014 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
3 positive, 37 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 23 critical, out of 65 comments about the project. Thread score -0.31.
Design: 3 for, 9 againstIdea: 0 for, 5 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 4 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, minimal look and good prototype effort
From 3 comments
Well I'll be the constructive voice. I like it. You should be able to find email address in the corporate directory services, it's not like people are going to memorize them from…
mpyne on HNGreat job putting together a prototype. Although I'm going to list specific complaints, I appreciate the effort in creating and risk in sharing, so good job and thanks. - I don't…
reddiric on HNGreat job! I'm a big fan of minimalistic design which unfortunate to say most of MS products aren't. Looking forward to more design ideas from you :)
exo_duz on HN
Objections
Circular face photo is harder to recognise at a glance and not a badge convention
From 3 comments
* The circle makes it hard to see at a glance if the face matches the badge, this is a big deal. * The employee number should be on the front, because this is often needed for…
kayfox on HNYep, I think that's probably it. When have you seen a person with their head tilted one direction in an ID photo. When is the background any color other than white as well? I…
rickyc091 on HNOh god, what is with the stupid "face in a circle"? I get that everybody's following the circle trend, but how does putting a face in a circle make your design more functional?…
normloman on HN
Removing employee info and logo has security and identification implications
From 3 comments
* The circle makes it hard to see at a glance if the face matches the badge, this is a big deal. * The employee number should be on the front, because this is often needed for…
kayfox on HN- The photo is the most important feature of the badge; for security reasons, it should be as large as possible. - First and last names are not as important as one's email…
codex on HNIt's a pretty badge, but unfortunately it's a security risk. Putting identifying information on there is an opening for social engineering attacks. The employee name and anything…
joncp on HN
Redesign is trivial and does not solve a real problem
From 3 comments
This particular design doesn't take a lot of skill to create, and I'm not sure the author knows what problem to solve. The triviality of the redesign should be embarrassing to…
codex on HNTrying to "think like a user", with the exception of updating the logo, the badges are identical. Nobody would really notice the change, let alone care about the text alignment…
tga on HNSpending time to redesign something that doesn't matter. There is an MS joke in here somewhere.
johnward on HN
Printing constraints like margins, double-sided and color cost are not addressed
From 3 comments
Cool, but they probably won't be able to adopt that design. Badges like this are made with special printers which have a minimum margin which is why most/all badge you see out…
pmorici on HNGreat job putting together a prototype. Although I'm going to list specific complaints, I appreciate the effort in creating and risk in sharing, so good job and thanks. - I don't…
reddiric on HNSo what you've changed is to center the information (not a big deal, move a whole load of useful information to the rear and use a more up to date logo. Seems pointless.…
richardwhiuk on HN
Requests
Show employee name on both sides
From 1 comment
I love it, but I have one suggestion: show the employee's name on both sides. For some reason, I have a hard time remembering names (but never forget faces), so I often glance at…
Greenisus on HN
Test with longer names and bad photos
From 2 comments
A lot of designers make one big mistake. They design the content too. But content can't be designed. For example the name. All his designs use short names because they look…
ohwp on HNOne suggestion when doing address-book related design work is to add names such as Jet Li, Arianna Stassinopoulos, Ho Chi Minh, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Prince (or more…
cormullion on HN
Make the name larger for readability
From 1 comment
I'd make the name larger. Not everybody has 20 year old eyesight.
WalterBright on HN
Questions
Why is the employee number sensitive information
From 2 comments
First names aren't necessarily the 'most important' -- especially for names that aren't of European origin. Employee number isn't sensitive information.
Scaevolus on HNSo why is the employee id sensitive information? Why do you care that your badge picture is ugly? Seriously? Do you also expect to take a picture of you kayaking at the lake to…
aestra on HN
Why is a physical badge needed at all instead of a phone or NFC
From 2 comments
I don't understand why a badge is necessary in the first place. Won't NFC on a phone suffice?
magic_haze on HNNot to be a contrarian, but am I the only one who finds the entire concept of badges antiquated to begin with. With today's technology, why not use RFIDs or a smartphone that…
pitchups on HN
Alternatives named
Google's dual-sided RFID badge design
From 1 comment
I like Google's badges: * Dual-sided, so it's never facing the wrong way out. (No dual-sided printer required, they are glued onto the underlying RFID card.) * RFID, so there is…
jrockway on HN
Apple's minimal badge
From 1 comment
On the note of minimalism the actually Apple badge looks like this. http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/mobiles/jordan-id.jpg
MrHeartBroken on HN
IBM badge layout
From 1 comment
FWIW the IBM badge has:- * The 8-bar company logo * The country of issue * Name * Photo On the back is a magstripe (not really used any more) and central return address in case…
ibmthrowaway218 on HN