So You Want to Make a Badge? Badge Creation 101
Security engineer Jeff Geisperger introduces the fundamentals of electronic conference badge design, PCB fabrication, and badgelife hardware hacking.
Summary
Hardware hacker and maker Jeff Gisberger ("Big Taro") delivers a comprehensive beginner's guide to custom conference badge design and electronics manufacturing on the Community Stage [00:02]. Gisberger covers the foundational workflow of badge creation, explaining how to transition from circuit concepts to printed circuit board (PCB) layouts using Electronic Design Automation (EDA) suites like KiCad [05:47].
The talk details the popular Shitty Add-On (SAO) standard for modular badge peripherals, exploring creative design choices involving component selection, multilayer FR4 routing, soldermask colors, and decorative silkscreen graphics [05:49, 11:16]. Gisberger shares practical advice on breadboarding prototypes, choosing suitable microcontrollers (such as the ESP32 or RP2040), and integrating display screens [16:46, 22:17]. He highlights interactive features from prior community badges—including playable Frogger games and custom BLE scanners configured to alert wearers to nearby Bluetooth MAC addresses [27:48]—encouraging attendees to participate in the Badge Life hardware community.
(AI summary — Gemini Flash)
Related talks
Blacks in Cybersecurity Village·15 min
Eli McRae
Eli McRae provides a technical walkthrough of the DEF CON 33 Blacks in Cybersecurity Village electronic badge, covering PCB schematics and SAO support.
Main Stage·12 min
Mar
Mar details the design, engineering, artistic creation, and electronic manufacturing process behind the official DEF CON 33 electronic badge.
Main Stage·19 min
Mar Williams
Badge designer Mar Williams explains the creative inspiration, embedded engineering, and production challenges behind the official DEF CON 31 electronic badge.