Hackathon Badges

Only print team names for teams that registered together. Many hackathons hold team formation after the opening talk, so for everyone else add a static line that reads Team followed by a blank, and put markers on each table. You can also reprint badges for finalist teams before judging if you want tidy names on stage.

Beyond the name, the most useful line is what the mentor can help with, written like Ask me: APIs, React or Ask me: hardware, Arduino. Put it in the title field so it prints on every mentor row. A distinct Mentor color lets a stuck team spot help across the room, and the company line tells hackers where that mentor works.

For adults who opt in, usually yes, since handles are meant to be public and they make it easy to connect after the event. Ask on the registration form rather than pulling handles automatically. Leave handles off badges for participants under 18, and never print email addresses, because team photos with visible badges get shared widely.

It can work for a small event. Add labeled boxes for each meal and have volunteers mark them with a permanent marker as people go through the line. For larger crowds, checking names on a list or using wristbands is harder to game. Paper badges can be copied, so treat the boxes as a friendly honor system rather than strict control.

JetBrains Mono gives the terminal feel and was designed for code, so easily confused characters look distinct, which helps with handles. Monospace letters are wide, so keep the name bold and let auto-fit shrink long names. For the role label, a condensed display font such as Oswald in uppercase reads better from a distance than mono does.

Save your hackathon registration export as CSV and import up to 500 participants without an email or account. Map the participant’s name, team and role to your badge fields, then sort the source list by team if you want each team’s badges together.