40+ Creative, Courageous, and Campy Buttons
A button (or badge in some places outside the US) can be designed for maximum impact through message, image, and cleverness. They have a capacity to communicate change and are often proudly worn as badges that represent our causes and beliefs.
Designers can tap into this capacity to communicate through creative button designs that challenge our conceptual thinking, promote positive change, while stylistically pushing the medium. In this post, we look at over 40 button designs driven from a variety of sources: modern illustrators, campy old cartoons, political badges, close up textures, positive causes, and more. Let’s look at some inspiring buttons and see if we can kick our creative engine into gear.
Creative Buttons
Buttons can be visually interesting, as the collection below illustrates. They can be clever and conceptual. Many of the examples below pull textures from various sources. One of the more conceptual examples ties together cassette tape designs and button textures. And in the case of the “void” button you have the message and stark emptiness of minimal design unified. There are numerous ways to get creative with your button designs, below are just a few.
Courageous Buttons
Buttons can make strong statements that support causes, challenge our way of thinking, and communicate active involvement. Here is a selection of buttons that either have made a difference or are being worn and impacting the world today.
Campy Buttons
Pop culture is a big source of inspiration for button designs. They have traditionally been handed out as swag at all kinds of events. Many artists have taken up this medium to showcase some of their work. Buttons make for cool giveaways or small products for artists to sell. Merging a message, like “Solving Poverty,” within something fun could make the button more interesting. Below are an assortment of buttons from Star Trek, pixel artists, bands, cartoons, and more.
Some Early Entries in the “Solving Poverty” Button Design Contest
Below are a handful of early entries in the contest. Notice how many of them have worked on conceptualizing the lettering and message. The buttons below make strong statements and rely heavily on the words to communicate the message. Some have added imagery, effective type choice, and play with transparency as well. It’s a good start and we hope to see more great entries as well. It’s a good cause and a challenging topic to design for.
Here is the link to the button design contest announcement for all the details. Be sure to use the tag “solvingpoverty” in the Psdtuts+ Flickr group when submitting your entries. Also, follow this link for more about how you can take action through design and make a positive difference in the world.
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very interesting.
Badges.
Th8is little man in my head speaks to me: Create a badge like this!
Btw.: I Likte it!
Jesus I want to fill my jacket with those (well not the political kind).
Badges.
In the first paragraph under “Creative Buttons,” there is a typo. “Button’s” shouldn’t have an apostrophe since there is nothing belonging to the button; the word is plural.
Cool!
any resources on getting these things made? any good web based companies?
Badges.
really great idea, I think I should try it myself
This is not a photoshop tutorial and shouldn’t be on the site. Save this for the smashing magazines of the world and leave this site geared toward its main focus. When you go this far off course, you’re destined to lose your base.
Aye Badges.
It’s funny – I’m a huge fan of little buttons like these even though I’ve just never been the type to wear ‘em myself. Still, there’s just something about a little bite of good design on a real item I can put in my hands that makes me smile. Thanks for a neat little post. MakeDesign,NotWar
Reminds me a little bit of the movie office space, with all those pieces of flair
how these stuffs related to Photoshop tutorials…
Anyway the POVERTY SOLVING BUTTONS are so nice to see…
Sean Hodge – PSDTUTS editor i hope…
But hereafter don’t post like this, its totally waste…
it is usually seen in any forum sites, i don’t except here…
Improve your quality not your quantity…
THANKS..
laranz.joe@gmail.com (LAWRENCE)
Sean Hodge: I don’t want to irritate you…
Here also a very cute (rare)collection of buttons…
You are always stunning…
If anything i said wrong i ask only one word is SORRY…
What happened to Lawrie? And then Sean is accepting these comments!
LOL
I see that Solving Poverty contest will be full of great entries! Thanks for inspiration, I hope I will have time to create my own badge too!
Wow.. buttons. I no longer really like buttons. For some odd reason I had hoped that this would be an an article on HOW to create a good button for print by using photoshop.. not the longest list of buttons (yes some of them are quite nice) ever assembled in one space outside of Flikr.
Nice buttons.. now on to the tutorials.. or articles with substance.
omg what a waste of time….
just go to the store and find a button…
Not interesting… just a waste of Time..
Inspiration is never a waste. Keep these coming!
nice list.they look great.
Ronald
I was hoping for a more tutorial like post, this shouldn’t be here.
Anyways there are some funny buttons…
Great collection.
I want those pantone buttons!!!
Cool badges. I want one.
OK, so this isn’t a tutorial that’ll tutor you in the creation of a big swirl or crazy effect, but hey, it’s an interesting read, and the buttons are interesting and perhaps a source of inspiration for some.
One post that’s a bit different and people start ‘flying off the handle’. Chill out people!
Pantone buttons for the people!
http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Pantone-Badge-Concept/98809
Meh, concept still
Thanks for this..
Some great inspiration…
I really like the solve poverty buttons…
I think I may have had a Canada’s Wonderland button like that one when I was a kid…
hai “Saswata”
Good or bad we must take this is the key point to Success…
Here i hope SEAN HODGE is follow the same principal too…
Hai SEAN HODGE, here is a huge rare collection of buttons I’M LOVING IT…
Hey,
#
really love the Pantone one
Kisk-A$$ post!
Yeah, cool buttons. Too bad hipsters are destroying their awesomeness.
This is a fantastic post.
It might not fit into the usual, but what does that matter?
I enjoyed reading it, and have got some inspiration for making some buttons of my own.
I like this list, very unusual and different from others.
Nice way to take a break.
I like it. Its cool
I want all of them
Thanks
ALL OF THEM!
I like it. Its cool. i love it
I like it, good idea. But i wish i knew about the contest… i think i would win making a badge.
Nice collection of button there
You have just the minimal amount of flair here. I thought you wanted to express yourself?
We don’t need no stinking badges!
Sorry , had to do it!
Thx for all the comments. Good luck to everybody in the Button Design Contest.
There are a couple questions about the relevancy of this post and I’ll certainly consider the criticism, though I’ll answer the questions breifly. This post is meant to serve as a resource for inspiration in the Button Design Contest going on now. Also, it ties into the Button Design Tutorial here on PSDTUTS, http://psdtuts.com/photo-effects-tutorials/photoshop-button-maker/
Thanks.
Anyone knows the typography of the “pink” Solving Poverty button?
Thanks!
Nice. I especially dig the turntable buttons.
Added my entry to the flickr pool, any comments would be much appreciated!
http://twitpic.com/d1rc
check http://www.your-button.de
for some more cool badges!
You are looking for some other great buttondesigns? Check http://www.stylebutton.de