A TICKET. A MEMORY.

A seemingly minor yet still important necessity for Regen 2024 was lanyards for attendees. These mainly serve as certificates for entry to the event, displaying both that a pass has been purchased as well as which type of entry pass has been bought.

There were 5 different pass types (STAFF, COMPETITOR, SPECTATOR, MEDIA, COMMENTATOR), 5 different pass durations (FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, WEEKEND, FULL EVENT) and a variation between basic lanyards (which display only pass type + duration) and customised ones (which also display players’ gamertag and team/sponsor) for people who ordered one when signing up.

This meant there were 50 possible combinations for a lanyard’s design; I created a homogenised design to present and combine information that would both significantly reduce the amount of time spent creating the lanyards while also presenting pass specifications with a sleek readability.

All pass details are displayed around the logo, which takes precedence in the design. Pass durations are displayed above in small text, as not to upset the logo’s balance, while pass types extend from below in larger text due to its importance in displaying the pass holder’s privileges. Event pass info is moved upwards slightly on custom lanyards as to prevent gamertages from obscuring the characters below.

Each different pass type also utilises different colours for the background images so that event runners and security can understand the role of a pass holder without having to read finer text.

Regen 2024 wAS A MOVIE.

Worthwhile to consider on top of the functional aspect of the lanyards as tickets, however, was the sentimental importance of the lanyards to attendees as many people save physical passes to gigs, concerts and events to display at home as a memento of a good time. By making the design for the Regen 2024’s lanyards both pleasing and representative of the event, it would turn a functional item into a gift for attendees to take home as a piece of memorabilia.

Resultantly, I wanted to represent Regen 2024 as an entire experience in the design for its lanyards while also representing the event’s film theming, which would be extremely memorable for attendees.

As Smash Ultimate, the main game featured at Regen 2024, has a large roster of 92 characters, I wanted to include popular characters on the different event passes, using renders of them created for the film poster recreations so that both the game and event could be represented.

ABOVE: Earliest concept images for lanyards

Originally, I had planned to differentiate the different pass types with different characters and renders, as to add to the ability to distinguish passes from a far distance as this way it would be discernible through both colour AND shape. I decided against this however as it’d mean people may receive passes of a character they don’t like and may even end up trading passes with someone for a design they prefer which could lead to both logistical and security issues.

I ended up choosing to reuse the render created for the recreation of Another Round’s poster in the lanyard’s general design for a multitude of reasons.

The render features many popular characters, making it more statistically likely that someone’s favourite character is featured.
The render displays a party, aiding in representing Regen 2024, an in-person event, as a fun and social event.
It continues Regen 2024’s motif and commemoration of film via its referenced origins.
After Regen 2024 reached enough entrants to be recognised as an A-Tier tournament (a highly prestigious event and the UK’s first ‘major’ tournament in 7 years), the announcement regarding its status as an A-Tier tournament was accompanied by the recreation of Another Round. This announcement became one of our most shared and recognisable posts, making the design more likely to be memorable and nostalgic to attendees.

ABOVE: Raw renders for the recreation of Another Round’s poster. References to alcohol were removed from the design after the initial ‘A-TIER EVENT’ post.

An additional function was given to all competitor lanyards; while the front displays necessary information for staff and security, competitor lanyards’ backside features useful information that would serve to streamline their tournament experience.

TALKING STAGES.

One of these features was a ‘stage list’, displaying the 9 stages from the game’s 104 playable stages that the tournament organising team recognise as competitively fair to play on. These stages are chosen before a match begins and if one of these select 9 aren’t chosen, the match is considered invalid.

As Regen 2024 may have been many players’ first tournament, it was important that they’d have easy access to the legal stage list at the flip of their lanyard, reducing both risk of competitive invalidity and time spent between matches looking up which stages aren’t banned. Additionally, many tournaments (especially in the USA) have different legal stage lists that may lead to competitors misremembering which stages are legal at Regen 2024 - the stage list solves any issue of confusion in this circumstance too.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME.

Beneath the stage list was a QR code that’d take each competitor to their schedule on start.gg (where all information for Team Regen tournament brackets are held) and links to various Team Regen social medias.

Due to the social nature of events such as Regen 2024, many competitors often lose track of time and/or may forget where they may need to be at a certain point in time - this can result in compounding delays in the tournament bracket and/or players feeling sad by being disqualified for lateness. When considering that many competitors sign up for multiple brackets across multiple days, knowing when and where to be becomes increasingly unlikely.

The inclusion of a QR code on a ticket constantly round attendees necks removes a large amount of abrasion from the process of checking an individualised online schedule on an external website as they could just scan it - additionally, seeing the QR codes on other peoples’ lanyards would remind competitors to check their schedule more often, resulting in the event running as smooth as possible.

Additionally, the social media links on the side would allow players to know exactly where to watch the event’s livestream and see ongoing updates in the competition.

CREDIT ROLL

Though a minor part of the event, many attendees spoke well of the lanyards to staff, from competitors appreciative of their informative backside to spectators who simply enjoyed the simplistic yet representative design.

Towards the end of the event, following the tournament’s grand finals, staff also witnessed many attendees getting their lanyards signed by their favourite top players or just by people they enjoyed spending their time with, further enhancing the lanyards as precious memorabilia rather than a ticket. The decision to keep much of the design clear around the logo enabled this behaviour and will be taken into consideration for the next time I design lanyards, once again, with an ergonomic balance between form and function.