DEF CON 31 · United States · 2023

DEF CON 31 Badge

Mar Williams physical badge with SAO chamber

A Mar Williams / spuxo official DEF CON 31 physical badge produced for a deliberately non-electronic year, with the public pre-con badge news centered on a customization-friendly SAO slot and media-server add-on design assets.

DEF CON United States Physical Badge Analog Badge SAO Add-On Mar Williams spuxo Badge Design North America

EventDEF CON 31

SeriesDEF CON

LocationCaesars Forum, Flamingo, Linq, and Harrah's, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

badge-designer call publisher

The Dark Tangent

The call for badge designers is signed by The Dark Tangent and documents the decision to return to a physical non-electronic badge for DC31.

Source

event, badge call, news, and media archive publisher

DEF CON Communications

DEF CON's official archive, call for badge designers, badge news, vendors page, and media server establish the DC31 badge context and add-on asset trail.

Source

official badge creator

Mar Williams / spuxo

DEF CON's vendor page states that Mar Williams created the year's official DEF CON badge, and the badge-making talk metadata lists Mar Williams as presenter.

Source

Why It Mattered

It marks the mainline DEF CON badge returning from two MK Factor electronic years to a physical art badge while still absorbing badgelife practice: the official badge became a canvas for attendee-made add-ons, test-fit parts, and printed or 3D-modeled customization.

Hardware

DEF CON's call for badge designers identifies DC31 as a non-electronic physical badge year, with planning up to 30,000 badges plus Black Badge variants. Official badge news and the media server document an SAO customization slot, add-on PDF, chamber test-fit STL, outline AI/EPS files, GIF previews, and a Blender chamber model.

Software & Apps

The official badge itself is documented as non-electronic, so there is no onboard firmware record in this pass. The reusable technical surface is the public design-asset workflow for add-ons: PDF specifications, printable/test-fit geometry, outline artwork, and 3D chamber source files.

Lore

The badge was selected through DEF CON's open call for a physical badge designer after MK Factor stepped back from DC31. Official sources credit Mar Williams / spuxo, DEF CON's resident artist, and the 20-minute conference talk 'Making The DEF CON 31 Badge' preserved the badge-making context.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge format source-backed

Non-electronic physical badge format

The official call for badge designers stated that DC31 would return to a non-electronic physical badge after two consecutive electronic badge years.

Compatibility: DEF CON 31 Badge

Source

design assets archived

Official add-on design pack

The DEF CON media server published badge add-on specifications and test-fit assets for building physical customizations around the DC31 badge.

Compatibility: DEF CON 31 Badge

Source

physical customization historical

SAO customization slot

DEF CON's badge news previewed the badge through its SAO slot and framed the badge as having room for attendee customization.

Compatibility: DEF CON 31 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

missing rights-cleared image note

No local DEF CON 31 badge image has been added because official news, vendor, media-server, and attendee images have not been paired with a complete reuse basis, attribution string, and processing record for this catalogue.

The entry remains image-free rather than copying official preview images, vendor art, or attendee photography without complete provenance.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, DEF CON news images, DEF CON vendor images, and media-server previews.

physical-artifact caveat note

Public sources document the non-electronic badge plan, creator, SAO slot, and media-server add-on assets, but this pass does not inventory every badge type, physical material detail, Black Badge variant, attendee add-on, or final production artifact.

The catalogue records verified badge lineage and customization surfaces while leaving full physical artifact documentation for a later pass.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: needs deeper artifact inventory
Timeframe: current DEF CON 31 pass
Source note: DEF CON call for badge designers, badge news, vendor profile, media-server badge assets, and InfoconDB badge-talk metadata.

Resources

DEF CON 31 badge media-server directory design assets · Official media-server source for the badge add-on PDF, chamber test-fit STL, badge-card outline AI/EPS files, GIF previews, and Blender chamber asset. DEF CON 31 badge news official news · Official news source documenting the public SAO slot preview, add-on media-server pointer, and thanks to spux as the year's badge designer. DEF CON 31 call for badge designers official call · Official source documenting that DC31 was planned as a non-electronic physical badge year, after two MK Factor electronic years, with production planning up to 30,000 badges plus Black Badge variants. DEF CON 31 event archive event page · Official DEF CON archive source for August 10-13, 2023 dates, venue context, and event framing. DEF CON 31 vendor profile for Mar Williams official profile · Official vendor page source stating that Mar Williams is DEF CON's resident artist and created the year's official DEF CON badge. Making The DEF CON 31 Badge talk metadata · InfoconDB source for the DEF CON 31 badge-making talk title, timing, duration, and presenter Mar Williams.

Sources

DEF CON: DEF CON 31 Hacking Conference Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official event archive source for DEF CON 31 dates, venues, and conference context. DEF CON: DEF CON 31 Call for Badge Designers Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for the non-electronic physical badge mandate, MK Factor context, and planned badge production scale. DEF CON: DEF CON 31 Badge News! Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for the SAO customization slot preview, add-on design-assets pointer, and spux badge-designer credit. DEF CON: DEF CON 31 Vendors Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source connecting Mar Williams to the year's official DEF CON badge and identifying their DEF CON artist role. DEF CON Media Server: DEF CON 31 badge media directory Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for the add-on PDF, chamber STL, outline AI/EPS, GIF previews, and Blender asset used to describe the badge customization surface. InfoconDB: Making The DEF CON 31 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Talk metadata source for Mar Williams' DEF CON 31 badge-making presentation, date, time, and duration.