DEF CON 33 · United States · 2025

DEF CON 33 Badge

Layered-lens physical badge

An official DEF CON 33 non-electronic physical badge by Mar Williams, built around layered art, 3D image interactions, lenses, clue spotting around the con, and an Arts & Entertainment booth badge challenge.

DEF CON United States Physical Badge Analog Badge Optical Badge Layered Art Badge Challenge Mar Williams spuxo North America

EventDEF CON 33

SeriesDEF CON

LocationLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

3D design transformation collaborator

@bon.bon.fin.fin

Mar Williams' DC33 announcement thanks @bon.bon.fin.fin for transforming the badge designs into 3D.

Source

black badge artwork collaborators

Bonnie and Aimee Valentine

Mar Williams' DC33 announcement thanks Bonnie and @aimeevalentine.art for work on the black badges.

Source

event, creator-talk, and media archive publisher

DEF CON Communications

DEF CON's official archive, news page, creator-talk page, and media server establish the DC33 event and badge documentation context.

Source

manufacturing fine-tuning collaborator

ICSN

Mar Williams' DC33 announcement thanks ICSN for fine tuning the badge design for manufacturing.

Source

official badge creator and badge-talk presenter

Mar Williams / spuxo

Mar Williams' announcement identifies the DC33 badges as their year-long project, and DEF CON's creator-talk page lists Mar as presenter for Making the DEF CON 33 Badge.

Source

Why It Mattered

It shows DEF CON's mainline badge alternating deliberately between electronics and physical art: after the RP2350 DC32 badge, DC33 made optical layers, material design, and attendee perception the hacking surface.

Hardware

Public sources describe the DC33 badge as non-electronic. The documented physical interaction surfaces are layered art, 3D images around the convention, different lenses and lens combinations, and black-badge artwork variants. Official DEF CON news also records a launch-day shipment delay in which cash-line attendees temporarily received paper badges.

Software & Apps

No onboard firmware or source-code release is documented for the official badge in this pass. The official media server exposes a dedicated DC33 badge directory, but it was still empty when audited on May 19, 2026.

Lore

Mar Williams' announcement frames the badge as a year-long project and directs attendees to combine lenses, spot con-floor clues, and visit the Arts & Entertainment booth for the badge challenge. DEF CON's creator-talk page preserves the making-of talk as a reflection on constraints, art, hacking, and the badge curse; DEF CON's own news archive preserves the badge-shipment-delay notice.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge format source-backed

Non-electronic physical art format

Public creator material says DC33 was a non-electronic badge year, making optical interaction and material design the documented hack surface instead of firmware.

Compatibility: DEF CON 33 Badge

Source

event challenge historical

Arts & Entertainment booth badge challenge

The creator announcement directed attendees to spot clues around the convention and visit the Arts & Entertainment booth to participate in the badge challenge.

Compatibility: DEF CON 33 Badge

Source

physical challenge historical

Layered-lens optical challenge

Mar Williams described the DC33 badge as interacting with 3D images and layered art around the con through different lenses and lens combinations.

Compatibility: DEF CON 33 Badge

Source

temporary credential documented

Cash-line paper badge fallback

DEF CON's August 7, 2025 news notice says attendees in the cash line were receiving paper badges because the main badge shipment was delayed.

Compatibility: DEF CON 33 registration

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

badge shipment delay note

DEF CON announced that cash-line attendees were temporarily receiving paper badges because the main badge shipment was delayed.

The record should not imply that every attendee received the final physical art badge immediately at registration; the temporary paper credential is part of the event artifact history.

Confidence: official news
Status: documented
Timeframe: DEF CON 33 opening day, August 7, 2025
Source note: DEF CON 33 news archive badge shipment delay notice.

missing rights-cleared image note

No local DEF CON 33 badge photo has been added because the visible creator-post images and official media assets have not been paired with complete reuse rights, attribution, and processing notes.

The entry remains image-free rather than copying creator, official, attendee, or press photography without provenance.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, Mar Williams Art images, DEF CON media-server directory, and official archive images.

physical-artifact caveat note

Public sources document the non-electronic lens/layer concept, clue trail, badge-making talk, and black-badge collaborator note, but this pass does not inventory every physical lens, badge type, printed layer, clue, or final challenge solution.

The catalogue records verified badge lineage and interaction surfaces while leaving full artifact photography and challenge reconstruction for a later pass.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: needs deeper artifact inventory
Timeframe: current DEF CON 33 pass
Source note: Mar Williams Art announcement, DEF CON creator-talk page, and DEF CON media-server badge directory.

Resources

DEF CON 33 badge media-server directory official badge archive · Official media-server source proving a dedicated DEF CON 33 badge archive directory; audited as empty during this pass. DEF CON 33 badge shipment delay notice official news · Official DEF CON source documenting that cash-line attendees temporarily received paper badges on August 7, 2025 because of a badge shipment delay. DEF CON 33 event archive event page · Official DEF CON archive source for August 7-10, 2025 dates, Las Vegas Convention Center venue, and post-con archive links. DEF CON 33 news archive official news · Official DEF CON source for the DC33 event framing, registration context, and post-event news timeline. Making the DEF CON 33 Badge talk metadata · Official creator-talk page source for the badge-making talk title, presenter Mar, time, room, duration, and art/hacking framing. Mar Williams DEF CON 33 announcement creator announcement · Creator source documenting DEFCON 33 badges as non-electronic, layered with 3D image and lens interactions, clue spotting, Arts & Entertainment booth participation, and black-badge collaborators.

Sources

DEF CON: DEF CON 33 Hacking Conference Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for DEF CON 33 dates, venue, conference context, cash receipt link, contest results link, and media-server path. DEF CON: DEF CON 33 Hacking Conference - News Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for DC33 public event timeline and post-event publication context. DEF CON: Badge Shipment Delay Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for the August 7, 2025 shipment-delay notice stating that cash-line attendees were getting paper badges while DEF CON awaited the delayed physical badge shipment. DEF CON: Making the DEF CON 33 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official creator-talk source for Mar's badge-making talk, Saturday 10:00 timing, 45-minute duration, and framing around badge creation, art, hacking, and constraints. DEF CON Media Server: DEF CON 33 badge media directory Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official source for the dedicated DC33 badge directory and the current absence of listed badge files in that directory. Mar Williams Art: DEF CON 33 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Creator source for non-electronic badge status, 3D/layered art and lens interactions, clue and Arts & Entertainment booth challenge context, and collaborator credits.