Issue a badge with the certificate
A credential can now be a certificate, a badge, or both. The badge is a square mark with its own design and downloads, issued under the same public page and credit.
A badge is not a certificate scaled down. It is a mark meant to be read at 64 pixels, in a LinkedIn row or an email signature. A certificate is a document meant to be opened. Treating one as the other produces artwork nobody can read.
A badge is now a format of the same credential.
One issue, two formats
When you create a credential, choose Certificate, Badge, or both. Both are issued together: one recipient, one public ID, one verification page, one credit for the issue. Blockchain anchoring, if enabled, adds its own credit. A badge-only credential has no PDF, because there is no page to print.
The badge is a square 1024 × 1024 design. Start from Seal, Ribbon, Card, or Diamond, or a blank canvas, and use a transparent background when the mark needs to sit on a page of its own. It is a normal design: editable elements, Attributes, versions, and its own publish state.
Where the badge appears
The Pages rail lists every design in order. Star the badge to make it the hero and the credential's image. The public page shows that design first, with every page and badge in a thumbnail rail.
Badge downloads are 1024 px PNG. A combined credential can download everything as one ZIP: page PNGs, the assembled PDF, badge PNGs, the credential JSON, the proof when present, and the credential URL. Recipients still get one Add to LinkedIn entry, not one per format.
The signed Open Badge 3.0 credential uses the badge as achievement.image, so the image travels with the data. The issue email exposes a badge_png_url merge tag for an optional badge block; it stays empty when the credential has no badge.
What it does not do
There are no wallet passes, badge pathways, stacking rules, or public badge directory. A badge is a format of the same credential, not a second product or a second issue.
If you already have a certificate, add a Badge from the Pages rail and publish it. New issues will include both. Existing issued credentials are unchanged; reissue one if you want it to carry the badge, which spends a credit.
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