Patch Heraldry and Related Things

[CAPC/officer125]

I am also a member of the committee that is responsible for the wing patch design for KSWG CAC. While I do not have an actual picture that I can show you, I do have an idea that alot of other cadets like. It would be a shield. The design would be as follows:

• Half (to 2/3) the main field would be Ultramarine blue to represent the sky and the other part (the bottom) would be gold which can represent multiple things like the KS wheat and excellence
• In the center of the blue field a windmill (or turbine depending on what looks better) with the propellers being the CAP 3-prop design to show the three-fold mission of CAP. The windmill represents the ever-moving wind and people of the KSWG. The windmill would be either white or silver.
• On either side of the windmill, the letters "K" and "S" are symbolized in gold. The staff of the letter "K" would have the design of beardless wheat.
• In the banner of the shield, the state motto "Ad Adstra Per Aspera" is written in black

What do you think? Could somebody maybe try to draw this up for me? I am presenting this design to the committee this weekend.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Boy, I feel late to this party.

A few thoughts, and some of this may be redundant to earlier posts, so please bear with me:

— Air Force heraldry guidelines say new emblems should not borrow elements. The CAP triangle and the cross should, by that standard, be out the door. (In fact, too many CAP emblems have the same redundant elements and should be yanked.)
— Wings with mottos put the mottos in the scroll. Leave any and all type out of the shield itself — reserve that space for the graphic element.
— Find things that are genuinely Kansan. But don't get too many elements involved, lest it look like it was designed by committee and ultimately mean nothing to anyone.
— Photoshop? Really? Big no-no. If you want to design an emblem that is crisp at any imaginable size, you need to bust out Illustrator and do it right.
— BRAINSTORM! Heck, do a cartoon of a Kansas jayhawk soaring, looking vigilant with a pair of binoculars around its neck. The silly ideas will come out first, and let them, because at some point good ideas will surface. (The "vigilant jayhawk" was a quick thought, but feel free to use it for a prototype.)

One thing that bothers me about this new rash of wing emblems is that previous heritage is thrown out the door. Florida's new emblem takes some serious explaining to make sense as a Florida emblem and not a SPACECOM wing patch. It doesn't say "Florida" at all. There was nothing wrong with Zack Mosley's alligator, except that over time it looked worse and worse (apparently, contractors weren't given access to the original drawing to keep it crisp). Nevada's patch is a copout, full of clipart (blasphemy!). Mississippi's new one should be illegal, it's such a piece of garbage. It's the Pontiac Aztek of CAP wing patches.

Many of the heritage wing emblems could be translated into the Air Force boiler shield rather easily (Ohio's, I've seen that way, and it's kickass). Kansas' emblem isn't one of them, but surely there's something unique to Kansas Wing CAP that could visually define it.

Keep working on it, mock up several, discuss the merits and disadvantages, seek advice (there's a couple of professional designers on this forum, folks, in addition to all the amateur Photoshop warriors) and you'll come up with something you'll be really proud of, as will your fellow Kansans.

</soapbox>

[Eclipse]

— Photoshop? Really? Big no-no. If you want to design an emblem that is crisp at any imaginable size, you need to bust out Illustrator and do it right.

CAP doesn't need them at "any imaginable size".  We're not wrapping busses or billboards.

While I agree that vector may give you more options with vendors using outdated equipment, most stuff built with current technology can use bitmapped graphics just fine.

Just draw it in PS about 5 times larger than the patch and you'll have no issues.  You won't see any loss in anything you'll ever do with it, and you won't have to deal with the hassle of vector.

If a vendor says they can't use your art, find a different one.

[RiverAux]

Hey Ace, the image for the new MS Wing patch on your web site isn't loading...

[BuckeyeDEJ]

— Photoshop? Really? Big no-no. If you want to design an emblem that is crisp at any imaginable size, you need to bust out Illustrator and do it right.

CAP doesn't need them at "any imaginable size".  We're not wrapping busses or billboards.

Squadron and group emblems are sometimes used on large banners and displays. Raster images can be lossy, as well as a real pain to edit, even in layers. Photoshop for graphic design is like using an adjustable wrench to drive screws. If you're doing a photo illustration, that's one thing. But when you're dealing with what's essentially line art, Photoshop isn't adequate — never was, never has been, never will be.

To put my money where my mouth is, I offer my services to the Kansas cadets.

NOTE: Buses are motor vehicles. Busses are probably verboten under CPPT. 

[Майор Хаткевич]

 I've made our company logo in PS, and it's mostly used on 5x8 cards and 3x5 business cards.

Then again, the original image made in PS is also 2ft by 3ft.

[AvroArrow]

To put my money where my mouth is, I offer my services to the Kansas cadets.

Well, if you'd really like to, I can give you an email address that you may contact. The CAC Chair would love to hear that he has an expert on board for the proposal

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Expert... LOL... I've mouse-jockeyed Illustrator, FreeHand and Photoshop since Christ was a corporal. Somehow I always kept a job 

Let me know what you need. PM me for more info.