Show Me Your Badge
In one of the most famous lines in The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948), the bandit known as
Gold Hat (played by Alfonso Bedoya) tells the prospector Fred C.
Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) in a hammed-up Mexican accent, “We are
Federales. You know, the mounted police.” To wit, the
incredulous Dobbs responds, “If you're the police, where are your
badges?” “Badges?” replies Gold Hat, angrily, “We ain't got no
badges! We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any
stinkin' badges!”
Why is flashing a badge—a mere piece of embossed, debossed or
engraved metal—the epitome of authority... and power?
What makes a tin star, as they were called in Westerns, or a
nickel alloy shield, as worn by the NYPD, so charged with power?
Long before they became synonymous with “checking in” on Foursquare, the concept of “badges”
traces back to medieval times, if not earlier, when knights carried
shields, wore armor and brandished swords in service of the king.
Protectors of the monarch were, for all intents and purpose, the
law. But those were simpler times. Shields with heraldic markings
were limited to knights, not knaves.
These days, badges represent many kings, many laws and many
different authorities. It is not enough to simply pin a chunk of
metal over one's heart and claim authority; a badge must be
sanctioned, and its design must fulfill many requirements.
The
Denver Police Department, for instance, invests its badge with
considerable layers of symbolism, ritual and lore. “The American
eagle on top of the badge symbolizes freedom and the police
officer's readiness to defend individual rights. Each of the seven
major points of the star represent a quality valued by all
professional police officers: honesty, integrity, temperance,
fortitude, faith, hope and charity. The remaining minor points
illuminate the badge, a symbol of duty. The gold and silver colors
denote purity and worth. The center is the corporate seal of the
City and County of Denver, and is dominated by an American Eagle
watching over industry, offices of state, and future
expansion.”
Whew! Imagine a graphic designer being given a brief to get all
that into one logo? I can hear the beleaguered designer negotiating
with the client: “How about we just represent hope? Okay, we can do
fortitude and hope, but charity will have to go.” Or “If you
want honesty and faith, we'll have to charge more.”
Yet it goes without saying that a badge must symbolize all the
virtues and values that are expected of the wearer (although that's
not always the case). As the Denver description reveals, there is a
language of badge design that has been fairly consistent for
centuries. While every country has its own symbolic lexicon etched
into the pliable metals the fundamental notion of power is
constant. Add to this calculus of signs and symbols and tactility,
a badge has to have a certain imposing form or shape.
The L.A. Police shield is perhaps the most famous oval. It also
has various meanings:
1. Border design based on the fasces, or ancient
Roman symbol of authority.
2. Designation of rank.
3. Rays of a setting sun represent a West Coast location.
4. Replica of City Hall with three symbolic characteristics:
Tower's rising lines depict the untiring and unyielding spirit of
the City's founders; the flanking wings represent the expansive
growth from the first El Pueblo; the broad base signifies
the City's firm foundation.
5. The City Seal depicts the City's history through Spanish,
Mexican, autonomous and U.S. control; its site as a prolific garden
spot; and the early influence of the mission padres.
6. Designation of city and department.
7. Oval shape, unique in badge design when adopted in 1940.
8. Badge number or symbol of rank.
Source:
njlawman.com
Badges are born of tradition and history. The Pittsburgh Police
badge was designed in 1873. According to the
City of Pittsburgh's website: “The crest is from the
Coat-of-Arms of William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, and the
man for whom Pittsburgh is named. The garter around the badge is
linked to King George III, the last English ruler of the American
colonies. The shield is a circular fighting shield used by
15th-century Greek foot soldiers. During the 16th and 17th
centuries, the circular shield was used extensively in the British
Isles, hence its appearance in Pittsburgh.”
There is a decidedly emotional connection to badges. “Badges are
routinely handed down from father to child in police families,”
wrote Ray
Rivera in the New York Times in 2009. “But in New York,
a city that has become almost synonymous with high security... some
officers don't wear their badges on patrol. Instead, they wear
fakes. Called 'dupes,' these phony badges are often just a trifle
smaller than real ones but otherwise completely authentic. Officers
use them because losing a real badge can mean paperwork and a heavy
penalty, as much as 10 days' pay.”
These days wearing the word “Police” “FBI” or “DEA” in gothic
caps on the back of a windbreaker carries some of the same
authority as a badge. But it is not the same. Badges are official;
T-shirts, baseball caps and other sporting apparel currently used
to signify “the law” don't hold a candle to a badge—even the faux
(i.e., rent-a-cop) varieties.
Speaking of quasi-official badge holders, although Federal law
prohibits the sale or purchase of counterfeit police badges, that
doesn't stop the trade in quasi-badges for non-governmental legal
support professions. And the more loaded with signs and symbols,
the better. Thomas Badge Company, a leading manufacturer, makes the
following declarations in its catalog copy.
Bodyguards, for example, should have the Executive Security badge,
“distinctively crafted... in a gold finish. A Red and white enamel
is used for the beautifully mastered center eagle emblem. This
Executive Security badge is sure to please any professional
Security personnel or Bodyguard. It will command attention from all
who see it!” In addition, process servers get no respect, so they
get a badge, too: “Our Process Server Badge ensures immediate
recognition of the holder due to its large 2.5 inch size. This is a
reasonably priced badge with very high quality. This is a
heavy-duty flat-back quality badge with quality pinback. Its
enameled black lettering with federal eagle center seal and rich
gold finish ensures years of trouble-free use. Our Process Server
Badge also comes with a heavy duty pin & safety clasp.” And
even security guards should possess a “3-inch seven point Security
Special Officer Star Badge [that] is both elegant and effective.
With a non-interchangeable multicolored enameled center seal of
Liberty and Justice, you will get a professional look with style.
This Security Special Officer Badge is a must for your
profession.”
“Badges!?” It is necessary to show those “stinkin'
badges”—not only for the authority they possess but for the
Pavlovian responses they trigger.
More badge inspiration
About the Author: Steven Heller, co-chair of the Designer as Author MFA and co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism at School of Visual Arts, is the author of Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century (Phaidon Press), Iron Fists: Branding the Totalitarian State (Phaidon Press) and most recently Design Disasters: Great Designers, Fabulous Failure, and Lessons Learned (Allworth Press). He is also the co-author of New Vintage Type (Thames & Hudson), Becoming a Digital Designer (John Wiley & Co.), Teaching Motion Design (Allworth Press) and more. www.hellerbooks.com