In a previous episode of Incoming, the Templin Institute looked at what makes a good flag
or emblem and then critiqued some examples from across alternate worlds.
One emblem we didn’t look at however ended up being mentioned quite a lot in the comments,
that of United Nations Space Command.
I think the most interesting element of this emblem isn’t the design itself,
but rather how that design was changed from a perfectly serviceable one, to a design that is atrocious.
So today on Incoming we’ll be looking at what happened to the UNSC’s emblem.
Let’s start with the original design.
The eagle clutching the globe motif has in my mind become something of a cliché and
I think there are plenty of other emblems that utilize the same type of imagery, but better,
the Global Defense Initiative or Romulan Star Empire for example.
That said, the emblem, specifically the wings, come across as very modern and I
think it fits the tone of the organization it represents.
I’m not a huge fan of the stylized feathers, I think it would be a stronger design with
them removed and the same goes for the bottom ribbon emblazoned with the UNSC.
This ribbon does act as a nice counterweight to the outstretched wings, but as I mentioned
repeatedly in our previous video on flags, if your emblem is meant to represent all of
humanity, including just a single language in the design is poor representation.
I do give this emblem bonus points however for including a generic globe design rather
than singling out the Earth.
There are plenty of planets in the UNSC, or at least there used to be, and this design
can represent all and any of them.
So, while I don’t think this is the best emblem ever made, I think it’s perfectly satisfactory.
Okay, so moving on to the new design.
Now, the biggest change here is obviously the replacement of the modern, sleek eagle motif with one
that is much more realistic and detailed.
This is the exact opposite of what you want in an emblem.
Effective designs should be simple and easy to identify even from a distance.
This new emblem becomes a muddled mess the moment you shrink it down past a certain size
with details blurring into one another.
Moving onto the shield, the one major additional element when compared to the previous design.
What’s weird here, is that while plenty of emblems include shields, they are after
all a basic component of heraldry, this one doesn’t have any symbolism on it.
Instead, its blank, with some angled lines which I assume are there to make it seem more futuristic.
This contradicts the timeless quality of shields which is kind of the point of incorporating
them into a design in the first place.
Instead of evoking any kind of symbolism or history, it just looks tacky and the details
are again too small to be easily distinguishable or memorable.
What really ruins the design however is the decision to include both the initials, UNSC
and the full name, United Nations Space Command.
This is just redundant, I can understand including one or the other, but to have both is just bizarre.
Overall this new design just seems to have been crammed with as many small details as
possible with no thought for what they’re meant to represent.
The twin circles on either side of the wings have been retained despite the fact they don’t
flow as well with the overall shape of the emblem, three stars have been added to either
side of the globe but they’re too small to be easily discernible, another star has
been placed between the initials of the UNSC, sitting atop 3 pillars for some reason, what
does any of this mean?
I am almost certain that when this design was being made, the direction was simply “make
the old one, but have it be more extreme and cool”.
This is something you see quite often but the problem is emblems and flags aren’t
designed to be cool, they are intended to be symbolic.
While the previous emblem of the UNSC had its issues, it at least followed the fundamentals
of good design.
This new iteration is just a mess of conflicting styles and redundant elements.
Bring back the old design, or better yet, try something new.
That of course is just my opinion, and while I can not possib-lie be wrong, I’d like to
hear your thoughts.
Do you prefer the new design of the UNSC’s emblem?
Do you think I was too hard on the original logo?
How come the UNSC doesn’t seem to have an actual flag?
Let us know in the comments, and until next time, this has been Incoming.
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