Squadron Badge Blank – notes

This Adobe Illustrator CS5 file contains a reworking of the standard ATC
crested badge as issued on the Media CD back in early 2000. Since then it
has been retraced and reworked so as to make it more friendly and usable
as a template for other parts of the ATC to use while designing their own
badges.

All of the areas which appear as gaps on the bare image to the right are
actually transparent and, when used as a file type which honours
transparencies, will not give an ugly white box around the image.

If you require an actual white background to your central design you will
have to include a white circle as a background, as shown in the sample
image

The elements of the design within the .ai file are hopefully named in a logical
manner. I have locked the parts which I do not expect you will need to
modify.

Circular Text and motto

The text in the circles is in 2 parts, each mapped to a circular path centred on the red area. The
text in the ribbon is similarly mapped to a complex path which follows the centreline of the ribbon.

I suggest you overtype the example text included in the template. You are of course free to
change size, font, kerning etc. as per your own requirements and preference.

Indents:
As far as I can tell, the use of indents for the unit number is probably the preferred option. I have
designed the indents in the design so as they are easily turned off, leaving a plain circular badge.

Design:
The template includes a white “blanking” circle and a simple image to show the workings of the
design area. This layer should be at the bottom of the design so that the badge sits on top of it and
can mask certain parts of the design of so desired (it seems to be a heraldic requirement that
central designs are set on a white field and with a border, so this should work well in most cases)