A badge is a device or accessory, often
containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to
indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority
granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fire), a sign
of legitimate employment or student status, or as a simple means of
identification. They are also used in advertising, publicity, and for branding purposes.
Police badges date back to medieval times when knights wore a coat of arms
representing their allegiances and loyalty.
Badge customization can be made from metal, plastic, leather, textile, rubber, etc., and
they are commonly attached to clothing, bags, footwear, vehicles, medal
sport medal home electrical equipment, etc. Textile badges or
patches can be either woven or embroidered, and can be attached by gluing,
ironing-on, sewing or applique. custom medal
have become highly collectable: in the UK, for example, the Badge Collectors'
Circle has been in existence since 1980. In the military, badges are used to
denote the unit or arm to which the wearer belongs, and also qualifications
received through military training, rank, etc. Similarly, youth organizations
such as scouting and guiding use them to show group membership, awards and
rank.
One of the best-known badges is the
typically star-shaped U.S. sheriff's badge, made famous in Westerns. The
Chairman Mao badge is probably the most famous political badge. Members of
fraternities and sororities often refer to the pins that signify their
membership as badges.
Badge Pinning
The BBC children's programme Blue Peter
also awards its own "Blue Peter badge" to members of the public who
appear on the show. These are highly collectable as they cannot be
bought—except from people who have been awarded one and wish to sell it.
Case badges are thick, about 3 mm (0.12 in)
deep, 3-by-3-centimetre (1.2 in × 1.2 in) lucite
stickers that are often packaged with various computer parts, such as
processors and video cards. Modern computer cases are frequently embellished
with an indentation on the case's front panel to facilitate the affixing of a
case badge.
Button badges are a highly collectible
round badge with a plastic coating over a design or image. They often have a
metal pin back or a safety pin style back. The most popular size is
25.4-millimetre (1.00 in) but the badges can range anywhere from this size
right up to 120-millimetre (4.7 in) badges. This style of badge is used in
political campaigning and often given as part of a birthday greeting such as a
birthday card.
In the United States, the badges used by
law enforcement, fire, and security guards are usually made of metal in various
colors and finishes and are worn above the left chest pocket on the uniform
shirt or jacket. Detectives and other plainclothes personnel may wear them on a
belt holder, or on a chain around the neck. Shapes are manifold, with municipal
police departments tending to have some variation of a shield shape, and
sheriff's departments usually going with a 5, 6, or 7 point star shape. In most
cases, an enameled seal of the organization, city, county, or company can be
found in the center of the badge.
In computing, badges are used to
demonstrate skills. In education, digital badges are used as alternative forms
of credentials, similar to those being used in the MacArthur Foundation's
Badges for Lifelong Learning initiative.
