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Ramsey Police Department Badge
Creating a custom anniversary badge when the timeline is tight.
The Ramsey Police Department wanted a custom badge to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2024. They contacted Smith & Warren with a desire to participate in the full BadgeStudio experience, but their timeline was too tight to get their badges before the start of their anniversary year. The Ramsey Police Department explained the anniversary badge concept they hoped to achieve with a very quick turnaround time. We listened and were able to forecast how much time this project would take and guide them through a condensed badge development process.
Ramsey Police Department's Original Concept
They had put a lot of thought into their anniversary badge and they had a strong concept to start. They desired an oval shield with a wheat wreath in silver metal encircling the badge. Having a sunburst design and a miniature version of their original badge with a black background was another signature element. They asked for gold panels for their anniversary years and rank with black enamel lettering.
One interesting challenge was a request for their custom panel with anniversary dates to be the same color blue as the sky in the Minnesota state seal. This was a light powder blue and to make sure we got the color just right, we created a couple of metal “swatches” from our hard enamel light blue options so they could choose the best match.
The Badge Design Process
Our design team ran with their concept. Through a couple of iterations, we suggested some changes to make each of their desired elements pop. By placing the sunburst on a black background, the rays emerged and this helped their miniature traditional badge shine as the focal point of the badge. The hard enamel ribbon panel in light blue calls attention to the fiftieth anniversary in a manner that is representative of Minnesota and adds an elegant frame to the top of the badge.
Within a tight turnaround time, we created a unique and very thoughtful anniversary badge. Through a few conversations, starting with their department sharing a design concept, and our experienced badge experts using a lot of dies we already own, we moved quickly. For this mid-size department, a budget-friendly set-up cost was appreciated, but seeing how our professional team could make each element emerge from the badge almost in 3D fashion made all the difference.
The Ramsey Police Department was “blown away” with the look of their badges when they arrived and they deeply appreciated how quickly we were able to design and manufacture their badges. The department’s officers started wearing them in January 2024, at the start of their anniversary celebration.
Design and Manufacturing Experience Makes Customization Possible
At Smith & Warren, we cannot emphasize strongly enough that we want to speak with you about your anniversary badge project. We have our badge builder, VisualBadge, where you can incorporate special dates into your badge and we have our full BadgeStudio design service to create truly full custom badges. As we have shown with The Ramsey Police Department’s anniversary badge, sometimes there is a middle ground. They contacted us and we got creative because their timeline was tight. Our years of experience, combined with the significant number of dies that we own, allow us to offer many possibilities to our customers. For more information about VisualBadge or BadgeStudio design services, or something in the middle, please contact us.
Congratulations to the Ramsey Police Department on their Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration. We were honored to make your special anniversary badge.