Back in November, I submitted an entry to a contest open to all NASA employees to design a patch commemorating the space shuttle program, which will be ending later this year. 85 entries were received. That’s my entry at the top, and while it certainly wasn’t the best, I felt it was strong and would make the top 15 (from which the winner will be selected).
Alas, it did not — just another reminder of the extremely subjective nature of graphic design. However, I enjoyed looking over all the designs that were submitted and decided to put together a summary of my thoughts, as someone who both entered the contest and has training in graphic design. I know one of the finalists, but the others are all anonymous, so none of my comments — good or bad — are meant personally.
When I heard about the contest, I immediately started thinking about what a patch to commemorate the entire 30-year shuttle program should look like, and those broad ideas definitely continue to play a role in my feelings about the 15 contest finalists:
- The patch should be simple. There are simply too many different things the shuttle program has done to try to cover them all. Simplicity is elegant.
- The patch should be unique. In other words, I don’t want it to echo any specific mission patch too closely.
- The patch should signify ALL the people who played a part in the program. Not just the astronauts, or just one phase of flight, or just one NASA center, or just one payload/mission goal.
- The patch should NOT feature the ISS or Hubble. These were included on many of the 85 entries, but I’m opposed to their inclusion for two reasons: first, because the patch is supposed to commemorate the shuttle program (not other programs) and second, because the shuttle did WAY more than just fly to the ISS and repair the Hubble. It flew for almost 10 years before it launched Hubble, and almost 20 years before ISS even existed.
- Other ideas:
- Could feature the names of the orbiters. I prefer just the 5 flown in space, so I wouldn’t include Enterprise. But that’s personal preference.
- Could feature the years of flight (1981-2010).
- Could memorialize the 14 astronauts who died on Challenger and Columbia, though it shouldn’t be the main focus.
- Could make subtle reference to the future, i.e. Orion vehicle, moon, and perhaps Mars.
Here are the 15 finalists, along with my comments. (Click the image to see bigger versions in the collectSPACE gallery and read the artist descriptions of each finalist.)
My top three:
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My favorite, which is funny because at first glance I didn’t like it. Too different! But after a second glance, I realized that different is good. It’s simple, elegant, well-executed, and doesn’t try to represent too much. What it does do, it does in an beautifully understated way — note the faint flag, the ascent smoke plume, 5 big stars for the 5 orbiters, and 14 stars for the fallen astronauts. |
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Very close second. Again, it’s simple but sophisticated. I really like the shuttle “flying formation.” |
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Another good one. I’d remove the ISS, Hubble, and EVA man and spread the stars and planets out across the background. But even with them, it manages to look fairly clean. |
The other 12 finalists, in no particular order:
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Like the triangle shape, but the red/white/blue swatchs are a bit too plain for me, and the cluster of stars, though it represents fallen astronauts, appears random. |
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Like the view of the orbiter and the interesting shape. Don’t like the ISS and HST. Reminds me of a patch I’ve seen, though I can’t think which mission. |
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Really nicely done, and the astronaut symbol is so subtle that it doesn’t bother me. But I don’t like the view of the orbiter (I’d rather see the front/cockpit) or the “mission complete” wording. |
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Almost in my top 3, because I love its simplicity…but the first time I saw it I immediately thought of the STS-8 patch. Still, if this one wins, I won’t be disappointed. |
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Too busy for my tastes. I like the idea of representing ascent, orbit, and entry phases but not the execution. |
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Interesting, yet something bugs me. Maybe the shuttle is too small?? And take away the ISS. On the other hand, having the constellation Orion in the background is a very nice and clever touch. |
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Though not a personal favorite, this also has high potential. It reflects the original shuttle program emblem very nicely. Lose the ISS, move the other elements up to take its place. |
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Pretty good. The orbiter names look a little thrown on as an afterthought; they could be better incorporated into the patch. I find the American flag too “in your face,” but that’s just me. |
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Unique shape, incorporates one piece of the NASA meatball — both nice touches. I’d take off the “STS,” but this is probably a top contender as well. |
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Nicely done and well-thought-out, but it just looks too much like a mission patch somehow. |
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Nice, but get rid of ISS and HST (I know, I’m a broken record). I think the white/orange external tank is neat, but it seems like a random and out-there detail to include. |
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Just too many things going on here for me. It’s well-drawn, but too complicated. |
Your top 3 were in my top 5.
The one that seems familiar to me reminds me of STS-117. In fact, I’d bet money that Swanny submitted it.
Interesting Critique, but 2 of your top 3 will have to be redrawn in block PMS colors. NASA will not pay for gradients in decals and it makes the sewn patches hard to reproduce. Also elements from the NASA Insignia are not allowed in other logos like the 12th patch down.
I do agree with you on not having station or Hubble in any of the patches. This a shuttle commemorative patch not a station or Hubble commemorative patch…
I think your patch should have at least made the top 15, but it should have had Space Shuttle Program on it not just Space Shuttle and the dates are wrong plus there were 6 shuttles. With out Enterprise, there wouldn’t be the other 5 shuttles….
Thanks for the comment, Sam! Like I said above, naming just the 5 flown shuttles is a personal preference. I understand that a lot of people feel like Enterprise should be included as well though. When you say my dates are wrong, do you mean the 1981 should be 1976 (or whenever Enterprise started)?
You’re right, 2 of my 3 favorites are chock full of gradients. I decided not to worry about that when I chose my favorites, since I’ve seen mission patches with gradients in the past that are altered for embroidery (STS-129, most recently). But it’s certainly something the graphics folks will have to deal with.
You should have made Top Five easily. You were robbed. I’m writing my Congressman.
I like yours better than most of the finalists, though I’m biased. It’s different. It’s color scheme is a bit different. I have to say, it’s a little more (gasp) feminine than most of the finalists.
Obviously, whoever judged it was just not into the look you showed. I like your fave the best too – and I looked through and picked it before I noticed you had. The other one I like best is on P. 10.
Maybe “wrong” was the wrong word to use…Who knows when the Shuttle Program really started. There were Shuttle designs back in the Apollo days. The contract to build the Enterprise was in 1972 and it first flew in 77. Astronauts did fly/glide in it 3 times I believe. But it doesn’t matter anyway since your design wasn’t picked… which again, I think it should have made the top 15 but art is subjective as you said…
STS-129 does have 2 official crew patches, one with Gradients/Raster used in photography and publications only and the other version is Vector used for the decal and sewn patch. STS-129 also started a new rule in the Astronaut office…No more gradients and no more patches over 4 inches in diameter…
May the best SUBJECTIVE patch win…
Ah, I see what you’re saying about the dates. Yeah, it could definitely be argued that the shuttle program “began” in a few different years.
Funny about the 129 patch. I can understand why it would start a new rule. 🙂
You obviously know what you’re talking about, and maybe submitted a patch design yourself? If so, best of luck!
I was surprised yours didn’t make the top 15, it would have been in the top 3 of my choices. When I saw the 85 designs, I knew mine wouldn’t make the top 15. It was fun contest, and I’m sure it was hard for them to narrow it down to 15.
I see one major stylistic difference between yours and most of the finalists that may be why it wasn’t chosen as top 15. All the finalists but two show much more detail of the shuttle rather than just an outline. It may seem silly, but I think just showing the outline makes it a little difficult to distinguish the shuttle from a funky airplane.
That said, I think yours should have made the top 15 for sure. I like the cleanness and simplicity but especially I like the layout of the planet and horizon in the background. It just looks cool. 🙂
Sara,
Your entry was one of my top 5 out of the original 85 entries and thought for sure it would make the first cut. As far as removing ISS and HST from the rest of the entries, I see your point. But, to me, without shuttle, there would be no HST or ISS, and they should remain as a testament to the success of the shuttle program.
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