MANVIL

The United States Navy's PT Forces Insignia

While working on a project for the PT-658, (Portland’s WWII PT boat museum) I came across the insignia the navy put together for the PT boat service. ” Cool!” thought I, until I looked closer.

Now I say, “Radical”. A glance with no concern of the details shows a rope, divided by a torpedo, with a few wakes in it. No big deal.

But the design is so much for than that. The rope is inconsistently sized so that twine is thicker in front of the warhead, as well as behind the propeller, thereby drawing attention to the direction the torpedo is facing. It is purposefully creating an oblong image to the eye. I wouldn’t have thought about this twice, but the stitch count is literally lower on the sides parallel to the torpedo. It’s like a moving target. It’s a round patch with an ovoid look, and for this reason it draws attention.

It’s a little thing. Probably nothing, but it is nice to know people thought about this kind of thing. It’s just a nice detail.

For the last three years the Rusty Iron has continued to gain prominence as a great venue for the Pacific Northwest’s Hawaiian Canoe Paddlers to race their first long distance run of the season. The awards provided to winning teams in any class were stickers. Although this does seem like a bit of a let-down for paddlers used to earning bronze, pewter or gilded metal awards, like I did as a kid, times have changed. The Rusty Iron is a distance race, traditionally the first one of the year in the Northwest. It is put on by Pacific Outrigger Canoe Club, a small cadre of enthusiastic, yet none too green-behind-the-ears paddlers. The race runs from Cathedral Park in St. John’s, down to buoy 12, then back up to the Rail Bridge, and back down to Cathedral Park.

On the last Saturday in April, the weather can be as calamitous as anything in the Northwest. We’ve seen rain, sleet, snow, fog, lightning and pure unadulterated Northwest Sunshine. It’s a great race, and this year, if you place, you get one of these fine tributes. I look forward to seeing you there, I’m the bearded guy with the scowl, the binoculars and the stop watches. Cheers!

MANVIL is a small freelance graphic design firm and producer of flashcards for the education of children and adults. We design the way we do because there is beauty in simplicity, and simplicity is never as simple as it sounds.

It is our ambition to provide clients with the best design and product support possible. Our employees are treated like family, with respect and open camaraderie. The well-being of the company depends on it, because if your heart isn’t in it, it ain’t worth a damn.