A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours. Other symbols also often use round shapes.

The Tricolore cockade of the French Air Force was first used on military aircraft before the First World War[1]

Heraldry

edit

In heraldry, a roundel is a circular charge. Roundels are among the oldest charges used in coats of arms, dating from at least the twelfth century. Roundels in British heraldry have different names depending on their tincture.[2] Thus, while a roundel may be blazoned by its tincture, e.g., a roundel vert (literally "a roundel green"), it is more often described by a single word, in this case pomme (literally "apple", from the French) or, from the same origins, pomeis—as in "Vert; on a cross Or five pomeis".[3]

One special example of a named roundel is the fountain, depicted as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure, that is, containing alternating horizontal wavy bands of blue and silver (or white).

Military aircraft

edit
 
Hawker Hurricane showing a Second World War-era Royal Air Force roundel

The French Air Service originated the use of roundels on military aircraft during the First World War.[1] The chosen design was the French national cockade, whose colours are the blue-white-red of the flag of France. Similar national cockades, with different ordering of colours, were designed and adopted as aircraft roundels by their allies, including the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, and (in the last few months of the war) the United States Army Air Service. After the First World War, many other air forces adopted roundel insignia, distinguished by different colours or numbers of concentric rings.

The term "roundel" is often used even for those military aircraft insignia that are not round, like the Iron Cross-Balkenkreuz symbol of the Luftwaffe or the red star of the Russian Air Force.[citation needed]

Flags

edit

Among national flags which display a roundel are the flags of Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Burundi, Dominica, Ethiopia, Grenada, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Namibia, Niger, North Korea, North Macedonia, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Tunisia, and Uganda.

Flags for British Overseas Territories used a British Blue Ensign defaced with a roundel displaying the arms or badge of the dependency until 1999. The same pattern is still used for all the states of Australia except Victoria.

Roundels in modern design

edit

As seen in the examples below, roundels often find their way into logo design due to their simplicity and high visual impact. By combining design elements (such as simplicity, continuity, typography, contrast, and visual impact) with Gestalt principles (proximity, similarity, closure, and figure-ground), companies can create very simple yet effective designs. The "Gestalt theory suggests that individuals perceive objects as organized wholes rather than isolated elements" [4]. The theory utilizes proximity, closure, and similarity to capture the viewer's attention and retain memorability. Logos that utilize roundels within their designs often utilize Gestalt principles and have principles similar to those of the Bauhaus movement, such as minimalism and functionality. Some of the design elements that appear in logos that utilize roundels include variables such as harmony, balance, symmetry, proportion, and circularity, as established by Pamela W. Henderson & Joseph A. Cote[5] However, for a simple logo, such as the Target Logo, to become associated with the brand, the brand needs to be well known and have unique branding[6].

edit
 
The Who logo incorporates the roundel symbol used by mods

Examples

edit

Military aircraft roundels

edit

Other roundels

edit

Some corporations and organizations make use of roundels in their branding.

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b "What is the origin of the RAF roundel?". Royal Air Force Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2014-10-04. In December 1914 the RFC followed the example of their French Allies and adopted red, white and blue circles...
  2. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. Gutenberg.org. p. 151.
  3. ^ Scottish Public Register vol. 32, p. 26
  4. ^ Mohamed, Kareem; Adiloglu, Fatos (2023-06-30). "Analyzing the Role of Gestalt Elements and Design Principles in Logo and Branding". International Journal of Communication and Media Science. 10 (2): 33–43. doi:10.14445/2349641X/IJCMS-V10I2P104 – via ResearchGate.
  5. ^ Henderson, Pamela W.; Cote, Joseph A. (April 1998). "Guidelines for Selecting or Modifying Logos". Journal of Marketing. 62 (2): 14. doi:10.2307/1252158 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ Wenzel, Mariah (2018). Simplification, debranding, and new marketing techniques: an historical analysis of brand logo design (MSc thesis). Mountain Scholar.
  7. ^ Russell, Gary (2006). Doctor Who: The Inside Story. London: BBC Books. p. 86. ISBN 0-563-48649-X.

References

edit
edit
  •   Media related to Roundels at Wikimedia Commons
  •   Media related to Roundel at Wikimedia Commons
pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy