[Harc] HARC VEST - my take

[Howard, KB6NN]

My take on the vest situation is this:

Starting with noticing that the CERT people are easily recognized by their gear, Jim suggested we get and wear vests easily identify-able as HAM RADIO communicators.  Well, he had a silk screen machine or he bought one for the cause, but before he started showing me designs, I wondered to myself (to myself, unfortunately) if he knew we already had nylon HARC jackets that were made and distributed in the late 1980s for $10 each (I think AA6DX Mark was in charge of this with the help of WA6NBG Don and W6GGR Tom).  As with other conversations I wish I had had with Jim, this conversation never happened.

As I recall, except for a few of us wearing the original HARC jackets to a few events and Field Day, those jackets were not seen very much after a year or two.  I put mine on a hanger in my closet and if it has survived two moves since then, it's probably in my current closet, or in a box.  If I can find it, I will show you a photo.  I don't remember what was screen printed, so it probably wasn't memorable the way the HARC kinetic chicken is.

My point in bringing up the old jacket is not to suggest we dust them off and use them instead of a new vest, but to remind you... actually before your time... to tell you that the jackets seemed like a good idea at the time, one that everyone seemed to be behind, and that, in spite of the support for a club jacket, few were ever worn.  At that time, we wanted to get away from our image as geeks with lots of radios, microphones, buttons, sashes, lanyards, ID badges, and awards, all hanging on or about our person, which is fine if you are at a ham radio convention among others similarly attired, but not fine as a public image.  Did I mention pot-bellied, middle-aged, and white male - no I didn't, but the image would not be complete without that.

Furthermore...
I remember that if you tell a joke that you need to explain afterward why it was funny, that it's not funny.  Apply that to the vest or ID badge, or letterhead, etc. if a logo or imprint takes some reading to figure out what it means, it's not simple enough to be remembered.  Jim's design (for the Kinetic event) of the kinetic chicken with the letters "HAM" in bold over it says all we need to say at the Kinetic race.  What we are talking about here is "branding" - not the cattle type, but the logotype, and "CERT" is better than "Humboldt Amateur Radio Club W6ZZK" that you need to pick out of a logo that bears close resemblance to the ARRL diamond (which you also have to read to get).

Ah, but the ARRL logo is instantly recognizable you say?  Why do you think that is?  Outside of ham radio spheres, it's just another of an endless supply of logotypes*.  Why you and I recognize the diamond, is because it has been seen by hams for decades, maybe longer than a century (maybe, because I don't know if the logo was in use at the beginning of the ARRL).

We notice CERT vests because they are all of the same color, the name CERT is easy to say and remember, and the only decoration on CERT gear is the letters CERT (no logo or map or other design or small print to read and forget).  That's as much as I remember looking in my mind's eye, so I looked up CERT jacket, and yes, that's essentially all that is on them (see attached image from https://thevestguy.com/collections/cert)

So I would vote yes to the vest (did to support Jim)(and will now to support you), and I would probably buy one, but I see them fading into obscurity after a while, even if the branding were more simple than is now being proposed.

Check the following page and attachments and see how many logos you instantly recognize, most of which have been heavily (heavily) promoted in advertising:

*https://www.helloari.com/blog/2014/02/logotype-vs-logomark/

Ok, enough form me.  I gotta get back to sheltering.



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