Credential system · Badge version 1.0

The credential

One credential system in three sanctioned forms, all derived from the master Unsurveilled mark. Not three competing logos.

The specimens on this page read “candidate” on purpose. They are rendered from a real assessment record, and the badge component will not display verified status unless every criterion passes with cited evidence. There is no way to hand-write a verified badge onto a page, including this one.

RESEARCH CANDIDATEEVIDENCE UNDER REVIEW

Verification seal

Circular civic seal with the master Broken Ring centred. For ceremonial and public display: municipal websites, council materials, reports, and signage.

Research candidate — Yellow Springs, Ohio CandidateUnsurveilledNot a designation

Compact digital mark

The master ring with a concise treatment and a geometric verification cue. For Atlas markers, jurisdiction pages, small digital badges, and mobile interfaces.

Research candidate — Yellow Springs, Ohio CandidateUnsurveilledYellow Springs, OHReviewed 2026-08

Verification credential plate

Horizontal identity plate carrying the mark, the designation, the year, and a public verification ID such as VU-AZ-001. For documents, municipal web embeds, plaques, downloadable credentials, and press graphics.

The issued artwork

High-resolution files, issued to a municipality when its designation is published. Shown here so the standard is a visible thing to aim at rather than an abstraction — not because anyone may use them yet.

Verified Unsurveilled Seal artwork

Seal

Ceremonial and public display — council materials, reports, signage.

Download PNG
Verified Unsurveilled Mark artwork

Mark

The vertical lockup, for general identification and digital use.

Download PNG
Verified Unsurveilled Credential plate artwork

Credential plate

Documents, municipal web embeds, plaques, and press graphics.

Download PNG

These files are not licensed for use by anyone yet. No municipality has been designated, so no municipality may display them. They are published for transparency about what the designation looks like, and for press and research use in describing the program.

Use terms

These exist for one reason: a designation that a city can keep displaying after it stops qualifying is worse than no designation at all.

  1. 01

    Only while currently verified

    A municipality may display the badge only while its status is VERIFIED. If status changes to suspended or withdrawn, use must stop. Continuing to display it after that is a misrepresentation.

  2. 02

    Always linked to the record

    Every digital use must link to the municipality’s public verification page, so anyone can inspect the evidence and the current status rather than taking a graphic at face value.

  3. 03

    No alteration

    Do not change the mark, the wording, the proportions, or the colours, and do not combine it with another organisation’s marks in a way that implies joint issuance.

  4. 04

    No implication of government issuance

    The badge must not be presented as a government certification, regulatory approval, accreditation, or award from a standards body. It is an independent civil-liberties designation.

  5. 05

    Year is a review marker, not a permanent grant

    Where a year appears, it marks the verification date. It does not indicate that the designation runs for that calendar year or renews automatically.

  6. 06

    Candidates may not display anything

    Candidate and under-review status confer no badge rights of any kind. Those states exist so research can be public, not so a city can claim partial credit.

Required accompanying statement

Where space permits, digital and printed use should carry this line, or link directly to it:

Verified Unsurveilled is an independent civil-liberties designation based on publicly documented municipal policies, systems, and practices evaluated against Unsurveilled’s published standard. Status may be suspended or withdrawn if qualifying policies change or contradictory evidence is discovered.

Requesting badge files

Badge assets are issued to a municipality when its designation is published, together with its verification ID and the current standard version (1.0). They are not distributed in advance of a completed review.

If you are a municipal official and believe your community may qualify, the useful first step is not the badge — it is the rubric. Every criterion lists exactly what evidence resolves it.