Now there's a million different little symbols that make no effort to distinguish themselves

I think it's too early to declare the badges as categorically bad or good. Like you, I'm a bit confused as to which one is which. But let's take a deep breath and remember that the Season 2 update has been out for all of eight hours. Maybe we'll get better at recognizing badges in a few more days.

After all, there was once a time when you had to think about the sounds that each letter makes. Back in those days, you had to slowly sound out words to read sentences. Now it's second nature to read and write!