Three weeks ago I was wandering around the streets of Manhattan in awe at the scale and grandeur of everything. Before I went I was told how The City of New York was the ‘greatest city in the world’ and it did not disappoint.
I’d wanted to visit since I was a child, having been fascinated by the promise of tall buildings, a Concorde flight (at the time), the Statue of Liberty and my discovery of the ‘I Love New York t-shirt logo’ as I called it then.
Although many may be familiar with the history behind New York’s main icons such as the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty, very few know the story behind the I Love New York logo.
Allow me to enlighten you:
The logo (pictured on my t-shirt above) was designed in 1977 by graphic designer Milton Glaser originally as part of a marketing campaign for New York State, commissioned by William S. Doyle. Glaser created the logo for free, expecting it to only last the few months of the short campaign, but the logo fast became an icon and a direct association with New York City.
The logo continues to be used by the Official New York State Tourism board and can be found on numerous merchandise, much of which remains unofficial.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Glaser modified the logo as a sign of respect to read ‘I Love New York More Than Ever’, placing a black mark on the lower left of the heart to symbolise the approximate location of World Trade Center site on Manhattan Island.
So if you ever go to New York, make sure you grab a piece of history on a t-shirt and show that you ? New York too.
Today sees the beginning of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing and with it comes the 27th logo* to represent a city’s hosting of the Games.
From the iconic logos of Mexico 68 (designed by Lance Wyman) and Munich 1972 (designed by Otl Aicher) to the controversial logo for the upcoming London 2012 games (designed by Wolff Olins), the Olympics has inspired designers throughout the world to produce some intriguing and brilliant logo designs.
The ‘Unofficial 2008 Beijing Olympics Blog’ has collated an extensive list of all the Olympic logos from 1896 through to the logo for London’s hosting of the Olympics in 2012 (logos for the Winter Games are omitted but can be found here). It is interesting to see which logos have the longevity of a true timeless classic and which logos immediately feel outdated.
Of course the true Olympic logo that will never feel outdated is the logo of the five coloured interlocking rings designed in the 1920s by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. With each ring representing one of the five continents and at least one of the five colours appearing in every national flag, it has to be one of the greatest logos ever created and a true example of simplicity and excellence in design.
The opening ceremony begins at 13:00 (BST) and the Games run until 24th August.
[*The three missing logos belong to the 1916, 1940 and 1944 Games which were all cancelled because of war.]
As part of ‘The Good Design Plan’, a new three-year national strategy for design by the UK Design Council, leading figures in the design industry offer their definition of good design in a new video.
One of the contributors is Nick Leon, Director of Design London and a client of TheFrameworks. The video (included above) highlights the five objectives for the council:
- Business and public service innovation
- Public and community engagement
- Design skills development
- Design policy and promotion
- Organisational and operational efficiency.
More and more of our clients are now looking to have their printed collateral produced on FSC paper using an FSC accredited printer.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is founded on inclusive and shared responsibility for setting high social, environmental and economic standards for forest management. The FSC Chain of Custody scheme is a unique monitoring and tracking system which follows wood-based products, including paper, from responsibly managed woodlands and controlled wood sources around the world through the supply chain to the end-user.
Environmental and Corporate & Social Responsibility policies are now a fundamental part of a company’s business strategy. By using an FSC paper stock and accredited printer you are able to display an FSC mark (see above) demonstrating a company’s commitment to the sustainability of natural resources to its employees, stakeholders, customers and the general public.
For more information about FSC, visit www.fsc-uk.org or contact one of us here at TheFrameworks.
Last night members of the TheFrameworks team attended one of the successful ‘STIR’ lectures run by Design London.
The lecture was about extreme design: From the MINI car to mega yachts, and was moderated by the BBC News Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. We heard from two fascinating designers: Gert Hildebrand, Chief Designer and Leader of the BMW MINI Design Studio in Munich and Martin Francis, the much sought after designer of mega-yachts for the super rich.
It was a great opportunity to hear from two designers at the pinnacle of their career and learn about the design processes related to both of their respective industries.
If you would like to find out more about the ‘STIR’ lecture series, visit www.designlondon.net
