The story of the Coca-Cola logo

It was May 8th, 1886, in Atlanta, Georgia, when Coca-Cola came to life. Local pharmacist Dr John Stith Pemberton created the syrup. John Stith Pemberton (1831–1888) John carried a jug of his syrup down the street to Jacobs’ Pharmacy where it was mixed with carbonated water, deemed tasty, and sold from a soda fountain for five cents a glass. ...

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Woody Pirtle

In the ten years between 1978 and 1988 Woody’s firm produced some of the most celebrated graphic design work of the time. That work included identities and marketing material for Baylor University Medical Center, The Dallas Museum of Art, TGI Friday’s, Dallas Opera, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Centex Homes, and Simpson Paper Company, to name a few....

Jun 2021

Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and its “vanishing” logo

On April 26th, 1986, events at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant changed the world (the Chernobyl mini-series was a dark, fascinating watch). Many people know about the tragedy, but far fewer know that the cities of Chornobyl Exclusion Zone are gradually disappearing, being destroyed by neglect and absorbed by nature. This means that over time no one will...

Mar 2021

Tony Spaeth, corporate identity pioneer, 1934–2021

It was through the Identityworks.com website that I became familiar with Tony. His site (now only through archive.org) was a trove of logo and identity news and resources until around 2014 when the domain was transferred to someone else. He passed away last month at the age of 86 in his home in Rye, NY. Tony studied architecture at Princeton and received...

Feb 2021

LogoArchive Akogare

In the words of Richard Baird, the idea behind the latest issue of his LogoArchive zine is, “to evoke — through materials, processes, form, content and ‘atmosphere and ceremony’ — ‘akogare,’ a deep feeling of respect and admiration for those I look up to, and a feeling of never being able to reach the same level. Richard looks up to publications such...

Jan 2021

Man and His Mark, 1970

Man and His Mark was the title of Impressions Number Three from February 1970. Each Impressions issue was given a specific theme, and some of Australia’s most revered designers were commissioned for the project. This issue featured trademarks and symbols designed by the late American graphic designer Les Mason (1924–2009) who moved from Los Angeles...

Dec 2020

LogoArchive.Now

It’s the first project from designer Rich Baird to invite submissions. Submit your logos to @LogoArchive.Now by tagging an Instagram upload with #LogoArchive_Now (for marks designed and applied between 2000–2020). A brief description from Rich: “Currently it is myself working on this but I hope to have a panel in the coming months. Of course, there...

Dec 2020

Word as Image, by Ji Lee

These are from a number of years back, but still worth a share. Here’s Ji Lee’s short description. “This project started nearly twenty years ago as an assignment in my typography class at art school. Students were encouraged to see letters beyond their dull, practical functionality. “The challenge is to visualize the meaning of a word, using only...

Oct 2020

A language without letters, by Japanese graphic designer Yukio Ota

The name of this language, on which Professor Ota has laboured since 1964, is LoCoS — “Lovers’ Communication System.” The name reflects his hope that readers and writers will communicate “as effortlessly as lovers.” LoCoS is essentially a type of purely visual Esperanto. Unlike most written languages, LoCoS represents concepts rather than sounds...

Jul 2020

The yin yang symbol — order and chaos

I was watching YouTube the other day — one of Jordan Peterson’s talks, Who Dares Say He Believes in God. Afterward, as YouTube does, it led me to a related video showing one of his older university lectures where he talked about the meaning behind the yin yang symbol. It’s a symbol I’ve seen throughout my life but I’ve never heard it explained with...

Mar 2020