From left, Astronaut Mae Jemison preparing for launch, Astronaut Bruce McCandless on an untethered spacewalk, the Hubble Space Telescope, Astronaut Guy Bluford, and Astronaut Sally Ride.
In 1975 the new logotype was rolled out, but the design was not well received by NASA staff who’d become fond of the iconic meatball symbol, which they wore with pride. Bill Barry, NASA’s chief historian said “I think the big problem was how it was announced. It was developed by a very small team and only a few people at NASA knew anything about it. Many found out the old logo was being obliterated when new letterhead paper was shipped to them from headquarters, with no further explanations. People were just incensed.”
Personally, I love the simplistic, curved design of the logotype and its bold red tone. It even looks modern by today’s standards. After a while, employees nicknamed their new insignia “the worm”, a rite of passage for a NASA logo, and over time, the world got accustomed to the new style too. Below are a couple of wonderful pages from NASA’s “Graphics Standards Manual” from January 1976. One page is titled “The Logotype, Incorrect Uses”, and I love viewing all the ways the worm must not be used. This was vital to keeping brand identity cohesive across so many aspects of the agency. The manual also contains the colour scheme standards, depicting a special shade called “NASA Red”. The manual details the size and positioning for the logo on documents, posters, clothes, cars, planes, space shuttles and even satellites, some of which are still in operation today. The logo was even honoured in 1984 by President Reagan for its simplistic, yet innovative design.