Designer and writer Nancy Duarte looks at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech to determine what makes the speech iconic.
Ms Duarte visuallizes the speech – mapping phrases, phrasing, patterns and content to illustrate why the speech has remained so iconic and powerful – and ultimately influential for change.
Which part(s) do you remember most or find most effective?
Whether you considered Marshall McLuhan a visionary, a hoax or a contrarian, it’s undeniable that he upturned the academic world he inhabited and foresaw the foundation for the way we live and communicate today.
Recently, I began designing some invitations for a friend. We we’re discussing an elegant, typographic solution, but I needed some inspiration. I dug deep into my library and found two titles from the incomparable Oscar Ogg: The 26 Letters (a subsequent 1948 printing from Cromwell Company) and An Alphabet Source Book (Harper & Brothers, 1940, first edition). (more…)
Can the NYC subway map ever satisfy everyone?
In a few weeks, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will unveil a revamped version of the NYC subway map. The MTA is positioning the map as “a resized, recolored and simplified edition of the well-known map, its first overhaul in more than a decade.”
The last time the subway map generated this much chatter: the famous, or infamous Vignelli design. The highly stylized, abstract version had some designers kvelling and most civilians yelling. Architectural critic Paul Goldberger described the map as “a stunningly handsome abstraction” that “bears little relation to the city itself.” But it’s an informational interpretation of a system… (more…)
With Earth Day celebrating its 40th anniversary today, I wanted to take a look at its origins. We tend to think of branding as a modern concept, but while the term may not have been in use in 1970, its concept was firmly in place. From its inception, Earth Day was perceived as an actionable commitment to improving the environment with a legion of loyal followers.
Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech to a fledgling conservation group in Seattle in September 1969.
On 22 April 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. That was the remarkable thing about it. Earth Day organized itself. [Precursor to social media, perhaps?]
Artist and designer Ron Cobb created an ecology symbol which was a combination of the initial letters “E” and “O” from the words environment and organism. Cobb published it on 25 October 25 1969, placing the symbol in the public domain. Look Magazine took the theta/ecology symbol and incorporated it into a flag for their 21 April 1970 issue.
Symbolically, the lore goes: The flag is patterned after the US flag using 13 alternating green and white stripes representing the 13 original colonies. The yellow theta symbol in its historical use, is a warning symbol. The color green became synonymous with the land and environmental action, while the theta symbol would be an important visual foundation.
With Cobb’s symbol adapted into the Ecology Flag, the groundwork for the future global brand was set in place. From the 1970 Earth Week logo to the current 40th anniversary version, the visual elements that would play a part in Earth Day’s continuing evolution are clear in the design progression and adaptive forms: the crossbar from the theta, carried through the wavy horizon and back to the current “e.”
The engagement and emotional attachment to these symbols continues to surge. Add in the availability of websites and global social media, and the Earth Day brand is functioning at fever pitch.
Many argue that Earth Day has gone the way of Christmas or Halloween in its commercialism (Earth Day merchandise developed early with handmade pins and posters used to spread the word) – that its meaning and purpose is diluted or even forgotten within the crowd mentality. I think the message gets through to some. And on a global scale, some is a large number.
