Bruce Blackburn, 82, designer of ubiquitous NASA logo
Bruce Blackburn, a graphic designer whose modern and minimalist logos became ingrained in the nation’s consciousness, including the four bold red letters for NASA that is known as the “worm,” and the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial star, died Feb. 1 at a nursing home in Arvada, Colorado, near Denver. He was 82.
The death was confirmed by his daughter, Stephanie McFadden.
Blackburn’s illustrious career in design over 40 years involved developing imagery for clients such as IBM, Mobil and the Museum of Modern Art. But he is best known for the NASA worm, which has become synonymous with space exploration and the technological concept of the future itself.
In 1974, his small New
York-based design firm, Danne & Blackburn, was barely a year old and eager for a big project when he and his partner, Richard Danne, were approached by the Federal Graphics Improvement Program to rebrand NASA’s classic logo, which depicted a patriotic red chevron soaring across the stars. Known as “the meatball,” it wasn’t exactly cutting edge, instead evoking a vintage sensibility of space travel seen in science-fiction comics like Buck Rogers. With the eyes of the world suddenly upon the agency in 1969 after the moon landing, NASA wanted to embrace a modern image.
“They were totally unprepared for that kind of attention,” Blackburn said in “Blackburn” (2016), a short documentary about him. “Their unpreparedness descended to the level of how they presented themselves to the public.”
In 1975, NASA introduced the worm, a sleek sequence of winding red letters, and the logo quickly became a tangible symbol of a boundless space age that lay ahead.
“We did get what we set out to accomplish,” Blackburn said. “Anybody we showed it to immediately said, ‘Oh I know what that is. I know them. They’re really great. They’re right on the leading edge of everything.’ “
But in 1992, a few years after the Challenger explosion, NASA dropped the worm and revived the meatball in a decision that was said to be intended to improve company morale.
Blackburn and other designers lamented the choice. “They said, ‘This is a crime. You cannot do this,’” he said. “‘This is a national treasure and you’re throwing it in the trash bin.”
“His design sensibility was offended by what happened,” his daughter said.
“He thought the meatball was clumsy and sloppy and not representative of the future.”
In addition to designing the worm, Blackburn worked on another big federal commission in the 1970s, creating the symbol for the American Revolution’s Bicentennial celebration. His design — a soft star composed of red, white, and blue stripes that combined a modern aesthetic with patriotic themes — was ubiquitous by 1976, appearing on everything from stamps to coffee mugs to government buildings.
“They say in life there are moments that are oncein-a-lifetime opportunities,” he said. “And I got two of them.”
In addition to his daughter, Blackburn is survived by his wife; two sons, David Blackburn and Nick Sontag; a sister, Sandra Beeson; and eight grandchildren.
SAN JOSE >> A man was shot in San Jose’s Alum Rock neighborhood late Thursday night, police said.
The shooting was reported about 11:20 p.m. on the 200 block of Pala Avenue, near Capitol and Gay avenues, the San Jose Police
Department said in a tweet.
Initially, police said the man sustained life-threatening injuries but Friday morning tweeted an update saying he suffered non-lifethreatening injuries.
No other information was immediately available.