3 letters, 48 hours, 1 logo
Toni Dwyer of Communication Trends, Inc, and the ad firm that worked with CNN before the news channel got off the ground in 1980, said:
“In the eleventh hour, it occurred to someone that they needed a logo. We had about 24 or 48 hours to turn around and present a design.”
— TONI DWYER
In 1980 Terry McGuirk was vice president of Turner Broadcasting and involved in the start-up of CNN. He was the first to see the logo.
“They gave us four or five different looks, and one sort of stood out, a cable running through the letters C-N-N.”
— TERRY MCGUIRK
Thirty years later, that logo designed in less than 48 hours is still on the screen, although it’s been slightly changed and sometimes animated.
Here’s the CNN “bug” as shown on-screen (on YouTube).
More details here: About the CNN logo. Via Quipsologies.
CNN signage photo courtesy of Rob Tornoe.
19 appreciated comments, click here to add one
Victor Zuniga
Genius…
Jun 6th, 2010
Alin B.
It is not bad at all.
I think it does not take than 2 hours to design such a logo if they are your INSPIRED 2 hours… and you know what you want.
Overall it is a nice logo. simple and effective.
Jun 7th, 2010
Alin B.
It is not bad at all.
I think it does not take more than 2 hours to design such a logo if they are your INSPIRED 2 hours… and you know what you want.
Overall it is a nice logo. simple and effective.
Jun 7th, 2010
Douglas Bonneville
I’ll add the proverbial “but it took 10,000 hours to get to the place where you could design something great in 2 hours”.
I read that Led Zeppelin wrote most of their 4th album on the fly in the house they recorded it at in England. The lyrics to “Stairway” took Plant 5 minutes to write. They kind of wrote themselves, he says. That’s the kind of readiness that happens when you do something really well for sustained period of time.
It’s really nice when that happens, in design or art or music. It makes you feel a part of something much bigger than yourself because you know you really are just plugged in to something that decided to show up through you, though you do your best to keep the welcome mat cleaned and straightened for when it does show up.
Jun 7th, 2010
Alin B.
True,
it does take lots of time and tea and coffee and biscuits to get to those 2 productive and creative hours.
:)
Sorry for double posting above…
David can u please delete my first one?
Thanks!
Jun 7th, 2010
lee newham
It reminds me of this:
A woman spotted Picasso sketching outside a café in Paris.
The woman asked Picasso if he might sketch her, and charge accordingly. Picasso kindly obliged. In a few minutes he handed her an original Picasso.”
“And how much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Five thousand francs,” he answered.
“But it only took you three minutes,” she said.
“No,” Picasso said, “It took me all my life.”
http://www.designedbygoodpeople.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/wise-words-from-picasso/
I don’t think the logo is great. Is it good because you know who it is? Because of exposure? Or because it is genuinely a great logo?
I’d go with the former.
Jun 7th, 2010
Ryan
It’s a good, solid, timeless logo with a great brand behind it — an amazingly effective identity. Logos are only as good as the strategy behind their use.
Jun 7th, 2010
Bob Schuster
I think it is a great design. Simple. I see the cable, but I have also always seen a heart monitor-esque heartbeat- another element that you might associate with a news station.
Jun 7th, 2010
Drew Beamer
I simply can’t believe that something like that was created in less than 48 hours and is actually still in use today. I believe that identities like that are part of a timeless era of logo design that in the digital age have sort of gone to the wayside. I really hope to be around long enough to have that style of logo come back into usable, profitable style.
Drew Beamer
Graphic Designer
Jun 9th, 2010
Simon
Not a million miles away from the CN (Canadian National) logo.
Jun 11th, 2010
Jon Sandruck
What strikes me is that while many designers would have been tempted to make the cable a bit more explicit, it was a wise decision, and possibly a brilliantly insightful bit of futurism, to keep it a simple line that can be rationalized as a cable.
After all, we all know that the name MEANS Cable News Network, but in time the name CNN has come to mean 24 Hour News, regardless of delivery technology.
If they had made it explicitly a cable it would have become an anachronism during Gulf War 1 when CNN made its reputation for live satellite-delivered new footage.
Jun 14th, 2010
Steve Maggs
It is a timeless piece of logo design.
@ lee newham, it may not be showy, shiny or particularly clever, it is simple and effective and we only know who it is because it is so effective.
There’s obviously nothing wrong with logo’s that are changed over time to keep them from looking tired but you have to admire one that can last that long without being reworked significantly. A testament to how good design can be produced under pressure too.
Jun 16th, 2010
James Swatton
very simple logo, you’d have thought it’d be rethought by now, very dull.
Jun 23rd, 2010
Edwin Seah
48 hours of inspiration resulted in one of the most recognisable logo in the world today. That is the reason why designers should never charge for their services based on hourly rates.
Jun 23rd, 2010
Bogdan
James, the logo is simple indeed, but simplicity is quite often more efficient than complexity, right? :)
Jun 25th, 2010
Edwin Seah
@James Swatton:
What do you suggest? A touch of drop-shadow? Some gradient effects? Or a nice swoosh or swirl around the logo? You should learn more about works from the likes of Paul Rand, Dieter Rams and William Golden, it may change your opinion about what good design should be.
This logo is an excellent example of what good design is about, simple and distinct.
Jun 25th, 2010
Shane
Great post.
I personally don’t think the CNN logo is that great to look at, However everyone knows this logo as soon as they see it. So it has done a great job at branding the company, and is therefore a great logo.
Thanks for sharing.
Jul 1st, 2010
Casey
And David, you say online logo design companies suck? They do deliver fast and creative logos as well and within 24 hours and at an affordable rate too. There are still geniuses out there! So please don’t say that online logo companies that charge $49 and does the logo in 24 hours are worthless! They are only making it accessible to startups that need logos for their new company and with today’s economy, we as designers need to lend a helping hand to startup businesses.
Aug 19th, 2010
David Airey
Regarding your point about a 24 hour turnaround, here’s a relevant comment for you, Casey.
Aug 22nd, 2010
Reply to “3 letters, 48 hours, 1 logo”
All comments are subject to the Logo Design Love comment policy.