NASA logo evolution: meatball vs worm
NASA/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
NASA’s original logo dates back to 1959 when the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) metamorphosed into an agency that would advance both space and aeronautics: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After a NASA Lewis Research Center illustrator’s design was chosen for the new agency’s official seal, the head of Lewis’ Research Reports Division, James Modarelli, was asked by the executive secretary of NACA to design a logo that could be used for less formal purposes.
The illustrator’s design before simplification
Mr Modarelli simplified the seal, leaving only the white stars and orbital path on a round field of blue with a red airfoil. Then he added white N-A-S-A lettering.
NASA’s meatball
In the “meatball” design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and then there is an orbiting spacecraft going around the wing.
Known officially as the insignia, NASA’s round logo was not called the “meatball” until 1975. That’s when NASA decided a more modern logo was in order.
Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn were hired to replace the complex meatball with a stripped-down, modernist interpretation where even the cross stroke of the A’s were removed. During the first design presentation, the proposed system was met with some resistance.
Danne remembers NASA’s administrator, Dr James Fletcher, and deputy administrator, Dr George Low, having the following exchange:
Fletcher: “I’m simply not comfortable with those letters, something is missing.”
Low: “Well, yes, the cross stroke is gone from the letter A.”
Fletcher: “Yes, and that bothers me.”
Low: “Why?”
Fletcher: (long pause) “I just don’t feel we are getting our money’s worth!”
Still, the new program was approved and implemented.
The “worm” — image via Galaxy Wire
17 years later, despite its winning the prestigious “Award of Design Excellence” by The Presidential Design Awards, NASA scrapped the Danne and Blackburn design and re-instated the “meatball.”
The “worm” on Star Trek — image via Ex Astris Scientia
Danne thinks this was at least partly due to how NASA chose to introduce the new logo to its various internal agencies in the first place. He says the redesign was kept secret until letters were sent to every center director… on their new stationary. Those loyal to the old design were offended, and a rivalry between the “meatball” and the “worm” began.
“Meatball” image via NASA
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Info excerpted from:
NASA “Meatball” Logo
Who Made Those NASA Logos? (via Chris Backert — thanks, Chris)
NASA insignia, on Wikipedia
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For some truly space-age web design, read the NASA Graphic Standards. And some of you will remember the NASA logo redesign post from last year.
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Update: 08 August 2011
NASA brand guidelines on Flickr.
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19 appreciated comments, click here to add one
SLW
I think both logos are definitely products of their time.
I’m not sure it made sense to go back to the 50′s design in the 90′s without some tweaking or modernizing, or maybe a complete re-design would have been good. Why go back in time unless you’re trying to evoke nostalgia? I would hope with aeronautics and space we move forward not back.
Aug 3rd, 2011
wilsonality
did the same people create the CNN logo as well?
Aug 3rd, 2011
f055
I was raised on the “worm” logo that appeared on one of my first Matchbox sets, a flatbed trailer truck carrying a NASA rocket, accompanied by a radar van. It was iconic. The “meatball” feels old, not worthy of space explores. “Worm” on the other hand looks like something from 2025. To conclude, NASA should come back to the “worm” and aim for the top again.
Aug 3rd, 2011
wilsonality
and with space travel topics going on about the idea of traveling through wormholes, it’s more apropos to go forward with the worm logo than backwards… tho maybe that’s why they went kaput and NASA is no more
Aug 3rd, 2011
Mark Wood
Dropping the beautiful ‘worm’ logo was a ‘Giant Step Backward’ for mankind.
Guess they are use to having meatball & spaghetti on their clothes.
Aug 4th, 2011
Chris Lane
I love how their graphic standards web page recommends using Netscape Navigator version 4.0 or above and set to 800×600.
I guess I’ve never been a fan of the meatball version, so it is unfortunate that they did go back to that.
Aug 4th, 2011
djonstyle
There is something simply more powerful and iconic about the worm logo… it’s monumental and seems more appropriate for for space exploration.
Aug 5th, 2011
Richard Baird
Great article, I can’t help but feel the the very first one (the illustrators version) has the most appeal for me. The missing cross bars in any logo always troubles me, I do believe in keeping things simple but there needs to be a rationale behind it, in this instance I just don’t understand it. I think once NASA starts considering MARS more seriously there should be a totally new idea, something way more inspiring.
Just on a slightly different note, the use of the classic American Airlines logo on the spaceships in the sci-fi movie ‘Silent Running’ look pretty nice.
Aug 6th, 2011
Joel W.
Huh.. That’s very interesting.
Honestly, I dislike the Worm logo. I feel as they were trying to make it “spacy”, by making it simple and removing the cross in the A as if it was a fashion forward version. I associate strange, simplified fonts like that (especially in regards to space) with aliens. And although it’s about space, NASA is definitely not alien. It should be very human, very traditional (though timeless).
It should say “This is who we are!”, not “Hello, Aliens, this is our interpretation of what we think you might write like”.
I wouldn’t want their (or anyone’s) first impression of NASA to be “Conceptual Future Space Culture”. It should be what we are now, and what we’ll always be.
Aug 7th, 2011
Ricky. C
Meatball all the way.
Worm looks like the SEGA logo
Aug 10th, 2011
Mark R. Hailey
As the Art Director for NASA Television I am often conflicted about my thoughts on the Meatball vs. the Worm.
The Meatball is a classic branding icon that was there at NASA’s beginning and burned into the collective conscience through its use in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs; it is as recognizable to the world as the Coca-Cola logo.
But… as a designer it is horrible to work with. It is very difficult to place into Opens, IDs, Promos, etc. It was damn near impossible to recreate in 3D… and always must be manually centered because the red vector is not even on each side.
For me, the Worm just looks too simple and dated… even though it would be much easier to incorporate into designs and build in 3D. Even though I hate working with it… I have to vote for the Meatball… nothing says NASA better than that.
Mark R. Hailey
Art Director, NASA Television
Aug 12th, 2011
Kev
To be honest I’m hard pressed to decide which I like best. The circle device with lots of stuff going on in it actually feels very modern to me (possibly due to current trends) I really like it a lot. The typface is dated but I like the way its sparkling serifs remand me of the intro to Bewitched (the American 60s sitcom, probably not the feel NASA actually wanted).
The worm is like every font I ever tried to draw in the back of my school book and on my pencil tin. But it nostalgia aside, it does feel like it needs a sleep.
Aug 15th, 2011
Akshay Chauhan
Worm looks good, its modern and simple. Meatball seems good for clothing and broadcasts.
Aug 17th, 2011
XPLSV
An alien could read the “worm” logo as “VSVN”, so you run the risk of something getting lost in translation. Maybe “VSVN” is offensive in the alien dialect and we could be bombed to hell. Just a thought.
Sep 1st, 2011
fraz
tbh i think both are slightly dated they need a more current typeface the worm reminds me of an 80s vision of what the future must be like and the meatball looks like a police badge but i do agree it works well on uniforms just looks more “government official” at the end of the day their logo will have to move with the times because of the nature of their business but then again they dont need to appeal to the general public (its nasa your either into it or your not)
Oct 6th, 2011
Karm
I prefer the “meatball” because it better depicts the idea of NASA involving space travel. The “worm” represents nothing to someone who does not know what the letters stand for, but I suppose that is typical for many logos.
My main reason for posting is to share an idea about the chevron. I bought a “I Need My Space” hat at the Kennedy Space Center, and the stitching of the “meatball” logo gave the chevron three dimensions. This image brought to mind a dowsing or divining rod used to search for water. The chevron seems to be a forked stick pointing to the heavens. After all, isn’t water, or signs of it, one of the first things we look for in space exploration? I convinced myself that this was the intention of the designer, which led me to the search for it’s design story, and then to this site to put forth my observation.
Thank you!
Oct 9th, 2011
Dale Bryant
I must say, I like them both. I missed the “Meatball” when it was replaced by the “Worm” but there was something so neat and clean and fresh about the “Worm” that I liked. Going back to the “Meatball” is fine with me too and, in fact, I think I like the ‘retro’ feel it evokes in me. I guess I can treat them pretty equally and enjoy anything they come up with next as long as it says “NASA”.
These are pretty easy adjustments folks; just sit back, chill out and enjoy the ride…
Nov 21st, 2011
Mister Uptempo
Why not just change the name of the space agency to Apple or Pepsi?
Poof!
Logo problem solved!
Apr 28th, 2012
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