Editor’s note: Two decades ago Milton Glaser designed the I
NY logo to help the state of New York in its tourism campaign. It was a reasonable problem with a simple enough solution. Little did Glaser, or anyone for that matter, know how incredibly popular INY would be. Not only did it quantifiably aid the fundamental campaign, it became an icon first for New York, and ultimately for virtually every city and town throughout the world. It is the most borrowed visual idea since Grant Wood’s American Gothic or Saul Steinberg’s New Yorker cover. But in the wake of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, INY has taken on an entirely new, and unexpected, relevance. It has become the seal of a determined city and nation. Seeing this, within hours of the tragedy Glaser decided to add even greater emotion to this symbol: to “INY” he added the words “more than ever” and bruised a corner of the heart. Although the state of New York, which owns the mark, objected to this alteration, in this interview Glaser talks about how and why this symbol—old and new—has become such an emotional touchstone.
SH Before we talk about recent events, I’ve always wanted to know if you were surprised by the sudden universality of your INY logo?
MG I certainly was. It’s hard to anticipate what part of one’s work might enter into public awareness, but the universal acceptance and ongoing reinterpretation of the INY logo continues to astonish me.
SH Well, it certainly has been given added dimension in light of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11. I’ve seen hundreds of people wearing and displaying the logo. And in response to the events, you went a step further. Why did you feel the need to alter your design, by wounding the heart and adding the words “more than ever?” Wasn’t the original still valid?
MG It depends on what you mean by valid. Something happened on September 11 that must be acknowledged. The first step toward healing is acknowledging that one has been hurt. In the same way that we feel more deeply toward a loved one who has been hurt, all of us suddenly realized how deeply we feel about this city. A confident giant is hard to love, a vulnerable one is not. The original INY is a pledge of affection that has become banal. The pain has made us recommit to this now vulnerable, magnificent place.
SH Your bruised heart demonstratively expresses the fact that New York did indeed suffer a terrible blow, but I understand that the State of New York objected to this new iteration. Why?
MG The state has no interest in using this variation of the logo, feeling that anything that acknowledges the 9/11 event might be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
SH I would think otherwise, and agree with you that we must acknowledge our hurt to deal with it. So, did you decide to make the change or did someone approach you to do so? And how did it become the front and back cover of the New York Daily News?
MG Like all of us, I felt the need to respond to this incomprehensible tragedy. I woke up a day after the attack with the words and image completely formed in my mind. I emailed it to a good friend, Pete Hamill, who now is a reporter for the Daily News, to ask his opinion of the idea. He showed it to the editor, Ed Kosner, who called telling me he would run it inside the newspaper in two days. The following morning at six o’clock I was awakened by a call from a local radio interview show asking me why I designed the logo. “How do you know anything about it?” I asked. “It’s hard to avoid, it’s on the front and back cover of the Daily News,” she replied. Evidently Kosner had decided to use it earlier and more dramatically than I could have imagined.
SH It does resonate. I can almost hear the words “more than ever” coming from our collective hearts. But the slogan nonetheless raises a question. Do you feel that INY is designed to be about exclusion or inclusion?
MG Alas, the sad fact is that any claim for uniqueness that intends to build community pride, “I love New York,” “Black is beautiful,” “Jews are the chosen people,” “Jesus saves,” you name it, has within it the capacity to exclude and alienate others.
SH How does this commercialism enter into the equation?
MG I’m not sure what you mean by commercialism. The original INY campaign intended to raise the spirits of our citizens as well as produce an atmosphere that would attract tourists and business to New York. It succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. The logo was freely distributed for about fifteen years to any enterprise that wished to use it. Later the state decided to trademark it and control its use. Like it or not, commerce is the engine that propels this country.
SH Then, how do you feel about your transformed symbol? Should it be sold on T-shirts and buttons to commemorate this event, or should the logo and everything that it is printed on be free to all who want and need it?
MG Whatever its application, I would want some part or all of the proceeds to go toward the city’s restoration.
SH Do you feel that any transformation is appropriate?
MG I’m sure there are many ways to revise the symbol. A day hardly passes that I do not get an email from someone suggesting I put an American flag or the two towers within the heart. I know that potent symbols can be made by combining clichés but they must seem inevitable, not predictable. Ideally the effect is poetic rather than logical. The phrase “more than ever” is explained and illuminated by the wounded heart. I can only judge its effect by the response of the first two people I sent it to—they both said the same thing: “It made me want to cry.”
SH How do you feel about the abundance of generic red, white, and blue, and flag imagery that has sprung up since the tragedy? Is using patriotic imagery the most effective way to bind us together?
MG While driving home from the country last week, I was almost run off the road by a battered yellow Chevy sporting two flags and the words “Nuke the Bastards” written crudely across the trunk. This sort of ardent patriotism always makes me uneasy. On the other hand, at this moment we all desperately want to express our solidarity around a powerful symbol, and as usual the nation’s flag, because it is familiar and available, serves that purpose.
SH Do you feel that there are any designs that can truly capture our sadness, fears, and hopes?
MG Forgive me; I’ve not checked the AIGA site—not out of indifference, but simply because I’ve been using my time differently. Given the quality of professional practice in America, I’m sure there are many excellent ideas.
SH Is there another symbol that you would like to do that further sums up your feelings, and by extension our feelings about the tragedy?
MG Not so much about the tragedy but perhaps what we must do now to recover from it.
SH Does that take the form of a symbol or is action or deed more effective in terms of recovery?
MG Both are needed.
SH What do you suggest that our profession, or for that matter artists in general, do to comfort victims and rebuild the city?
MG That is the kind of question that can make you sound like a pompous idiot if you try to answer it. I’ll try anyhow. The only comfort I can hope for is the possibility that this perception-changing event will make us realize how related we are to all the rest of the world. That our tragedies and dreams are theirs and theirs ours. Without that understanding, it will be very hard to ever come to terms with September 11, 2001.
New York More Than Ever