Bruce Blackburn
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June 2, 1938
Bruce Blackburn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruce Nelson Blackburn June 2, 1938 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | February 1, 2021 (aged 82) Arvada, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation | Graphic designer |
| Notable work | Logotypes for NASA and the American Revolution Bicentennial |
Bruce Blackburn (June 2, 1938 – February 1, 2021) was an American graphic designer, who was a designer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) logotype and the American Revolution Bicentennial star.[1]
Bruce Nelson Blackburn was born in Dallas, Texas on June 2, 1938, to Buford Blackburn, an electrical engineer, and Ruby (née Caraway) Blackburn, a real estate agent. The couple also had a daughter, Sandra. He grew up in Evansville, Indiana during which he pursued his interests in music and art.[1] In 1956, he graduated from Evansville's Benjamin Bosse High School,[2] and in 1961, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in design from the University of Cincinnati.[1] He served as a communications officer in the Navy.
Work and career
Blackburn worked for Chermayeff & Geismar, a design firm in New York, by the late 1960s.[1] In 1974, Blackburn was a designer, with his partner Richard Danne, of the 1976 NASA logo, also known as the "worm" for the shape of the red letters that make up the logo[1][3] for astronaut's uniforms.[4] Their design firm, Danne & Blackburn, was located in the state of New York.[1] The worm logo has been used as a logo for NASA and the Orion spacecraft.[5]
He also created the symbol for the American Revolution Bicentennial celebration,[1] using two stars (blue and red) to represent the multiple centuries with curved points for a less militaristic image than an outline of sharp points.[4] It was used on a 1971 special issue postage stamp, as well as letterhead, tax returns, products,[6] flags, and trains.[7] In 1978, he was a seminar professor at the school of design at the University of Cincinnati.[7]
Blackburn created logos for the Museum of Modern Art, Mobil, IBM,[1] Champion Paper, RCA, and other organizations,[7] like the Department of Transportation, and Army Corps of Engineers.[1]
He established his own design firm, Blackburn & Associates in New York City in the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, he was president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He was awarded the Presidential Design Award by Ronald Reagan in 1984.[1] In 2016, a short documentary Blackburn told of his work on the logo and his career that spanned over 40 years.[1]
He died on February 1, 2021, in Arvada, Colorado.[1]
Legacy
In 2025, the NASA worm logo was included in Pirouette: Turning Points in Design, an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art featuring "widely recognized design icons [...] highlighting pivotal moments in design history."[8][9][10]
