International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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IPY 20 07–20 08
Box 3 The development of an IPY 2007–2008 Logo
Robert Bindschadler
IPY-1 in 1882–1883 and IPY-2 in 1932–1933 had no logos or
special letterheads of their own, but IGY 1957–1958 had its
iconic logo of the planet with the orbiting satellite (Fig. 1.3-
10) that was featured on its many publications, posters and
public materials, and even instruments used during the IGY
observational period (Odinshaw, 1956). So the need for IPY
2007–2008 to have a special logo was considered since the very
early days of the planning process (Chapter 1.2).
The first concepts I recall were offered by Chris Elfring and
were produced at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (Fig.
1.3-11). The proposed graphics showed two hemispheres in a
couple of different views and arrangements, but basically the
same (Fig. 1.3-12). The reaction was “Nice,” but no “wow, that’s
it!”, rather “(pause) these are a good beginning”. I commented
that people (or a person) needed to be somehow incorporated
into the logo, otherwise it could just as well be IPY of some
other planet.
I think it was at that meeting when we were given ICSU
commemorative mugs. As we struggled with the idea how to
match the human component and the concept of both poles,
Robin Bell grabbed the marker and sketched a rough human
figure on her mug (Fig. 1.3-13) and coloured in the poles. It
was after that sketch that Chris Rapley began to talk about the
Vitruvian Man sketch by Da Vinci projected over the globe.
At that meeting, I was charged with developing ideas for the
IPY logo and to take the task to the NASA graphic artists at
the Goddard Space Center. Back at Goddard, I met with two
artists, James O’Leary and Katy Gammage. I showed them
the Academy’s samples (Fig. 1.3-11) and said we wanted
people included. Their initial concepts were varied, but fell
Fig. 1.3-10. IGY
1957–1958 logo,
the ultimate
source of
imagination for
IPY 2007–2008
planners.
Fig. 1.3-11. Early
version of the
IPY 2007–2008
logo produced at
the U.S. National
Academy of Sciences
(NAS, September–
November 2003).
Fig. 1.3-12. NAS ‘two
hemisphere’ design
discussed at the PG-2
meeting (December
2003).
into two primary categories: one that tried to show the field
activities of polar research (people in parkas, snowmobiles,
tents, etc. Fig. 1.3-14) in a single complex scene and another,
using a collage of images of the Arctic (Fig. 1.3-15). A second
suite of concepts was more polished and I shared these with
the PG members, but the response was mute and hardly
anything came back until the next PG meeting.
At PG-3 in April 2004, we discussed logos only quickly at the
end of the meeting. The field scene versions had no support.
The collage version was more popular, but I remember Rapley’s
comment that it was too complex to work as a simple graphic.
He wanted a simpler design with fewer shades of gray so that
it would work on the letterhead and could be “faxed well.”
Nonetheless, the ‘collage’ image was put on the cover of the
IPY ‘Outline Science Plan’ produced later that month with
the assistance of Ralph Percival, local graphic person at the
British Antarctic Survey (Fig. 1.3-16) and also onto various
IPY PowerPoint presentations later in 2004, though with
white background. I also used it in my briefings about IPY
since spring 2004 and I discovered that the face of the Inuit
child in the logo usually elicited audience connection. The
quality to hold attention and prompt questions about IPY was
a remarkable and very compelling characteristic of this design.
After that, most of the iterations of the logo design revolved
around the collage. Some new images were added and the pictures
were rearranged; positioned in a wide strip for a banner
or more square for a slide background (Fig. 1.3-16), but there
was no more substantive discussion of the logo in the PG. The
idea of a logo competition wherein entries would be received
was popular, but we needed a logo right away and recognized
that the time would not allow a competitive process.
Fig. 1.3-13. Sketch of
human figure over
the globe backdrop
produced by Robin
Bell (December
2003).
Fig. 1.3-14. NASA
draft logo based
upon the ‘field
activities’ concept
(winter 2004).
Fig. 1.3-15. ‘Collage’
version of the IPY
imagery developed
by the NASA graphic
artists in winter 2004.