User:Vaticidalprophet/Bruce Blackburn

Bruce Blackburn (June 2, 1938 - February 1, 2021) was an American graphic designer known for designing the NASA 'worm' logotype and the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial star.

Early life
Blackburn was born on June 2, 1938, in Dallas to Buford, an electrical engineer, and Ruby ( Caraway), a real estate agent. He was raised in Evansville, Illinois. In 1961, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor's degree in design.

Design career
After spending several years in the Navy as a communications officer, Blackburn moved to New York City to work for Chermayeff & Geismar, designers of the logos for National Geographic, NBC, and Mobil. In 1973, he left Chermayeff & Geismar to found Danne & Blackburn with partner Richard Danne.

Danne & Blackburn was approached later that year to submit a potential redesign of NASA's "meatball" logo. The meatball, designed in 1959, was a circular red-white-and-blue insignia Blackburn described as too complex to easily replicate and incapable of dealing with NASA's post-moon-landing attention.