Space Needle
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
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Client
Originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space
Needle is a popular tourist attraction located in
Seattle, Washington.
ART DIRECTOR
Jack Anderson
DESIGNERS
Jack Anderson, Mary Hermes, Gretchen Cook,
Andrew Smith, Julie Lock, Amy Faucette,
Belinda Bowling, Elmer De LaCruz, Holly Craven,
Ensi Mofasser, Cliff Chung, Alan Florsheim
FIRM
Hornall Anderson Design Works, Inc.
Process
Hoping to increase tourist attendance to the Space Needle while at the same time
attract return visits from locals, the owners of the Space Needle commissioned
Seattle-based Hornall Anderson Design Works to create a new brand for the site. In
terms of a logo—just one element in a far-reaching branding campaign that includ-
ed architectural signage, merchandising graphics, and business papers—this meant
coming up with a design that somehow conveyed the Space Needle’s historical
importance while at the same time emphasizing its modern-day appeal, says HADW
co-founder Jack Anderson. “The original logo the company had before coming to us
was a very literal, almost photographic depiction of the Space Needle in full view. It
was clear that the logo stood for the Space Needle, but it didn’t have any spirit or
vitality,” says Anderson. To remedy this, the HADW team explored a range of differ-
ent possibilities, from streamlined wordmarks to abstract symbols. One early design
was simply a circle, intended to suggest the 360-degree view the Space Needle pro-
vides; while another depicted rectangular planes meant to suggest a horizon.
However, these designs were soon abandoned in favor of an illustration. “For mer-
chandising reasons, we determined that the logo needed to depict the Space
Needle’s architecture,” Anderson explains. “But we didn’t want the depiction to be
literal. We wanted to it to have a gestural, energetic quality to it.” To this end, the
team experimented with designs that featured only the top of the Space Needle and
omitted the monument’s base and struts. “The top of the Space Needle is where the
real personality lies,” says Anderson. “On a foggy day, that’s what you see: the
Needle’s spire and the flying saucer-like shape of its observation deck.” To render
the mark, the team chose to use four gestural, almost calligraphic strokes, to give the
mark an energetic feel, says Anderson. The result, he adds, is a mark “whose
imagery references the past but whose style celebrates the future.”
What Works
Composed of brush-like strokes, the logo features a stylized illustration of the Space
Needle’s silhouette as well as the letter S, the first letter of the attraction’s name.
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