New York City Mayor Eric Adams has sparked outrage among New Yorkers by spending $20 million on an updated version of Milton Glaser’s iconic I Love NY logo.
Opinion poll
Is the new design better or worse than the original?
- Better 0 votes
- Worse 226 votes
Adams and Gov Kathy Hochul on Monday revealed the design, which was created to accompany a campaign to “fight division and negativity” that has accompanied the pandemic.
The design now reads “We Love NYC” in a modern looking sans serif rather than the timeless typewriter font used on the original.
His heart has been enlarged and colored to appear 3D rather than the 2D heart seen in the original.
The late Milton Glaser, who died of a stroke and kidney failure on his 91st birthday in July 2020, created the original I Love NY logo for a 1977 campaign to promote tourism in the state.
It became an instant classic and is still plastered all over town, with Adams now accused of messing with a classic.
As part of the change, the designers replaced the “I” with “We” and added a “C” to make it “more inclusive” – but New Yorkers and design lovers have expressed disgust at the update.
The campaign and design took more than a year to create, and approximately $20 million in donations from dozens of companies including Amazon, Google, Macy’s, Madison Square Garden Entertainment and TikTok will power the city’s new advertising campaign.
Adams and Gov Kathy Hochul on Monday revealed the design, which was created to accompany a campaign to “fight division and negativity” that has accompanied the pandemic
As part of the change, the designers replaced the ‘I’ with ‘We’ and added a ‘C’ to make it more ‘inclusive’ – but dozens of residents have dismissed the change to the beloved classic
In typical New York fashion, many have gloated over the new logo compared to the old, with one saying, “Don’t mess with perfection.”
The 1977 founding came while the city and state were struggling with high crime, budgetary problems, and other challenges.
It was designed by Glaser, then a graphic designer at an advertising agency, on the back of a cab and was inspired by Richard Indiana’s equally iconic LOVE sculptures.
Graham Clifford, the designer and art director behind the new logo, told the New York Times the idea was to “give it a more modern twist.”
One person said: “If Milton Glaser wasn’t already dead, this awesome version of his iconic ‘I Love NY’ logo would have killed him.”
Another added, “I’m sorry to say that Eric Adams’ mayoralty can’t break anything anymore because they’re bound to find something.”
A third said: “If there is a riot in NYC it will be over.”
Eisner and Ringo award-winning illustrator Mitch Gerads, known for his work at DC Comics, mocked the new logo, writing, “Get the job of updating NYC’s branding campaign. Cracks knuckles, starts Print Shop Deluxe on his Gateway 2000.’
Some chose to poke fun at the campaign’s plan to “improve” the city, with one lashing out at skyrocketing rents in the city by saying, “To make a logo that will get people to leave NY and lowering the rent is actually a good thing.”
After the design was unveiled online, thousands of people slammed the new logo as “really bad”.
Mayor Adams was met with backlash over the $20 million campaign and the design that took a year to create
Others mocked Mayor Adams’ ‘War on Rats’ but edited the new logo to read ‘Rats Love NYC’.
The 1977 founding came while the city and state were struggling with high crime, budgetary problems, and other challenges
Brooklyn Councilor Justin Brannan compared the new logo to the Holland Tunnel’s 2018 Christmas signage, which was widely viewed as a design flaw
Why mess with a classic? The original logo is a design icon from the 1970s
Milton Glaser designed the original I Love NY logo in July 1977 after the advertising agency he worked at – Wells Rich Greene – was hired to create a marketing campaign for the Empire State.
He created the design while riding in a cab to a meeting and said it was based on pop artist Robert Indiana’s iconic “LOVE” sculpture.
Glaser’s design was an instant success. Commonly used on tourist merchandise, it began to spread globally after plain white t-shirts were printed with the iconic design and adopted by fashionistas.
The logo regained popularity after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
This prompted Glaser to do a slight redesign, changing the logo to “I Love NY More Than Ever”.
Glaser added a small black dot to the heart to symbolize the destroyed Twin Towers.
Image is a trademark of New York State, which has been sued for unauthorized use on multiple occasions.
He died of a stroke and kidney failure on his 91st birthday in July 2020.
Ben Stephens, a freelance copywriter, was critical of the design, writing on Twitter that the iconic power of Glaser’s design “comes from its simplicity, its boldness, and the quadrangular arrangement of its elements.”
Then he added: “The original looks like the voice of a city. The new one looks like the voice of an investment bank or possibly a healthcare provider.”
Canadian actress Allana Harkin agreed that changing the logo was wrong, adding, “I think the city that currently has the most iconic branding in the entire world shouldn’t be rebranding.”
Others mocked Mayor Adams’ ‘War on Rats’ but edited the new logo to read ‘Rats Love NYC’.
Matthew Quint, director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia University Business School, added: “My prediction, and prediction is folly, is that social media is going to be fun – ‘why did you have to change one of the most well known? logos of the world.
“The new campaign must make it clear why this is different, why it is us-oriented.”
Brooklyn Councilor Justin Brannan compared the new logo to the Holland Tunnel’s 2018 Christmas signage, which was widely viewed as a design flaw.
At Monday’s unveiling, Mayor Adams said, “No one is ever going to put New Yorkers down. We say, ‘Don’t say, ‘Woe to me.’ ‘Say: ‘Why not me?’.
“Go voluntarily. Participate. Be part of the rebirth we are witnessing in the city and state.
“NYPD makes it safer every day; fewer murders, fewer shootings, crime is down, our economy is recovering. Don’t believe the hype. Believe in New York City.
“We took the ‘I’ from ‘I Love New York’ and brought the ‘we’. We’re in this together.’
He hopes the campaign will promote the city’s global brand in the coming months by drawing attention to community cleanups, volunteerism, local businesses and underground artists.
In typical New York fashion, many have gloated over the new logo compared to the old, with one saying, “Don’t mess with perfection.”
Glaser’s colleagues (pictured) initially said they didn’t support his logo, but he went ahead after beachgoers in Bermuda liked the idea
Eisner and Ringo award-winning illustrator Mitch Gerads, known for his work at DC Comics, mocked the new logo
Gov Hochul added: “I Love New York” is a message to the rest of the world. “We Love New York City” is a message to all of you,” Hochul said. “The people who stayed, who never gave up, who believe New York City’s greatest days are yet to come.”
Glaser’s colleagues initially said they didn’t support his logo, but he went ahead after beachgoers in Bermuda liked the idea.
reached out to Glaser’s studio for their opinion on the new design, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Hearst Corporation President and CEO Steve Swartz said he hopes the newly unveiled WeNYC campaign will have a follower effect on other business leaders and the city as a whole.
He said: “Many other businesses and building owners will be taking this message to neighborhoods in each borough and spreading it across the city and around the world. That’s just the beginning.”