A Kickstarter campaign for a reissue of the 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual, rescinded in 1992, launched on September 1 with a fairly ambitious goal of $158,000. That goal was met on the first day. By yesterday, it was up to $300,000. Today, just over three days in, it has surpassed $500,000 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Prizes for funding the campaign are limited to copies of the book, in various quantities. The people know what they want. The 1975 manual, designed by Danne & Blackburn, introduced the famous Worm logo, which was controversial within the agency, but, clearly, still has its supporters.
The campaign comes from designers Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth of design firm Pentagram, who previously ran a similarly successful campaign for a reissue of the 1970 New York Transit Authority Graphics Standard Manual, so it's safe to say that they have really found their niche.
The Worm was replace by the Meatball—pretty clearly deficient from a design standpoint—which had actually been around before the Standards Manual was created and which, for some reason, maintained support within NASA throughout the Worm's tenure.
· Reissue of the 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual [Kickstarter, via Uncrate]
· Two graphic designers are trying to preserve NASA's famous 1970s 'Worm' logo [The Verge]
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