pitch unfairly

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NASA, 1975. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

One agency. One mark. No exceptions. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Brand guidelines

  • 9 incorrect uses
  • 3 stroke widths of clear space
  • Retired 1992, back 2020
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1975 Brand guidelines

NASA

One agency. One mark. No exceptions.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→11 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

NASA's brand guidelines, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. NASA deck, slide 1: One agency. One mark. No exceptions. 01One agency. One mark. No exceptions.
  2. NASA deck, slide 2: A mark only becomes shorthand if every center uses it the same way. 02A mark only becomes shorthand if every center uses it the same way.
  3. NASA deck, slide 3: Four letters. One stroke width. No crossbars. 03Four letters. One stroke width. No crossbars.
  4. NASA deck, slide 4: Three stroke widths of air, on every side. 04Three stroke widths of air, on every side.
  5. NASA deck, slide 5: One warm red. On white, or not at all. 05One warm red. On white, or not at all.
  6. NASA deck, slide 6: Helvetica speaks for NASA in two weights. 06Helvetica speaks for NASA in two weights.
  7. NASA deck, slide 7: The grid decides before the designer does. 07The grid decides before the designer does.
  8. NASA deck, slide 8: Same rules at 24 inches as at 2. 08Same rules at 24 inches as at 2.
  9. NASA deck, slide 9: Nine ways to ruin a logotype. Rule two is personal. 09Nine ways to ruin a logotype. Rule two is personal.
  10. NASA deck, slide 10: One office owns the standard. Ask it first. 10One office owns the standard. Ask it first.
  11. NASA deck, slide 11: Retired in 1992. Back on a rocket in 2020. 11Retired in 1992. Back on a rocket in 2020.

Then · 1975

How it really went

Read the real storyNASA, the Graphics Standards Manual (NHB 1430.2) scan
  1. 1974: Danne & Blackburn pitch NASA a new identity under the NEA's federal graphics program
  2. 1975: the red logotype replaces the 1959 "meatball" insignia
  3. The manual: logotype, color, reproduction art, stationery, forms, publications, signs, vehicles
  4. Nine incorrect uses, from "such as a circle" to a vertical axis
  5. Employees nickname the logotype "the worm"
  6. May 22, 1992: Administrator Goldin brings the meatball back
  7. 2015: a Kickstarter raises nearly $1 million to reprint the manual
  8. April 3, 2020: the worm returns, on the Falcon 9 for Crew Demo-2

Now · 2026 · 11 slides

What we changed

  • Clear space you can breakDrag the center name toward the mark: the three-stroke-width zone turns red the moment you cross it, and grows with every decal size.
  • Nine misuses, flippableOutlined, shadowed, squashed, sideways, and rule two, "such as a circle". Flip each tile between wrong and right.
  • The red, tested on every groundPantone 179 with its hex, RGB and process values, then click five backgrounds to see which colors the mark may wear on each.
  • The forms finally arriveThe 1975 manual promised new forms "at a later date". Here is one, with a grid overlay you can switch on.

Steal the structure

Build your brand guidelines like NASA did.

  1. 01 Cover Name the standard and its promise: one brand, applied one way.
  2. 02 Why a standard Show the cost of inconsistency: every team drawing the brand its own way.
  3. 03 The mark What the logo is, how it is built, and the one rule: never redraw it.
  4. 04 Clear space and size The minimum air around the mark and the approved sizes, measured from the mark itself.
  5. 05 Color Exact values for every medium, and which color goes on which background.
  6. 06 Typography The typefaces, the weights, and how names lock up with the mark.
  7. 07 The grid The understructure every layout hangs from, shown on a real application.
  8. 08 Applications The brand at its largest and smallest: vehicles, signs, forms, decals, with sizes.
  9. 09 Misuse The specific don'ts, drawn, so nobody has to guess.
  10. 10 Ownership and help Who owns the standard, and where each common question gets answered.
  11. 11 Why it lasts Close on what the standard protects over time.

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