This document discusses NASA's unsuccessful rebranding attempt in 1974 when they switched their logo from a "Meatball" to a "Worm". While a design studio created a new brand identity and style guide for NASA, their mistake was initially only distributing the new logo on stationery. This upset researchers and scientists at NASA's various centers who were attached to the familiar "Meatball" logo. The change polarized factions within NASA and they ultimately decided to go back to the old logo in 1992. A better roll-out of the new brand within the organization may have prevented the backlash.

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Revamping our Image
September 2015

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How do we get from “The Pizza”…

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…to “Pacman” – successfully?

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NASA showed us how to not do it!
Back in 1974, they switched from their
“Meatball” logo to the “Worm”
“Worm”“Meatball”

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They were well prepared..
New York design studio Danne & Blackburn created a new brand
identity for NASA, including a “Graphics Standards Manual”

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It included a vision for clothing…

7. …and even space shuttles!

8. But their mistake was to roll it out by
initially only distributing new
stationary

9. Researchers and scientists were
NOT happy…
NASA sent the “executive
stationary” featuring the
new design to each of its
various “centres”…
Their beloved icon, a
symbol of the most
successful space program
on Earth, replaced with...
some new stationary?

10. …and remained unhappy for two
decades!
The change polarised factions within NASA, between “old timers” who
missed the meatball and the youths who liked the almost digital look of the
1970s worm.

11. They decided to go back to the old logo
in 1992, and still use it until today!

12. A well planned roll-out within the
organisation could have saved NASA a
lot of trouble!

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Slides by:
Peter Koekoek
New Media Manager Europe, Climate-KIC
Peter.koekoek@climate-kic.org