Printed first by Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn in 1974, the ring binder originally titled the NASA Graphics Standards Manual was an extensive document that included instructions on designing every aspect of NASA’s new identity – from letterheads to space shuttles. The new identity, spearheaded by a logo that would come to be known as the 'Worm', allowed NASA’s departments a common voice through which they could speak as one cohesive unit. This edition published by Editions Syndicat-Empire is the reprint of the original manual.
Beyond a simple fascination for NASA, the manual is of interest for several reasons:
— It is an exhaustive presentation of visual identity – from letterheads to the markings on the space shuttle Discovery
— and thus allows the reader to apprehend the different formal, political and technical scales of the use of signs.
— The clarity of its texts which guided the personnel responsible for producing new documents contrasts sharply with the mainstream vocabulary in the communications field today.
— As an object, it is worthy of the interest it has created. It demonstrates the ambition and care taken in its presentation. Its format facilitates manipulation to ensure the organization, comprehension and implementation of the instructions and propositions it contains.
Published by
Editions Syndicat-Empire
Softcover
164 pages
235 x 310 mm
ISBN 9791095991205
