New York State is trying to re-establish ownership of its "I [Heart] NY" slogan/graphic, despite the fact that it's become practically a de facto part of the public domain since its introduction 31 years ago in 1977. The state is currently reinvigorating the slogan to promote day-trip tourism within the state. more ›

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Earlier this week, we reported on the 92nd Street Y event where New York magazine co-founder Milton Glaser attributed the low number of high-profile female designers to the fact that women who have children and stay at home with them are less visible professionally. more ›

Graphic designers tend to be an even-keeled lot, unless you mess with their precious Futura typeface plans. So at Monday night’s The Art of the Book: Covers With Dave Eggers, Chip Kidd and Milton Glaser, moderated by designer Michael Bierut at the 92nd Street Y, we weren’t surprised that book jacket designer and author Kidd made nice with Panelist Four – a man well into his senior years who boosted the show from the first row. more ›

Watch it when you love NY! NY State is trying to enforce its claim to the love by setting its lawyers on people who use the logo without the permission of the Empire State Development Development Corporation. The latest incident seems to be a NJ man's use of the logo on various tchotchkes (he's sold 15,000 of them); Ray Maniaci tells the Post NY State should be flattered people love the logo so much. Gothamist guesses his Garden State status is part of the problem, since an ESDC lawyers says, "The logo belongs to the people of the state of New York and they rely on us to project it." Protect it from being used on a thong, that is. more ›

We had kicked back to watch TV the other evening - live, not TiVo'd - when we started to see an "I ♥ NY" logo on screen. Awesome, we though, as the logo got bigger. But then the NY was replaced by...a freaking Honda Accord! Honda paid NY State $45,000 to use the logo in their ad which is appearing in the NY-area, and to us, that's getting peanuts. No wonder NY State has so much debt and such a terrible credit rating! Bobby Zarem who promoted the slogan, created to kick NY State out of its 1970s slump, is disgusted by the ad while Milton Glaser, who created the logo, is flattered. Feh, we rather car companies co-opt our neighborhood names, not claim that we love them. more ›

Gawker looks at how New York is challenged with handling humor. Plus, the Observer wonders about the magazine's journalistic future. And did you know that Milton Glaser also designed the Brooklyn Brewery logo? more ›

Reverend Billy, Street Preacher, The Church of Stop Shopping more ›

- And someone stole a list of email addresses from prospective volunteers to the convention. The volunteers received an email purporting to be from the volunteer committee and telling them to visit various Internet hate sites. That's real classy. We can't imagine why someone who is protesting the Republican Convention would do something as assy as that, so Gothamist assumes it's some random idiot, versus a partisan one, though you never know.
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Yesterday, the city announced that it was investigating ways to create, trademark and license an official New York City logo in order to generate more revenue for the city. This move also involved hiring the city's first chief marketing officer, Joseph Perello. The city is also looking into ideas for the Fire Department and other areas. Gothamist is glad that the city is thinking its marketing more seriously, but also finds the marketing rhetoric being thrown about amusing. "You've got to create a special logo, 'NYC,' or some little doohickey," said City Corporation Counsel Michael Cordozo. "The letters 'NYC' can't be trademarked but when you put them together with a distinctive trademark you can sue to enforce it." Yeah, doohickey. Gothamist is pretty confident now. more ›