History of I heart NY Logo

I heart NY is one of the most popular logo designs of all times. This historical logo has become a pop culture icon. This image represents the State of New York not the New York City. It was designed by Milton Glaser in 1977 for the New York State Tourism Department.

It was used by the State of New York’s tourism department and it was meant to run for the duration of a planned month long marketing campaign. However, the logo became so immensely popular that even though the tourism department’s marketing campaign ended as per schedule but the logo kept circulating around.

Slowly it became associated with the New York City and the t-shirts with this logo are still sold and wore all over the world. In the wake of September 11, 2001 attacks many New Yorkers and tourists wore these t-shirts to show their support. Milton Glaser redesigned the logo adding “More Than Ever” and a black spot on the heart symbolizing the world trade center.

The logo has appeared in countless movies, TV shows, news, magazines, memorabilia, and on almost every medium where a logo can be shown or displayed. Celebrities wore t-shirts with this logo and have appeared in live shows or photo shoots. This logo is not only popular in the United States, in fact it is also immensely popular and well-recognized around the world. People from all major cities of the world imitated the logo by replacing NY with their own city’s initials.

Illustration by Hanna Lee

Even though Milton Glaser designed the logo for free, The New York state department is the legal owner of the logo. At times State Officials file legal petitions against the usage of their copyrighted logo. But even then the design is copied and imitated throughout the world.

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