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NASA Graphics Standards Manual (1975)
- m3kw9 2y agowould be the most interesting coffee table book
- glimshe 2y agoAs a Gen Xer, I feel I've been promised the future represented by the logo on this manual, but instead got what we have today... :(
- rob74 2y agoYeah, that logo was much too futuristic anyway, it was retired in 1992 and replaced with the old one (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_insignia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_insignia). It probably didn't help that the old logo was associated with the Moon landings, while the most-remembered event from the run of the new logo (introduced in 1975) was the Challenger disaster...
- skissane 2y ago> Yeah, that logo was much too futuristic anyway, it was retired in 1992 and replaced with the old one It was unretired in 2020 – https://www.nasa.gov/general/the-worm-is-back/ https://www.nasa.gov/general/the-worm-is-back/ Both the meatball logo and the "worm" logotype now coexist. The former is the primary NASA logo, the "worm" is only for selected uses, mainly launch vehicles such as certain NASA-contracted Falcon 9 missions, and SLS – https://www.space.com/artemis-2-moon-mission-nasa-worm-logo https://www.space.com/artemis-2-moon-mission-nasa-worm-logo
- jaystraw 2y agocops still stealing skateboards? i explained packet switching to my friend today, he got it which was cool -- but on the ebb of the topic i said that without it, the world today would be way, way different. i dunno, i dunno what you expected. i'm 1986, and am continually beside myself. about what's possible, not neccesarily what's implemented.
- _kb 2y agoEvery astonishing feat of humanity is built on a tower of accreted now mundane technology (with that word meant in the wider sense, not computers).
- tommiegannert 2y agoContext: > 1975 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Graphics Standards Manual Reissue. Published by Standards Manual, LLC. 2015.
- sandworm101 2y agoThey want 100+ for a nasa book? Are not nasa publications outside copyrights? This should be availible somewhere as a pdf. Perhaps that is why they added a forward. https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/ https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/
- jen729w 2y agoDo you have any idea how much it costs to lay out, print, and distribute a 200+ page book? Hint: somewhere in the region of $100. Get yourself a PDF if you want. A PDF isn’t a book.
- sandworm101 2y agoIve purchased many books containing material that is out of copyright, most recently a compendium of Lovecraft's works. It can be done extreemly cheaply. Such books tend to be of horrible print quality. I would need to see loads more photos, and independant reviews, to even consider dropping 100+ on such a book.
- jen729w 2y ago> It can be done extreemly cheaply. I’m sure they’re beautiful books.
- davidham 2y agoI have a copy of this from the original Kickstarter, and it’s a gorgeous book. Very high quality, very well done.
- iancmceachern 2y agoMe too, I also have the Apollo mission plans they had on Kickstarter. They're soooo nice
- bmitc 2y ago
- d3nit 2y ago1976 Manual: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nasa_graphics_manual_nhb_1430-2_jan_1976.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nasa_graphic...
- nirav72 2y agoI love all these NASA standards guides and manuals. One of the best one I still refer to and has been posted here often is their wiring guide. https://s3vi.ndc.nasa.gov/ssri-kb/static/resources/nasa-std-8739.4a.pdf https://s3vi.ndc.nasa.gov/ssri-kb/static/resources/nasa-std-...
- jen729w 2y agoFor those nostalgic for this era, go give Neil some money for his epic typeface Berkeley Mono. He work(s/ed?) at NASA. https://berkeleygraphics.com/typefaces/berkeley-mono/ https://berkeleygraphics.com/typefaces/berkeley-mono/
- travisporter 2y agoWow that’s one of the most beautiful fonts I’ve ever seen but I’m not seeing it in this document is it the actual nasa logo?
- cptcobalt 2y agoThey're unrelated, but the typeface is intended to evoke the vibe of computers in that era.
- zamadatix 2y agoI don't quite follow how the number "0" character in this example image is portrayed: https://cdn.berkeleygraphics.com/static/images/marketing/code-generic.svg https://cdn.berkeleygraphics.com/static/images/marketing/cod... In 2 lines it seems to have 3 separate forms?
- j33zusjuice 2y agoIf you scroll a bit further, you’ll see there are actually 4 forms for the number 0. Of course, I have no idea why.
- conkeisterdoor 2y agoDifferent strokes for different folks :)
- l_h 2y agoYou can choose which one you want when you download the font package. The "7" character is also available in two different glyphs.
- monocultured 2y agoIt's such an incredible flex to have a design system and brand guidelines for a calling card, side of van, oh and here's how to apply logo on a rocket btw. Love these old design systems and how prescriptive they are.
- toddmorey 2y agoFor sure. May just include rocket mockups now on any client work just to have a very comprehensive branding package.
- mwexler 2y agoThe other books they offer at https://standardsmanual.com/pages/titles https://standardsmanual.com/pages/titles follow a similar pattern but across a variety of domains. Worth a look to see approaches to the NYC Subway map and DC Comics.
- hanniabu 2y agoWhat you think you'll get when you pay $50k for a branding and design document
- bangaroo 2y agomy girlfriend bought this for me as a gift and it's one of my favorite things i own i find the whole concept of brand identity and branding so cool, i love looking at branding guides for whatever reason, and one that includes "the proper way to brand a spaceship or satellite" is high up in cool factor
- qingcharles 2y agoAs a Britisher my fondness has always been for this one: https://britishrailmanual.com/ https://britishrailmanual.com/
- Ylpertnodi 2y agoStarting at £75, it would appear their books (manuals) are almost as pricey as their tickets. Limited demand, I guess.
- mkhalil 2y agoHigh-quality PDF Version of the manual (NASA Graphics Standards Manual) if anyone is interested (legally distributed by NASA): https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nasa_graphics_manual_nhb_1430-2_jan_1976.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nasa_graphic... Never was the type of person to spend $90 on a look-book/coffee-table book, but bless those who make things like this possible I guess \-_-/
- serialNumber 2y agobless you as well for linking this !
- bbor 2y agoA) thank you so much! B) used bookstores sell coffee table books for dirt cheap sometimes, check it out if your taste is more flexible C) wow page 11 bothers me. Why, why, why… the grid is there for a reason!! Just make it line up with the grid, oh my god EDIT: page 39 is also a really neat tip, for anyone writing a book. TL;DR: format your cover as a variation of your content pages. Might apply to websites and their splash pages, too! Certainly stands in contrast to the current SOP for SV startup splash pages
- gdubs 2y agoRe: grid: Rules are meant to be broken :) Visual weight sometimes dictates a slightly less than perfect alignment.
- _2 2y agoWhile photographing I was trying to get an image perfectly aligned, but couldn't get it done. A friend, who was with me, said his best image was unaligned intended, because it would look just not aligned, even when it was. Since then I don't care anymore if the image is not perfectly aligned, but looks like it is, to the eye. Thank you for bringing back this memory with your comment!
- davidivadavid 2y ago
- ezekg 2y agoI have this in my office. My wife got it for me years back. One of my favorite things to flip through when I need some branding inspiration.
- pndy 2y agoFor last 3 years it feels like clothing with worm logo is all around - there are tshirts, hoodies, pretty sure I even noticed socks and backpacks. NASA managed to promote itself quite well and its branding raised to the range of a popculture symbol. Comparable ESA is rather a "quiet" agency and its merchandise exist solely on their site and nowhere else; I wonder if they do have similar document regarding logotype. --- Since we're talking about space, agencies and logos, a little story: there's POLSA - Polish Space Agency, cause we can into space contrary to popular belief. In 2015 the agency has launched a competition to design its logo and over 400 works were sent. The reward was 10k PLN/ ~2.3k €. Work of renown poster artist was selected, independently from all other works submitted which raised quite a storm here. The director of the organizational office stated that: "none of the designs submitted met the aesthetic requirements for a logo. In addition, despite the fact that close to 400 designs were received, in many cases we had to deal with reproductive work." In the end, in 2021 another logo was made and agency didn't disclosure who was the author and how much this lovely thing cost. Works submitted: https://joemonster.org/art/35407 https://joemonster.org/art/35407 - copied from fb page that tried to collect all rejected designs; some are clearly jokes (Bolek and Lolek inside Jetsons' flying car, or coat of arm eagle tail repurposed as rocket) but there are few which were really good Design commissioned and executed by prof. Mieczysław Wasilewski for 15k PLN/ ~3.5k €: https://brandingmonitor.pl/zenujacy-zart-polskiej-agencji-kosmicznej/ https://brandingmonitor.pl/zenujacy-zart-polskiej-agencji-ko... The final logo: https://www.urania.edu.pl/wiadomosci/polska-agencja-kosmiczna-ma-nowe-logo-0 https://www.urania.edu.pl/wiadomosci/polska-agencja-kosmiczn...
- croisillon 2y agofor all good things ESA does, NASA was the first on the Moon and that's pretty much anyone needs to know...
- eastbound 2y agoThere is an old debate that the Russians were the first during the whole race to space (first in orbit, first animal, first human - both died), and were overpassed by the americans at the last leg. Then the Europeans were ahead with a supersonic jet in commercial exploitation, and the Russians beat us this time (by 3 months, with a copy of our own design).
- wolframhempel 2y agoI need to develop better impulse control. I was already halfway through filling out the shipping address when I took a deep breath and thought - really? Are you ever gonna seriously read this? But then again, it does come wrap in space foil...so there's that...
- acosmism 2y agoI do too. I went through the exact same series of thoughts (didnt realize the space foil thing you mention) and figured im already fully invested since the form was filled
- corysama 2y agoRelated: Nixon, NASA, And How The Federal Government Got Design https://web.archive.org/web/20181005033340/https://www.fastcompany.com/3068659/nixon-nasa-and-how-the-federal-government-got-design https://web.archive.org/web/20181005033340/https://www.fastc... Archive link because the actual page is missing a few images :(
- blackhaz 2y agoAh. The times when designers were actually designers.
- Optimal_Persona 2y agoOne of my favorite software developers - Valhalla DSP, who make awesome reverb, delay, and modulation audio plugins - references the NASA design guidelines. https://valhalladsp.com/2011/04/26/valhallaroom-an-overview/ https://valhalladsp.com/2011/04/26/valhallaroom-an-overview/ "The idea behind the GUI was to organize the controls in a logical manner, such that their size and display status was an accurate representation of their relative importance. The GUI is also proudly 2D, with the controls being more of an abstraction of knobs and sliders than an ersatz depiction of hardware that doesn’t exist. Futura Demibold was chosen as the font, as it is specified as the control panel font in the NASA usability guidelines, and because it just looks cool. The tooltips area is an effort to incorporate documentation as a design element, in keeping with the minimalist/Swiss School influences." Valhalla is one of the few audio plugin developers who make plugins that are usable/legible even when the vector interface is zoomed down to its smallest size. Apple could do well to take inspiration from NASA and Valhalla - their redesigned plugin interfaces in Logic Pro X have small regular weight Helvetica, tons of wasted blank space and are unreadable to my not-getting-younger peepers at smaller sizes. I feel like no one in Apple's design department is over 30.
- speckx 2y agoI have this book; as a NASA nerd, I love it!
- starkparker 2y agoFWIW NASA's modern brand standards (including RGB/HEX/CMYK/PMS codes for the brand colors) are at https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/brand-guidelines/ https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/brand-guidelines/
- dang 2y agoRelated: NASA Graphics Standards Manual - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14890791 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14890791 - July 2017 (8 comments) NASA Graphics Standards Manual (1976) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11356246 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11356246 - March 2016 (8 comments) NASA’s 1976 Graphics Standards Manual [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10236380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10236380 - Sept 2015 (1 comment) NASA's 1975 Graphics Standards Manual - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10171018 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10171018 - Sept 2015 (10 comments)
- michaelhoney 2y agoI have this. The silvered bag it comes in is very satisfying.