Issue 42 ☞ Celebrating the NASA worm
And - A harsh UK plan to reduce migration
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Celebrating the NASA worm
When you think of NASA, which logo comes to mind? Do you think of the blue circle, filled with stars and an elliptical orbit trail, known within the organisation as “the meatball”? That marque was designed in 1959, a year after NASA was established, and featured prominently on Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit when he became the first man to walk on the moon a decade later. Or do you think of those four red, futuristic letterforms, the two ‘A’s missing their crossbars to resemble rocket heads? That logo was created by the designers Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn in the 1970s, along with a comprehensive and influential brand book that has sold some 35,000 copies, and is known to staffers as “the worm”. The worm was dropped from use by NASA more than 30 years ago. And yet it persists, both within the organisation and within popular culture. “Look at some of NASA’s recent spacecraft,” the journalist Kenneth Chang wrote earlier this week, “like the Orion capsule that went around the moon last year, and you’ll see an unexpected mash-up of the two logos.”
Chang was reporting on Danne’s recent visit to NASA’s headquarters in Washington – the organisation put on an event to celebrate the work he completed almost 50 years ago. There are few more iconic logos. In Chang’s New York Times piece, published this week, an image gallery shows off the Worm’s remarkably wide usage: it has featured on rockets, aircraft, boats, uniforms, helmets, machinery, information stands and onscreen. It is such a fixture in our culture that people with no relation to NASA wear it on baseball caps and T-shirts. (The artist Tom Sachs is so obsessed by NASA that he has created his own “Space Program”, which features the Worm painted across ceramics and other objects.) At NASA’s HQ, Danne spoke about the relationship between the Worm and the Meatball. “We found a way to make it work,” he said at a round table discussion. “Is it ideal? Probably not. But it’s pretty close to being good. And it satisfied everybody, so I can’t argue with that.” Neither can we.
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A harsh UK plan to reduce migration
Last week, the UK government introduced a five-point unprecedentedly harsh plan aimed at reducing net migration. The proposed measures include raising the minimum salary requirement for skilled overseas workers significantly, from £26,200 to £38,700, along with a parallel increase in the minimum income threshold for bringing a family member or partner from abroad, also from £18,700 to £38,700. Additionally, the plan prohibits overseas care workers from bringing family dependents to the UK.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement sparked public outcry. Health and social care organisations have voiced “deep concerns” , fearing that the plan could worsen NHS and care staff shortages. Postdoctoral fellows are apprehensive about the potential long-term damage to British academia due to the high salary threshold. Families are falling apart. People sadly found out the lives they are trying to build and maintain can suddenly collapse. A policy change is all it takes.
Currently, jobs listed in the shortage occupation category, including artists and designers, benefit from a 20 percent salary discount. However, the new plan aims to eliminate the discount as a “crackdown on cut- price labour from overseas”. Vikki Wiberg, senior counsel in the mobility team at Taylor Wessing, said this change will have a significant impact on employers’ ability to recruit where there is already a shortage of staff. At MMBP, a design studio, we feel the impact of the policy, and so will other small businesses in the art world that rely on international talents.
It remains uncertain whether the migration cut will ultimately benefit British citizens. For now, the prevailing sentiment is one of concern, anticipating potential damage and heartache.
Certified Recs
What to not listen to, read and watch this week
What not to listen to
Anyone else's Spotify Wrapped
What to read
The New Yorker's top 25 stories of the year.
What to watch
Wonka, Willy Wonka's origin story, starring Timothée Chalamet during the chocolatier's early days