As the story goes, Glaser sketched the logo on the back of an envelope on the way over to the meeting with the agency, and even donated his efforts pro bono thinking the work would last all of “two weeks.” Doyle, the New York Deputy Commissioner, hired Glaser to design a logo to support the state’s advertising campaign. It first appeared in a television commercial in 1977 that featured a song of the same name written by Steve Karmen that was adopted as the state song in 1980. And while 100% of the design credit goes to Glaser, the famously simple phrase was created by Mary Wells Lawrence and Charlie Moss, the principal and creative director (respectively) at Madison Avenue advertising firm Wells Rich Greene. Milton Glaser’s 1977 “I ♥ NY” is perhaps the greatest love letter of all time–how could we not indulge in a little background for Design History 101’s very first Valentine’s Day? Especially since the story behind it still holds a few secrets.įirst, you’ll notice it says “NY,” not “NYC.” Even though the slogan has become more closely identified with the city, it was actually made for an ad campaign to celebrate the state.

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