i ♥ ny

I was lucky enough to visit NY for the first time over the holidays in 2005. I fell for the City, hard. So hard, in fact, that I've decided I'd really like to live there for a year sometime before I die.

While I was there, I tried to get an I ♥ NY t-shirt in Japanese characters. After combing through piles of shirts, I went home disappointed, as I am not a youth size small or an adult XXL. Three days later, I saw this image while walking on the Upper West Side:

Here's more on the original campaign, and on Milton Glaser, one of my favorite designers. His "This is What I Have Learned" keynote speech at the 2002 AIGA annual meeting still blows me away. And his "The Designer/ Citizen" 2005 speech is a very thought- provoking essay.

The "I Love New York" campaign was commissioned by the state of New York and designed by Milton Glaser in 1977.

But, wait. New York is a place of stories. And the one behind the logo may be more interesting than the design itself -- which is nothing more than three letters and a heart symbol. Glaser created "I Love New York" at a time when nobody loved the city.

President Ford had just told New York to drop dead. Serial killer Son of Sam prowled the boroughs. One of the world's greatest cities was deteriorating under budget deficits, blackouts, riots, and -- according to Glaser himself -- lots and lots of doggie poo. Today, just about everyone's willing to show the city some love, but back in the late 1970s, confessing your amore for the Big Apple left a rotten taste in many a mouth.

Via Ask Yahoo!