I Love New York

Logo

The logo consists of the capital letter I, followed by a red heart symbol (), below which are the capital letters N and Y, set in the rounded slab serif typeface American Typewriter.

In 1976, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce hired advertising agency Wells Rich Greene to develop a marketing campaign for the State of New York. Doyle also recruited Milton Glaser, a productive graphic designer to work on the campaign and create a design based on Wells Rich Greene's advertising campaign. Glaser's initial sketch to accompany the agency's "I Love New York" slogan was conceived in a taxi. It comprised the letter I and a heart shape, followed by NY, all on the same line. As the idea developed, he decided to stack the I and the heart shape on a line above the NY characters, later stating that he may have been "subliminally" influenced by Robert Indiana's LOVE pop art image.

Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple months and did the work pro bono.

The image became especially prominent following the September 11 attacks on the city, which created a sense of unity among the populace. Many visitors to the city following the attacks purchased and wore the shirts bearing the "I Love New York" logo as a sign of their support. Glaser created a modified version to commemorate the attacks, reading "I Love NY More Than Ever", with a little black spot on the heart symbolizing the World Trade Center site. The black spot approximates the site's location on lower Manhattan Island. The poster was printed in the New York Daily News and was a fundraiser for New York charities supporting those affected by the attacks. Added text at the bottom encouraged people to "Be generous. Your city needs you. This poster is not for sale."

New York state anthem

"I Love New York" was written and composed by Steve Karmen in 1977 as part of the advertising campaign. In 1980, Governor Hugh Carey declared it as New York's state anthem, although not officially enacted into law. In a move that was remarkable for Karmen, who is well known for retaining the publishing rights to his songs, he gave the rights to the song to the state for free.

Karmen wrote a new verse for the song in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City to emphasize the city's resilience. However, it was never commercially recorded nor used.

Lyrics

Original 1977 lyrics:

(This is so exciting!) I love New York (And there's no place like it.) I love New York (This is so exciting!) I love New York (And there's no place like it.)

There isn't another like it no matter where you go. And nobody can compare it. It's greater than place and show. You know... New York is special, You know, New York is different! 'Cause there's no place else on earth quite like New York!}}

Additional verse written in 2020:

New Yorkers find a way When everyone works together New Heroes Everyday New York is family You know nothing beats family And we'll win this fight together 'Cause we're New York That's why I Love New York}}

Imitations

The logo has become a pop-culture icon, inspiring imitations in every corner of the globe. Merchandise proclaiming "I ..." can be found wherever tourists gather. Parodies, such as "I ♠ {{bracket|spayed

New York state government has repeatedly attempted to uphold its trademark; by 2005, the state had filed nearly 3,000 objections against imitators, and 100 "trademark objections and cease-and-desist letters" were filed in 2012 alone. Some objections have been ruled void, such as when a court concluded in 1980 that the producers of Saturday Night Live did not infringe on the copyrights of the "I Love New York" campaign with its "I Love Sodom" skit, ruling instead that it was a parody.

In March 2023, as part of a revitalisation campaign after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Partnership for New York City introduced "We ❤️ NYC", a "modern twist" on the logo designed by a team led by Graham Clifford, which was posted throughout the city. The text changes the state abbreviation "NY" to the city abbreviation "NYC", and the pronoun from "I" to "We". The graphic uses a sans-serif font in all caps, in which the heart symbol has shading and is larger and placed further off-center than in the "I NY" graphic. Media reported criticism of both the slogan as unoriginal and the design as inelegant.

References

References

1. (April 21, 2018). "Famous Advertisers in History: Mary Wells Lawrence".
2. "I Love New York Logo". [[New York State Library]].
3. Kidd, Chip. (1 September 2003). "An Interview with Milton Glaser".
4. (April 1, 2016). "'I Love NY' products, contracted to companies by NYS, are made overseas". [[WGRZ]].
5. "Consolidated Laws, Article 6, Section 88".
6. Recently, researchers of the Visual Arts Department at UCSD suggested a possible reference for the creation of this logo. According to them, Conrado Martinez—an architect from Santa Barbara, California—created a similar image (1931) to show his respect and love for Oaxaca City (Mexico), destroyed because of an earthquake. Interestingly, as happened in NY, after the earthquake, Oaxaca started a process of reorganization of the users and the uses of the space, which later, in the '90s, culminated in a radical gentrification process.
7. (March 19, 2015). "The Story Behind I Heart New York". Buy T-Shirts Online.
8. Sooke, Alastair. (February 7, 2011). "Milton Glaser: his heart was in the right place". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
9. "Pirouette: Turning Points in Design (January 26 – November 15, 2015)".
10. Northon, Karen. (2025-01-23). "NASA Worm as Art, Museum of Modern Art Opens Exhibition Featuring NASA Worm".
11. [https://press.moma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/MoMA_Pirouette-Viewing-Checklist_Final.pdf ''Pirouette: Turning Points in Design – Catalog''], pp. 14–15
12. Lambert, Tiffany. (September 11, 2013). "A Heart in the Right Place". [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]].
13. Wansley, Joy. (October 27, 1980). "They Call Steve Karmen 'the Beethoven of Spot Sonatas'—Meaning He's King of TV Jingles". [[People (magazine).
14. (2020-04-06). "Steve Karmen's "I Love New York" Gets Inspirational Update".
15. Byrne, Robert. (1988). "1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said". [[Ballantine Books]].
16. Kirstin, Dorsch. (July 18, 2005). "New York Loves Its Trademark".
17. Newman, Andy. (May 29, 2013). "A Cup Is at the Heart of a Trademark Dispute". [[The New York Times]].
18. Chung, Jen. (February 12, 2007). "Looking to Revive New York".
19. (June 9, 1980). "Elsmere Music v. National Broadcasting Co.".
20. (21 March 2023). "New York's 'I Love NY' Logo Gets a Makeover". Untapped New York.
21. Stewart, Dodai. (21 March 2023). "These New Yorkers Don't ❤️ the 'We ❤️NYC' Logo". [[The New York Times]].
22. Natalie B. Compton. (2023-03-21). "New Yorkers bond over new city logo: They hate it". [[The Washington Post]].
23. Gopnik, Adam. (23 March 2023). "The 'We❤️NYC' Logo Flop".