G is for ....
George Opperman
George Opperman is the guy behind the design of the world famous Atari logo.
George’s design is probably the most recognised logo of any video games company ever.
George actually designed the Atari logo around 1972.
George not only created the Atari logo but also produced art for Atari's arcade cabinets as well as awesome artwork for some of the Atari pinball games, such as Airborne Avenger and Superman.
George passed away in 1985 but his logo still lives on today and forms the last remnants of what is left of the Atari legacy.
Did You Know?
“The logo represents a couple of things related to Atari.
Firstly the curved lines are arranged in a way to show an A (as in A for Atari)
Secondly the other less obvious visual representation is that of two opposing video game players playing a game of Pong......with the centre of the Pong court being represented by the line through the middle.”
When you think of it that way it definitely makes sense.
Here’s a quote from George on the Atari logo design process:
“In 1972, George Ferraco of Atari asked me to work on something for their corporate I.D. Well, symbols are just visual nicknames that combine first letters and interpretive design elements. In six months I went through 150 designs. Anyway, I kept trying to stylize the ‘A,’ then I looked at Pong — their big game at the time. Pong had a centre line and a force (the ball) that kept hitting its centre from either side. I thought that (force) would bend the centre outward. And that’s what I designed.”
There has also been mention that the logo potentially represents certain symbols from the Japanese Kanji ηͺ (tsume, “claw”), ε· (kawa, “river), and ε° (ko, “small”)
Atari embossed merchandise still sells as the logo has stood the test of time and stands resolutely for retro gaming style.
If you go to Funstock.Co.UK * you will see that Atari products still sell to this day whether that’s messenger bags or Atari Flashback consoles.
(*remember to use FREEZER at the checkout for a 5% discount)
“In 1972, George Ferraco of Atari asked me to work on something for their corporate I.D. Well, symbols are just visual nicknames that combine first letters and interpretive design elements. In six months I went through 150 designs. Anyway, I kept trying to stylize the ‘A,’ then I looked at Pong — their big game at the time. Pong had a centre line and a force (the ball) that kept hitting its centre from either side. I thought that (force) would bend the centre outward. And that’s what I designed.”
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