In the Big Think interview, Milton Glaser answers the questions: Are you ever annoyed by the prevalence of the “I Love New York” logo? Are you upset you don’t have the trademark to the image?

“The city was desperate. It was going out of business. A lot of people were moving. There was a sense of despair and sadness. There really was a need for people to express their affection for the city.

“I was sitting here in the office one day and a guy walked in. His name was Bill Doyle. He was the assistant commissioner of commerce. They needed a visualisation for a tagline ‘I love New York.’ So I did something. Made a little note in a cab. I thought it was going to last two weeks. Strangely enough, it worked. It worked because it was a real expression of people’s feelings. They wanted to say it. I love New York.”

— Milton Glaser

Are you ever annoyed by the prevalence of the I Love New York logo?

“No, not in any way. I’m astonished, but not annoyed. You very rarely do anything in your life that gets exploited, if you will, or recognised, or observed, or used to the extent that that has been. I don’t get it. I don’t know why it became an icon that moved around the world. […] It is a great pleasure for me to see that it’s still around and it still seems to be effective.”

One of the most iconic logos of our time.