 | |
| Owner | NY Department of Economic Development |
|---|---|
| Produced by | New York State Department of Commerce /Milton Glaser (designer) |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | July 15, 1977 (1977-07-15) |
| Registered as atrademark in | 73758742 |
| Website | www |
I Love New York (stylizedI❤ NY) is aslogan, alogo, and asong that are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm Wells, Rich, and Greene under the directorship ofMary Wells Lawrence[1] used since 1977 to promotetourism in the state ofNew York.[2][3] Theservice marked logo, owned by theNew York State Department of Economic Development,[4] appears in souvenir shops and brochures throughout the state, some licensed, many not.
"I Love New York" is the official state slogan of New York.[5] The logo was designed by graphic designerMilton Glaser in 1976 in the back of a taxi and was drawn with red crayon on scrap paper.[6] The original drawing is held in theMuseum of Modern Art in Manhattan. The song was written bySteve Karmen and its copyright was donated by him to the state.
The logo consists of the capital letterI, followed by a redheart symbol (❤), below which are the capital lettersN andY, set in the roundedslab seriftypefaceAmerican Typewriter.[7]
In 1976, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of theNew York State Department of Commerce hired advertising agencyWells Rich Greene to develop amarketing campaign for the State of New York. Doyle also recruitedMilton Glaser, a productivegraphic 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.[8] 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'sLOVE pop art image.[9]
Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple months and did the workpro bono.[7] The innovativepop-style icon became a major success and has continued to be sold for years. In the popular mind (though this was not the original intention), the logo has become closely associated with New York City, and the placement of the logo on plain white T-shirts readily sold in the city has widely circulated the appearance of the image, making it a commonly recognized symbol. Glaser's original concept sketch and presentation boards were donated by Doyle to the permanent collection of theMuseum of Modern Art, New York.[9] The logo and Glaser's sketch are included in MoMA's 2025 exhibitionPirouette: Turning Points in Design, a collection of "widely recognized design icons [...] highlighting pivotal moments in design history," such as theBean Bag chair, theSony Walkman portable cassette player, and theNASAWorm insignia.[10][11][12]
The image became especially prominent following theSeptember 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 theWorld Trade Center site.[7] The black spot approximates the site's location on lowerManhattan Island. The poster was printed in theNew 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."[7]
State anthem ofNew York | |
| Lyrics | Steve Karmen, 1977 |
|---|---|
| Music | Steve Karmen, 1977 |
| Published | 1977 |
| Adopted | 1980 |
"I Love New York" was written and composed bySteve Karmen in 1977 as part of the advertising campaign. In 1980, GovernorHugh 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.[13]
Karmen wrote a new verse for the song in 2020, during the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York City to emphasize the city's resilience.[14] However, it was never commercially recorded nor used.
Original 1977 lyrics:
I love New York
(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:
Whenever we face a crisis
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
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♠ [spayed] My Pets" or "I♣ [club]Seals", have also appeared.[15] Facetious expressions beginning "I heart...", are based on a literal reading of the logo (e.g., the 2004 independent filmI Heart Huckabees and the audio conglomerateiHeartMedia).
New York state government has repeatedly attempted to uphold its trademark; by 2005, the state had filed nearly 3,000 objections against imitators,[16] and 100 "trademark objections and cease-and-desist letters" were filed in 2012 alone.[17] Some objections have been ruled void, such as when a court concluded in 1980 that the producers ofSaturday Night Live did not infringe on the copyrights of the "I Love New York" campaign with its "I LoveSodom" skit, ruling instead that it was a parody.[18][19]
In March 2023, as part of a revitalisation campaign after the COVID-19 pandemic, thePartnership 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.[20] The text changes the state abbreviation "NY" to the city abbreviation "NYC", and the pronoun from I to "we". The graphic uses asans-serif font inall caps, in which the heart symbol hasshading 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.[21][22][23]
The logo, according to products it's printed on, is the service mark of the state Department of Economic Development.
