The United States Space Force hasn’t had the smoothest take-off when it comes to graphic design. Its first logo was ruthlessly mocked to look like Star Trek’s, then Netflix’s show Space Force grabbed the trademark rights from under its nose. The US Space Force has now unveiled a brand new logo – but judging by the response online, its woes are far from over.
The new logo was unveiled yesterday on Twitter, along with a new motto: “Semper supra” (which means “always above”). The new logo features a triangular delta, adorned with various space-related details (more on those below). But one of the main qualities of our best logos is that they can’t be confused with anything else – and Twitter users think the new US Space Force logo looks very, very familiar to them.
Today we are proud to present the Space Force logo to the world. Over the next few hours, we’ll be sharing the history and legacy of our new logo. pic.twitter.com/tKe8QCWEiGJuly 22, 2020
Much like the agency’s first logo (which the agency now calls a “seal,” by the way), many see this new symbol as a Star Trek rip-off – but more so this time around. Indeed, the triangular shape containing a star is very reminiscent of the fictional Starfleet insignia (below). With the Netflix trademark rights debacle and this new round of online roasting, it seems the US Space Force design team can’t take a break.
SPACE FORCE: Hey, can I copy your homework? STAR TREK: Sure, tweak it a bit so it doesn’t seem obvious that you copied. SPACE FORCE: of course https://t.co/IxrTpAOM1FJuly 22, 2020
The Space Force apparently finally settled on a logo and a motto. The logo, to no one’s surprise, is a continued plagiarism of Star Trek (a delta symbol with a polar star inset) Their motto? “Semper Supra”, which in Latin means “Always on top”.July 22, 2020
As if to anticipate accusations of plagiarism, the US Space Force account tweeted a series of explanations as to why this is definitively not the Star Trek logo. The silver border is said to represent “protection from all adversaries”, while the star symbolizes the North Star, Polaris. The two arrows inside the delta represent “the action of a rocket launching into the outer atmosphere”.
Space Force logo on the left. Pontiac logo upside down on the right. pic.twitter.com/jLDX1fvuwqJuly 22, 2020
Despite the explanations, it’s hard not to wonder why the US Space Force launched a second logo that looks even more like like Star Trek, especially with the addition of the star. Not only that, but said star opened up the logo to a second comparison – many Twitter users are also suggesting it resembles that of car brand Pontiac (above). The next time the US government needs some inspiration, we recommend checking out our logo design guide.
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