Design is in everything we make, but it’s also between those things.
It’s a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda & philosophy.
— Erik Adigard

Well done if you do.
But have you ever wondered how and why the recycling symbol was created.
It was designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson as an entry into a design competition.

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In April 1985 New Coke was introduced in the US
after blind taste tests showed
that American consumers overwhelmingly preferred its taste.
The launch was a disaster
as consumers rejected the new product's taste
once it was presented in Coca-Cola's packaging

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We first learned to satisfy consumers’ needs. Then we realised more was
needed so we strived to delight consumers. Now that too is not enough ...
... consumers need to love the brand.
Saatchi & Saatchi researched “What makes some brands inspirational,
while others struggle?”
They came up with the answer:
Lovemarks: the future beyond brands
[READ MORE]

If you have ever looked at the bottom of a plastic bottle
you may have noticed the triangle symbol with a number in it.
This symbol is important to plastic recyclers to identify
the type of plastic of the packaging.
[READ MORE]

Home | Recycle Symbol

Recycle Symbol

The recycling symbol was designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson, a graduate student at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He designed the symbol as an entry in a US contest, sponsored by the Container Corporation of America, a paperboard company, for environmentally-concerned high school and college students to create a design that would symbolize the paper recycling process

23 year Gary Anderson's prize for his winning entry was a $2,500 tuition grant for further study at any college or university in the world.

When Anderson began designing his three entries for the contest, he drew upon the concept of the Möbius strip as a combination of the finite and the infinite, "a finite object, but its one surface is infinite in a way." He also tried to incorporate the concept of ambiguity, since the symbol is "kind of round, but also kind of angular. It's flat, but it seems to enclose a space ... kind of hexagonal and kind of triangular, and kind of circular ... sort of static and sort of dynamic."

In his original design (left), which the Container Corporation of America modified slightly to make it appear more stable, the symbol rested on one of its short sides, implying a much more dynamic motion and instability than the versions we see today.

The Container Corporation of America tried to register a trademark on the design, but the application was challenged, and they gave up on the claim. That means anyone may use or modify the recycling symbol, royalty free.