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65His creation went on to become one of the most recognisable pieces of graphic design in Australia.In 1965, the ABC was searching for a new logo. After some struggle, it turned to Bill Kennard, a senior graphic designer for the national broadcaster. Bill had been building a team of talented designers at the ABC, and the Englishborn designer was a great talent scout %u2013 at one point, artists such as Tim Storrier and John Coburn were part of the graphics department. But Bill was also skilled with a pencil. When designing the new ABC logo, Bill drew inspiration from the Lissajous curve, a waveform seen on an oscilloscope when measuring audio and television frequencies.The ABC brass approved the design, paying Bill 25 pounds for his trouble. His creation went on to become one of the most recognisable pieces of graphic design in Australia.In 1974, to reflect the introduction of colour TV, the logo received a facelift, evolving into the thicker version we know and love today. There was a brief detour between 2001 and 2014 when the logo appeared as a silver 3D design, before reverting back to the original.In the late 1990s, ABC fans across the nation got to engage with the logo, tracing it in the air as a sign of a%u00a0ection for their national broadcaster. Why is the logo important? I think ABC chair Kim Williams puts it best. %u2018It is an imaginative way of rendering what the ABC does as a national broadcaster %u2013 transforming inputs into creative outputs in captivating, imaginative ways. It has been through many design iterations and is as durably imaginative today as its first execution over 60 years ago. It has remarkably high recognition value and telegrams as a symbol that %u201cthis is your national broadcaster, the ABC%u201d to all that see it.%u2019It%u2019s true. Whether you were watching Countdown, listening to the cricket on%u00a0the radio, or wondering if Costa was going to get his beard caught in the potting mix, when you saw that symbol, you knew %u2013 it was always your ABC.YEAR 1965DESIGNER Bill Kennard (ABC)
