National Science Foundation is the name of the American agency, oriented on education and scientific research. The agency was established in 1959 and by today it has grown into a huge organization, which works closely with universities and edu-cational centers across the USA.
The only thing in common between the original logo of the National Science Foun-dation and the one we can see today is its circular shape, all the other elements, including the color palette, have been completely changed throughout the years, and it says a lot about the organization’s progress and growth.
The very first logo for the Foundation was introduced in 1950 and boasted a heraldic eagle holding a crest and framed into a circular wordmark, where the name of the organization was written in all capitals of a traditional sans-serif typeface. The monochrome badge looked elegant and strong, showing the value of traditions, legacy, and patriotism.
The redesign of 1972 brought individuality and exquisite style to the National Science Foundation’s logo, dramatically changing its emblem to something unique and modern. The new logo was composed of a white circle in a black outline, with the “NSF” abbreviation in the lowercase, placed in its middle. The main part of the em-blem was the circle’s framing, which was formed by numerous stylized figures of the people holding their hands. Those figures also resembled five-pointed stars and looked sleek and beautiful, when set around the laconic logotype.
Another version of the emblem was introduced in 1984. Here the small circle with the inscription was replaced by a black-and-white globe, and the lettering was now placed around the badge, in all capitals of a simple sans-serif typeface, with all three words separated from each other by solid black dots.
In 1999 the version with the globe was modified by removing the long wordmark from the perimeter of the emblem and placing a bold serif abbreviation in the middle of the globe. The monochrome palette was changed and nail the middle parts featured a three-dimensional glide in gradient blue and green, while the framing with star-people was colored in gradient gold. The “NSF” lettering was colored white for better visibility.
In 2009 the National Science Foundation Logo was refined by making its unique golden frame smaller and the figures it is composed of — shorter. As for the globe, it got enlarged, as well as the lettering on it.
The “NSF” abbreviation, placed in the middle of the globe on the National Science Foundation Logo is executed in a bold and very elegant serif typeface, which is very similar to Nimbus Roman family fonts, timeless and strong ones.
As for the emblem’s color palette, it consists of three main shades — blue, gray, and gold, and complemented by white lettering. This combination evokes a sense of authority and expertise, pointing to the organization’s large experience and pro-fessionalism and showing it at its best.