The MIT Press colophon, a stark arrangement of seven vertical bars, has served as the publisher’s logo since the 1960s. Designed by Muriel Cooper, the press’s first design director, the mark is an abstract rendering of seven book spines resting on an unseen shelf, arranged in an approximation of the lowercase letters m, i, t, and p.[1] The emblem has graced the spines of all books and journals published by the MIT Press since its creation.[2]
Design and History
The MIT Press as it exists today was formed in 1962, when MIT’s in-house publishing arm, the Technology Press, was renamed and reorganized as a freestanding publishing operation.[3] That same year, Muriel Cooper was hired as art director at the MIT Press, becoming the first design director among American university presses.[1] Under her direction, the press underwent a visual makeover that included a distinctive graphic design for its books, promotional pieces, letterhead, and the colophon.[3]
The colophon was initially offered to designer Paul Rand in 1962, who turned down the project and suggested it be offered to Cooper instead.[4] Sources differ on the exact year of the design’s completion, with the MIT Press citing 1964 in its history pages and 1965 in its MoMA acquisition announcement.[3][2] The MIT Media Lab also dates the logo to 1965.[5]
An early large-scale sketch of the design shows Cooper’s process: a geometric row of seven books on a shelf, from which she pulled one book up to extend over the others and pulled the preceding book down to drop below the implied edge of the bookshelf. She then flattened these seven book spines to form the abstracted lowercase letters m, i, t, and p.[1]
The colophon has remained essentially unchanged since its creation. The MIT Press brand guidelines dictate that it appear as-is in black-and-white across most physical products, digital communications, and event collateral, with occasional exceptions for commemorative occasions.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The colophon’s seven vertical bars represent the lowercase letters “mitp” as abstracted books on a shelf.[2] The design also resembles a barcode, a resemblance noted as remarkable given that the colophon was designed before barcodes were widely in use.[6] Cooper herself had the insight that the design could be machine readable, almost like a barcode, reflecting her forward-looking approach to publishing and electronic information.[7]
In 2023, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) acquired the MIT Press colophon into its permanent collection, making it the only publisher logo to earn that distinction.[2][8]
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