Happy Birthday National Geographic Society!
Happy Birthday to the National Geographic Society! Founded on this date, January 27, in 1888, for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.” I’d particularly like to draw attention to Gilbert H. Grosvenor, the 2nd editor for the societies’ flagship National Geographic Magazine.
Grosvenor is credited with being the father of photo journalism when he dumped the original format of dense articles to photo heavy articles for a lay audience. The groundbreaking photography has helped highlight our common humanity, as well as the breathtaking beauty and power of nature, the past, and the universe.
There are definitely issues with the way people were portrayed and exoticised, especially in the past, but on balance the work of the society, the publication, and their television specials outweighs much of the negative. It certainly opened my eyes to the vastness of the world and, as a child, helped me see far beyond the limited vistas of my small home town every month.
As a piece of communication the magazine and its instantly recognizable yellow border was one of my first lessons in the power of branding. At a glance, I knew exactly what it was from across the room. For me, this was especially true in bowels of the Yesteryear used bookstore, my hometown’s long lost massive and magical used bookstore. In the back section of the store, beyond science fiction and astronomy was the store’s collection of back issues of National Geographic Magazine.
The Yesteryear holds such powerful memories, the musty smell, the labyrinthine shelves with a treasure around every corner. Specifically, I recall as a kid exploring the store and going into the back corner of the and seeing, lined up on a massive shelf, an entire sea of yellow spines. Each one calling to me to pull it off the shelf, crack the binding and go on an adventure. It might be in the tomb of a long forgotten pharaoh, a river trip hemmed by verdant and luxuriant jungles, or a trip in to the outer reaches of the cosmos, you just never knew…
Not to mention the amazing opening fanfare in the opening credits for societies television specials. Composed by famed award winning composer Elmer Bernstein. My inner 10 year-old still gets totally pumped hearing the bam-bam-bam-baaam horns in the intro.
My older graphic designer self loves the magazines commitment and execution of fantastic maps and visualizations, really top notch in every way. So thank you National Geographic Society for all the years of wonder.
