Which firm conceived the original VMA astronaut statue?

The firm that conceived the original VMA astronaut statue was Manhattan Design.

The trophy grew out of MTV’s launch identity: an astronaut planting an MTV flag on the Moon, using imagery associated with the Apollo 11 mission. Manhattan Design, the New York graphic-design collective behind MTV’s original logo, adapted that animated concept into a three-dimensional statuette.

The figure is commonly called the “Moonman,” although MTV has increasingly used “Moon Person.” It is not simply a replica of Buzz Aldrin’s famous lunar photograph; the trophy combines the astronaut pose with MTV’s branding and the network’s early visual language.

The design has occasionally been reinterpreted. KAWS redesigned the statue for the 2013 ceremony in Brooklyn, and Kehinde Wiley created a new version for the 2021 VMAs. Those temporary redesigns can cause confusion, but Manhattan Design is credited with the original concept.