Who designed Black Flag's four-bar logo?

Who designed Black Flag’s four-bar logo? Raymond Pettibon designed it.

Pettibon was born Raymond Ginn and was the younger brother of Black Flag guitarist and founder Greg Ginn. When the band changed its name from Panic in 1978, Pettibon suggested “Black Flag” and created the stark emblem of four vertical black bars shaped like a flag rippling in the wind.

The logo became one of punk’s most recognizable images because it was easy to reproduce on flyers, stickers, shirts and walls. Its visual simplicity matched the band’s aggressive, do-it-yourself presentation and helped Black Flag build a distinctive identity before it had broad commercial exposure.

A common mix-up is to credit Winston Smith or another punk artist because several influential musicians used memorable political graphics. Pettibon also produced much of Black Flag’s artwork, but the four-bar logo is specifically his design. He later became a major American contemporary artist in his own right.