Who designed the United States Bicentennial logo that preceded America250?

Bruce Blackburn designed the United States Bicentennial logo that preceded America250.

The logo was created for the American Revolution Bicentennial and consisted of a white five-pointed star inside a stylized red, white, and blue star. Around it appeared the words “American Revolution Bicentennial 1776–1976” in Helvetica. The design became a highly visible symbol of the 1970s national observance.

Blackburn was a graphic designer who also helped create NASA’s modernized insignia, often called the “worm,” introduced in 1975. The Bicentennial identity appeared on government facilities, flags, commemorative materials, postage stamps, and souvenirs. NASA painted it on the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in 1976.

The logo is sometimes mistakenly attributed to NASA because NASA displayed it so prominently, but Blackburn designed the Bicentennial mark itself. America250 is a separate 2026 commemoration with its own branding and organizational structure. The earlier logo remains an example of how national anniversaries can use a single graphic symbol across public life.