Voyager Golden Record LP label
Contributed by Gavin Niebel on Nov 7th, 2021. Artwork published in
circa 1977
.
Source: voyager.jpl.nasa.gov License: All Rights Reserved.
Created for the launch of the Voyager 1 and 2 space vehicles, this golden record label was put on the two records launched into the depths of space, containing dozens of audio and music clips as well as visuals representative of all of planet Earth, for anyone who might find and decode it a million years or less from its launch, to learn about the tiny civilization on a spec of dust we call home.
The oldstyle roman caps used for “The Sounds of Earth” are from a filled-in version of Caslon Openface. The sender info (“United States of America, Planet Earth”) is set in bold caps from Futura. The NASA logo is custom drawn (Nasalization from 2000 expands its letterforms to a full font).
Source: www.newyorker.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Source: voyager.jpl.nasa.gov License: All Rights Reserved.
5 Comments on “Voyager Golden Record LP label”
Excellent job, Gavin! At first I was skeptical whether the typeface ID was correct. Using an open face and then filling it in is not unheard of, but it struck me as odd here. Between the pointed A, the large angled serifs in E, the curved leg of R, the high bar in H, and the remarkably wide N, there’s no doubt – Caslon Open Face is spot on!
Maybe the designer intended to use the graceful open face, but then realized it was too fragile for the job, and filled in the letterforms. Or maybe there was a prefabricated solid version available as phototype? I checked a few catalogs, but came up empty.
Gavin is a gentleman and revealed that it wasn’t him who found the ID, but master font connoisseur Akira over on the WhatTheFont board. Arigato!
But you can also license the Caslon Open Face as a solid version.
Thanks for the pointer, Kurt! The digital version you linked to is by Image Club and wasn’t around yet around 1977 when the record was made. But yes, it’s likely that some type provider offered a solid version back then as well.