Paula Scher Designer, artist, educator

I wish I had designed the Verizon logo because I hate it so much. I hate it because it doesn’t have much respect for its audience. The hyperactive “z” is supposed to connote energy and, I assume, connectivity. The poor “z” was so afraid that its public wouldn’t notice that it was energetic, that it went out and got all dressed up in red and added a lengthy gradation on its exaggerated lower stroke. But that wasn’t enough. The poor thing has to wear a big red check mark for a hat. Why? Doesn’t it know that it’s overdressed?

The whole design looks like it was the result of a pile of indecisive internal meetings where an enormous committee ran rampant, suggesting interventions that would make the logo look active. What a shame. I like Verizon as a company more than AT&T, who invariably jack-up my iPhone bill. Verizon deserves a smarter logo.

Paula Scher is a principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991. Some of her most memorable/visible campaigns include The Public Theater posters, logotype for MoMA, The Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet. In 2002, Princeton Architectural Press published her career monograph Make It Bigger.