IRIDIUM: Stellar brandmark for your satellite cellphone

A use of identity, by a leader

New: Iridium's Big Dipper logo

Launched: Board approval October 15, 1998

Story in brief:
It took a decade to build the product. Time, now, to start marketing it; for that, Staiano knew "we need a more powerful brand identity." He got it from Landor, a logo based on Ursa Major, the Big Dipper.

This largest privately-funded startup in history was envisioned in 1987, and named, by engineers in Motorola. Why "iridium?" They planned to orbit Earth with a constellation of 77 telecommunication satellites (later reduced to 66); and the nucleus of (guess what element?) is orbited by 77 electrons. That's conceptually elegant. The new logo is a second leap of creativity.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Dr. Edward F. Staiano
Naming - Internal (Motorola, 1987)
Design - VP Marketing John Windolph working with Landor Associates

First Impressions:
Simply brilliant. Given the wonderful name, how easy it would have been for engineer/CEO Dr. Edward F. Staiano to settle for another orbit-swoosh cliché logo. He acceded instead to the council of his 31-year-old VP Marketing John Windolph, and the design recommendation of Landor Associates. The Big Dipper promises Iridium's reliable presence, way up there, with a symbol a bushman sees the same way you and I do.