Interesting Obit for the man who designed the MLB logo in 1968

[ValKehl]

I think all will enjoy this read from today's Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...bb6_story.html

[vansaad]

Neat story. Thanks for sharing. It seems wrong he never received any royalties.

[HotSpringsBaseball]

Val, thanks for posting. Mr Dior was a wonderful, kind hearted gentleman. I had the pleasure of conversing with him via phone and mail a few years ago. He signed a couple sketches and other paperwork on the logo. Thankfully, even though late in his life, he got the credit he deserved. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

[jerseygary]

"It seems wrong he never received any royalties"

That's just the nature of the design business, especially back then. Dior worked for an agency that had MLB as one of its many clients. The agency was hired for a fee to design a logo and they were paid for that service, as was Dior. Neither the agency or the designer expected a royalty.

Yes the MLB logo was a very successful design, but what of the hundreds of others Dior or the agency he worked for designed that did not succeed. The designer isn't expected to refund his payment because the product didn't succeed, right?

Today, some graphic designers do work on a royalty fee or ensure they receive credit for their work, but this is a relatively new thing - especially since the advent of computers made everyone's brother-in-law think they are "graphic designers". Back when Dior was designing only the superstars of design like Saul Bass or Paul Rand were powerful enough to make sure they got credit for their work or sometimes received royalties on their work.

Don't feel too bad for Dior, he had a good career and though his name might not have been well known as the MLB logo designer, I'm sure its place in his portfolio opened many doors for him throughout his career.