CPB Logo PNG
CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) is a private, nonprofit corporation established to promote and support public broadcasting in the United States. Over 70% of its funding is distributed to around 1,5 thousand local television and radio stations.
Meaning and history
On November 7, 1967, American President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, marking the establishment of the new entity, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 1970, the corporation founded a network of public radio stations called National Public Radio (NPR), whose primary goal was to make and market radio programs. In 2002–2009, the CPB took an active part in helping public television stations move to digital broadcasting.
What is CPB?
CPB stands for “Corporation for Public Broadcasting”. The publicly funded company established by the American Congress deals with the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting.
1967 – 1969
The first CPB logo was an example of utter minimalism: just three letters in a simple sans-serif typeface. The black-and-white palette perfectly fitted the approach.
1969 – 1975
This version is entirely different. On the one hand, the design is highly recognizable and meaningful. While the previous logo conveyed nothing about the company it belonged to and had zero distinctive elements, this one features glyphs that form a camera lens, representing the broadcasting business. However, you cannot even figure out what the name of the company is, and this kills all the advantages of this design.
1975 – 1978
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo features a stylized version of the Kabel Black typeface. Inside each glyph, there are multiple smaller glyphs, reminiscent of the circles formed by a stone that fell into the water. This structure is a universal way to represent a signal, and it has been widely used in logos of broadcasters and telecommunication companies.
1977 – 1983
While this version is, technically, based on a different typeface, Blippo, it is very similar to its predecessor. The “signal” effect is gone, but the overall style has been preserved. The reason behind the update could be to simplify the design and make it easier to reproduce, although this also means it loses some of its distinctiveness and symbolic meaning.
1983 – 1987, 1999 – 2001
Although the logo was redrawn from scratch, it is clear that some of its recurring themes were preserved. For one, there is still the dominating circular shape. Also, the letters are still lowercase, although they are a bit elongated now. More importantly, the “speed” and “connection” symbols are still there: these concepts are now represented by the extended ends of the “p” and “b”.
1987 – 1991
The designers chose a unique shade of violet blue and added a bright white highlight in the middle of the logo. Such emblems are difficult to reproduce in print, but given that the CPB logo was typically used in digital form, that wasn’t much of an issue.
1991 – 2001
The palette changed, and an outline was added around the circle. The design started to look a bit more polished and professional. The only problem was low contrast, which somewhat damaged the legibility.
2000 – present
The design went through a complete overhaul, becoming more modern. Yet, it’s still based on the brand’s heritage. The name of the company is given in lowercase glyphs, and all of them share the same basic shape. This time, it’s a circle, similar to the logos used from 1975 to 1983. The ends of the “b” and “b” are extended, like in the previous two versions, but in the updated logo, they are straight.
Font and color
While the type has changed multiple times during the history of the CPB logo, one thing has remained the same in almost all versions: the visual rhythm is based on the fact that all the glyphs share a common core element—a circle or an ellipse.
The preferred color scheme for the logo is black and white, making the design easily adaptable to various visual contexts. In the colored version, blue has been often used, which is a popular color for companies dealing with communications and information.
