The current Music in Schools Today logo is the result of a student competition held in 1990, and an interesting tale surrounds the selection process.

A celebrity panel of artists, magazine designers and musicians unanimously selected the submission seen above left by Joselito de Guzman and John O'Connell as the winner of the logo contest from over 200 submissions. One member of the panel, Walter Landor, arrived late. Landor Associates has created some of the best-known product branding in the world, including the Marlboro Man, Coca-Cola and Levi's logos.

Like the thirteenth fairy at Sleeping Beauty's birthday party, Landor attacked the celebrity panel's choice, pointing out that the logo did not clearly state the mission and goals of MuST, and that it appealed to a subtle snobbery about main stage performance. Pounding his cane on the table, he charged that panelists were being seduced by the high quality of the graphics. Everyone was deeply impressed with his clarity about what an icon really means.

He chose Cynthia Crolic's logo (above right) as a rough image of what MuST is about. The celebrity panel voted again, and Landor's view was supported unanimously.

MuST Board Chairwoman Lydia Titcomb pointed out to Landor that although the concept was superior, MuST did not have the resources to commission a professional to render the idea into a commercially viable form. Landor offered the services of one of his favorite graphic artists, Karen Smidth, to help transform the two logos into a synthesis that would represent MuST.

Karen subsequently submitted several renderings to the Board for approval. Her idea for "the bird," as we call our current logo, stemmed directly from ideas presented by the students. She invited them into her studio to show how she created a logo from their ideas, and to coach them on how to approximate professional results.

We are deeply appreciative that Karen has continued to shape the image of the organization over the intervening years. We wish to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Landor, who died in 1995, for his legacy.