RIP Mr. Yuk’s creator

As a communications professional, I’m a big fan of branding and understanding why people and organizations choose the logos they do.

One of the greatest logos of all time, especially in terms of brand recognition (we all know what it means when we see it), is the poison symbol. Its creator, Dr. Richard Moriarty of the Pittsburgh Poison Center, has passed away at age 83.

Mr. Yuk was created in 1971 as a way to show that certain products on the shelves should not be ingested. He knew his audience, and enlisted kids to help design the logo since of course kids would mainly be the people who would need to recognize it.

RIP Dr. Moriarty knowing that your logo lives on.