I saw a wallpaper with the NASA meatball logo on an LTT video where the text was replaced with kana glyphs. I liked the idea and found the page on Reddit. Some comments were not kind.
The designer was called out for simply using the “literal” translation of the word space – スペース (or “SUPĀSU”). Some showed understanding since NASA does not simply translate to four kana glyphs, and others suggested using another word. And that is where the idea for this wallpaper was born.
Japan’s space agency JAXA has a four glyph hiragana translation: ジャクサ. At first I tried finding a CJK typeface which closely matched the characteristics of the NASA logotype, but nothing came close. So, I started drawing.
The first version looked nice and futuristic, but it didn’t have the same feel as the NASA lettering, and I was worried that with how I drew the glyphs to fit into my idea of concentric circles they lost their meaning. So, back to the drawing board…
The second version hews much closer to the real hiragana glyphs, but finds a nice middle ground with strong influences from the original NASA lettering.
I know this is a complete bastardization of the meatball logo which goes against all of the NASA brand guidelines, but it does look good. To me, at least.
