@annakatehart
Instagram · Graphic Yap
@annakatehart Are you team worm or team meatball!? Every graphic designer instantly knows what this question means. Leave a comment and let me know which @nasa logo is your favorite! #graphicdesign #branding #logo #strategy #nasa
Performance
Video #48532 · Graphic Yap
[01]
The creator tells the detailed history of NASA's two iconic logos, the 'meatball' and the 'worm.' She explains the origins of the original 'meatball' logo, the reasons for its 1970s redesign into the minimalist 'worm,' the controversy surrounding the new design, its abrupt retirement in 1992, and its eventual revival and current coexistence with the original logo.
[02]
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[05]
What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds
Title hook · 50%
Are you team worm or team meatball?
Verbal hook · 45%
Are you team worm or are you team meatball?
Visual hook · 5%
A woman sits at a desk speaking directly to the camera while holding a small lavalier microphone up to her mouth, creating a distinct and slightly unusual visual for a talking head video.
[06]
Steal this for your own video
Are you team or team ?
[07]
The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back
Hook
Poses a polarizing, insider question that creates a knowledge gap and promises to tell the secret story behind a niche debate, compelling both insiders and outsiders to watch.
Payoff
Re-frames the initial hook as a final call to action, empowering the now-informed viewer to cast their vote and join the debate, often with a provocative final line to maximize engagement.
[08]
The structural pattern this video runs on
Framework
The Secret History Showdown
To hook viewers with a niche, binary question ('Team A or Team B?'), then reveal the dramatic and often unknown history behind the two options, culminating in a call to action that asks the now-informed viewer to declare their allegiance.
The Incumbent's Legacy
Establishes the first option as the classic, respected original, detailing its positive history and cultural significance.
The Inciting Flaw
Introduces a critical problem or weakness with the original option, creating a logical reason for a change and setting up the central conflict.
The Radical Challenger
Introduces the second option as a modern, starkly different alternative, highlighting its departure from the original.
The Controversial Reign
Details the period of conflict where the new option took over, facing resistance but ultimately becoming the new standard for a time.
The Shocking Reversal
Delivers a major plot twist where the original option is suddenly and dramatically brought back, seemingly defeating the challenger.
The Underground Resurrection
Reveals that the 'defeated' challenger survived through popular support or niche appeal and eventually made an official comeback.
The Unresolved Standoff
Describes the current, complex situation where both opposing options now coexist, leaving the conflict officially unresolved.
Are you team worm or team meatball!? Every graphic designer instantly knows what this question means. Leave a comment and let me know which @nasa logo is your favorite! #graphicdesign #branding #logo #strategy #nasa
title · throughout
Are you team worm or team meatball?
contextual · beginning
1959
contextual · beginning
1970s
contextual · middle
Danne & Blackburn
contextual · middle
1992
contextual · end
2020
Are you team worm worse are you team meatball? Every graphic designer knows exactly what this question means. If you don't, stick around for the story of one of the most dramatic rebrands in history. This is the meatball. NASA started using it around 1959, and it became synonymous with the golden age of space travel. But by the seventies, NASA was noticing some issues with the logo. It didn't scale down very well, and there wasn't a visual identity system in place. So they looked to a tiny New York studio called Dana Blackburn to help. Instead of tweaking the meatball, they went in the complete opposite direction, And they created this, now known as the worse, along with a full visual identity of fonts and systems to compliment it. Not everyone loved it. There's a famous story that the NASA administrator, James Fletcher, apparently looked at the missing crossbars rank the A's, and joked that he didn't feel like they were getting their money's worth. But it got approved, and it became NASA's official identity tier stayed that way for nearly two decades. Then in 1992, the new NASA administrator abruptly killed it and brought the meatball back, which blindsided everyone. But the worm didn't die. It still showed up on clothes and pop culture, and eventually NASA finally officially used it as a secondary logo on a rocket in 2020. So now these very different logos are somehow coexisting. Who knows where their brand guidelines stand? So are you tier warm or team meatball? There's only one right answer.