Nirvana “Smiley Face” logo
Date
Credits
- Nirvana Musician
- Robert Fisher 3 Designer
- Kurt Cobain Designer
The smiley face icon of the grunge band Nirvana, whose creator remains disputed, depicts a crudely drawn smiley face with Xs for eyes and its tongue sticking out.
The logo which has since become an iconic image of the grunge aesthetic and movement along with the band appeared at its earliest on an invitation poster for the release party the band held for their major label debut album, Nevermind on September 13, 1991.
Who created the logo is disputed. The art director for the band, Robert Fisher claims that he created the logo back in the summer of 1991 just before the release of Nevermind. Fisher claims that he designed the logo by playing around with variations of the smiley face that he drew in his final year at Otis College when acid culture was at its peak.
However, it's claimed by the band's surviving members, Dave Grohl and Kirst Novoselic as well as Cobain's widow, Courtney Love that the logo was designed by Kurt Cobain himself.
In 2018, fashion company Marc Jacobs released its “Bootleg Redux Grunge” collection which included clothing items possessing the same smiley face design with an “M” and a “J” in place of the eyes and the word “HEAVEN” written above the face in the Onyx typeface, the same used in the band's logo. Nirvana LLC filed a lawsuit against Marc Jacobs, alleging copyright infringement and violating trademark laws. Marc Jacobs filed a countersuit, alleging that Nirvana LLC lacked sufficient evidence regarding the origins of the X-eyed smiley face. As of July 2024, the two parties have seemed to reached an understanding but the full details of the lawsuit are unknown, according to Radio X.
Sources:
https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/nirvana/what-does-the-nirvana-smiley-face-logo-mean/
