Arturo Vega, designer of iconic Ramones logo, dies aged 65
The artistic director of the Ramones, Arturo Vega, the man who was behind the design of the brand’s iconic logo, has died at the age of 65.
Vega, who also designed many of the band’s album covers, designed the logo for the brand in the 70’s to sell on T-shirts at their concerts, inspired by the seal of the US President after a trip he had taken to Washington.
Discussing the design of the logo with Jim Bessman for his book Ramones: An American Band, Vega explained: “I saw them as the ultimate all-American band. To me, they reflected the American character in general — an almost childish innocent aggression…I thought, ‘The Great Seal of the President of the United States’ would be perfect for the Ramones, with the eagle holding arrows — to symbolize strength and the aggression that would be used against whomever dares to attack us — and an olive branch, offered to those who want to be friendly. But we decided to change it a little bit. Instead of the olive branch, we had an apple tree branch, since the Ramones were American as apple pie. And since Johnny was such a baseball fanatic, we had the eagle hold a baseball bat instead of the arrows.”
He also ran the brand’s website RamonesWorld.com.