My daughter calls me “Batman” and my lucky number is 27 so this post is rather personal and close to my heart. When some of my most adored actors, musicians, and artists pass on I create a tribute piece honoring their memory. I also create works for other fan favorites who have passed on going back decades. Since I started these tributes in 2014 I have designed visual remembrances for Christopher Reeve, Robin Williams, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elvis, Harry Houdini, and Bill Bixby, among others. When our original live action Batman passed in 2017 I added Adam West to my list. The Batman legacy goes back nearly 86 years, and began when we were first introduced to him in an issue of Detective Comics.
We’ve been hooked by The Dark Knight’s exploits since Bob Kane, artist, and Bill Finger, writer, introduced us to the Batman in 1939 in Detective Comics issue #27. Since Batman’s inception artists have been riffing on the design of his iconic calling card, the Bat Signal. His arsenal of vehicles, gadgets, and weapons all don monikers in seemingly endless applications of Batman’s sleek, legendary brand. Every offshoot of his shadowy legacy introduces another plethora of reinventions of his favorite bat toy concepts always giving him an edge against the baddies.
There have been numerous attempts in spelling out “Batman” within the shape of the logo from comic books to the big screen. None of them ever satisfied what I thought could make the mark even more iconic. If there was a way, a puzzle hidden within the geometry of the letters, that could be plotted forming both the logo and the letters simultaneously, a true graphic design nirvana just might be achieved. This exercise was put into motion the week Adam West passed at age 88 from leukemia.
When Adam West died on June 9th in 2017 I got to work. I thought it was just the right moment to design a logo tribute for the original live action Batman himself. After half an hour of thumbnail sketches I arrived at a potential solve. I hopped into Adobe Illustrator and over the course of a few hours I arrived at a solution that captured both the bat symbol and the name hidden within the letterforms. I achieved the holographic version with Adobe After Effects, Video Copilot Element 3D, and Maxon Red Giant Holomatrix and Universe.
Don’t miss the video below when Los Angeles City Hall paid tribute to Adam West for his rich history “making people happy, making them laugh, and trying to make this world a better place.”
I’ve also included a mix of silly scenes from The Lego Batman Movie from February 10th, 2017. Best Lego movie ever!
. . .
“Black. All important movies start with a black screen. And music. Edgy, scary music that would make a parent or studio executive nervous. And logos. Really long and dramatic logos. Warner Bros. Why not Warner Brothers? I dunno.
DC. The house that Batman built. Yeah what Superman? Come at me bro. I’m your kryptonite. Hmm, not sure what RatPac does, but that logo is macho. I dig it.
Okay. Get yourself ready for some…reading. ‘If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change. Hooo.’ — Michael Jackson. No. I said that. Batman is very wise.
I also have huge pecs, and a nine-pack. Yeah, I’ve got an extra ab. Now, let’s start the movie.”
— Excerpts from my favorite Batman film, The Lego Batman Movie, 2017.