Logo design and animation for the Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

The renowned astronomer and educator, Carl Sagan, spent his career exploring the vastness of space and reaches of human imagination. Cornell University was the home base from which he broadcast inspiration to the world. On May 9, 2015, the institute created to extend his legacy was named to honor him: Carl Sagan Institute: The Pale Blue Dot and Beyond.

The Carl Sagan Institute logo animation opens with the famous “Pale Blue Dot” image from the “Family Portrait” series of photos of the solar system taken by Voyager 1 in 1990. The request to turn the camera toward Earth was made to NASA by Carl Sagan. At the moment of the photograph, Voyager 1 was nearly four billion miles away from Earth. Carl wrote later of “our pale blue dot, a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

Our explorations are expanding – equipped with inspiring ideas and advanced technologies – we continue our search for new exoplanets and fingerprints of life in the cosmos.

CLIENT
Ann Druyan, Lisa Kaltenegger, Carl Sagan Institute

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Christo Downs

ANIMATION & VFX
Mark Leiss, Kaan Atilla, Joshua Studebaker, ArsenalCreative. Additional VFX by Jesse Woolston

MUSIC
”Design in Motion” by Jesse Woolston

"At First Touch" by The Sight Below
Rafael Anton Irissari (Ghostly, Sony/ATV)

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Joy Fehily, Los Angeles