Logo Design

James Hetfield originally designed the Metallica logo at Ron McGovney's house, "scribbling on a napkin." James had taken four years of drafting in high school and perfected the sketch into a professional logo himself. This design has lasted forty years because, as James said, "it had barbs on it, and it stuck." ​ ​

IMAGES:​

Sheet of Metallica logos in black, various sizes, 1982. From the Collection of Lars Ulrich ​ ​

Metallica's first business card, printed by Ron McGovney, 1982. McGovney recalled thinking that the cards looked plain with only the logo and the phone number, so he added the tagline "Power Metal," causing some initial dissatisfaction within the band before the term was embraced. From the Collection of Lars Ulrich​ ​

James Hetfield's personal t-shirt with the Metallica logo printed multiple times in red. From the Collection of James Hetfield