Design-Hazard

In 2001 New York Times Magazine ran a dissapointingly short but interesting article about the design and designer of the biohazard symbol.

Apparently it wasn't invented by a crappy heavy-metal band. It was designed by a man named Charles Baldwin with help from the Dow packaging-department. That's a weird collaboration.

''The color was blaze orange, one of the colors chosen in Arctic exploration as being the most visible under the most conditions. It was three-sided because if it were on a box containing biohazardous material and the box was moved around, transported, it might wind up in different positions. Another thing -- we needed something that was easily stenciled."