01. In the early 1970s, it was President Richard Nixon who promoted the Federal Design Improvement program, which was an initiative meant to upgrade federal design.
In a May 1971 memo, President Nixon directed the heads of all federal departments and agencies to consider how the arts and artists might “be of help to your agency and to its programs.” The overwhelming response was that the federal government needed better offices and better graphics.
Ultimately, more than 45 government agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Postal Service, revamped their graphics under this mandate.
