GRAPHIC GENIUS

Iconic James Bond Designer Dies Day Before 104th Birthday

The artist’s classic 007 gun logo was created for just $300.

Joe Caroff, the prolific graphic designer who created the iconic 007 pistol logo for the James Bond movies, died in New York on Sunday, the day before he would have turned 104. Caroff’s instantly recognizable logo was created for the first James Bond film, 1962’s Dr No. “I knew [Bond’s] designation was 007, and when I wrote the stem of the seven, I thought ‘That looks like the handle of a gun to me’. It was very spontaneous, no effort, it was an instant piece of creativity,” the designer said of his creation. In a 2022 documentary he noted, “I knew that 007 meant license to kill; that, I think, at an unconscious level, was the reason I knew the gun had to be in the logo.” Caroff was paid $300 for the classic logo, which has been used ever since in Bond films and merchandise, and received no royalties. However Caroff said it “bought me a lot of business” as it became “a little publicity piece for me.” Caroff also designed posters for films including West Side Story, A Hard Day’s Night, and Cabaret and retired in 2006 to concentrate on painting. His sons Peter and Michael said their father died in home hospice care in Manhattan.