Reknowned graphic designer Peter Good, forever associated with his iconic logo design for the NHL Hartford Whalers, passed away on May 2 at the age of 80. During a career that spanned more than 50 years, Good, along with his wife Janet Cummings Good, created hundreds of lasting logos, packaging and advertising for corporations, institutions and nonprofits. In his home state, you can see Good’s work for the Mark Twain House and Museum, the University of Connecticut oak leaf, and the Wadsworth Atheneum, among many others.
The Hartford Whalers logo, which featured a stylized “W” with a green whale tail, quickly became one of the most recognizable logos in sports. The logo was praised for its simplicity, elegance, and the way it captured the essence of the team and the city. Good also designed logos for other sports teams, including the New Haven Nighthawks and the New England Blizzard.
Good was a Hartford native and graduate of Bulkeley High and UConn, where he studied graphic design. He and Cummings ran a successful art and design firm, Cummings and Good. His work has been featured in collections of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, DC; The Museum fur Kunst und Gerwerbe, in Hamburg, Germany; the Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich; and the Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Japan. In addition, he received a CT Commission on the Arts, Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, A CT Art Directors Hall of Fame award in 1995, Uconn’s University Medal in 1997; and was named an AIGA fellow in 2009.
Kevin Hall of Kevin Hall Design in Milford CT was close with Good and spoke for many when he told GDUSA: “Peter was a dear friend and mentor to many of us here in the graphic design community who will be greatly missed.”
