There are logos you forget five seconds after you see them — and then there are logos so iconic, so clean, so perfectly right that they burn themselves into your brain forever. If you’ve ever flipped on CBC and caught that radiating red “exploding pizza” spinning on your screen, you’ve met Burton Kramer — whether you realized it or not.

Kramer is one of the true giants of Canadian graphic design, and what blows my mind is how quietly revolutionary his work was — and still is. Back in the 1970s, when Canada was defining its cultural identity for a new generation, Kramer was sketching out the visuals that would anchor it all together. His CBC logo — first unveiled in 1974 and sitting right up there at the top of this page — didn’t just update an old broadcast mark. It launched Canadian public media into the modern age, with a design so good it’s still alive (and only slightly tweaked) decades later. Now that is staying power.

Kramer’s roots are in the rigorous, rational world of Swiss Modernism. He trained under some of the best in Switzerland before bringing that crisp, grid-based, Helvetica-loving discipline to Canada. But what I love is how he never let it turn cold or stiff. Look at the CBC logo: it’s basically geometry in motion. It radiates out like a transmission signal, but it’s also warm, energetic, and human. He took a design language that could’ve felt sterile and gave it life.

And let’s not box Kramer in as “just” a logo guy. Over his career, he’s designed everything from signage systems to museum graphics to postage stamps — all with that same clean, intelligent approach. He didn’t chase trends; he set a standard. He taught us that good design isn’t about shouting the loudest — it’s about communicating clearly, beautifully, and in a way that can stand the test of time.

What gets me, though, is how Kramer’s work still feels fresh. In an age of hyper-complex digital graphics and AI-assisted design tools, there’s something thrilling about seeing how powerful a simple shape can be when it’s done right. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best design move is to strip everything back to the essentials — and then push those essentials until they sing.

Personally, I think about Kramer every time I’m fighting the urge to overcomplicate a piece. His legacy is a gentle smack on the wrist for all of us who think more is always better. Design at its best doesn’t pile on layers for the sake of it — it carves away the noise until what’s left feels inevitable. Kramer did that masterfully.

He’s also a teacher and mentor, which makes total sense. You don’t build a design legacy like his without passing that sharp eye for balance and clarity on to the next generation. His influence runs through Canadian design schools, studios, and countless rebrands that owe him a debt, even if they don’t know it.

So here’s to Burton Kramer — the modernist who made Canada look modern, and taught us that sometimes the most radical thing you can do is keep it simple. Next time you catch that CBC symbol flicker on your screen, give a little nod to the guy who drew it up, ruler in hand, with a vision that still feels like tomorrow.