Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the BBC has just posted a 30-minute radio documentary on the history of Milton Glaser’s iconic I ♥ NY logo. The logo has become so ubiquitous that I think we sometimes forget the fact that it was actually designed by someone. The program traces the genesis of the project back to 1977, when NYC was not the tourist magnet it is today. The New York Chamber of Commerce turned to Glaser to help reverse the state’s economic fortune; Glaser created the logo pro bono. Of course, no one foresaw its enormous cultural impact.

The piece will be available for free for the next six days at the BBC web site.