Why was the coexist symbol created?

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The Theft Of The Logo Was A Lucrative Move For The Indiana Students
Although The Founders Claim Otherwise, The Original Designer Never Gave Them Permission To Use The Logo
The "Coexist" Symbol Was Used As Graffiti Throughout Europe
The College Students Wanted The Rights To The Design So They Could Sue Other Companies

Photo: Sonny Abesamis / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

The Theft Of The Logo Was A Lucrative Move For The Indiana Students

In 2003, a group of college students from Indiana incorporated a company called Coexist, LLP. The aspiring designers sent Mlodozeniec a letter in 2005 from aspiring designers asking for the artist's permission to use the logo he created.

The shirts the college students sold went for over $50, and a rumor spread that Ashton Kutcher wore one. The brand had grown significantly since its founding, hence the need to copyright a logo that wasn't even theirs to begin with.

Photo: zeevveez / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Although The Founders Claim Otherwise, The Original Designer Never Gave Them Permission To Use The Logo

The founders of Coexist, LLP, took the liberty of using the design for two years before reaching out to Mlodozeniec for permission. However, the students claim that they had approval from the start of their venture.

Mlodozeniec says that their claims aren't true; he says he had never heard of the group and didn't know what they were doing with his original work. Although the company implied that they received his blessing, he made it very clear in subsequent interviews that he did no such thing.

Photo: elPadawan / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

The "Coexist" Symbol Was Used As Graffiti Throughout Europe

Once Mlodozeniec's design was selected as one of the top 20 in the Museum of the Seam's coexistence-themed contest, it went on tour with the collection around Europe as a 3-by-5 meter poster. It was a standout in the group of entries.

Once the poster had traveled through Europe, it quickly became a popular form of graffiti. It was supposedly after the graffiti spread to America that both students in Indiana and Bono noticed the design.

Photo: Yanksox / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

The College Students Wanted The Rights To The Design So They Could Sue Other Companies

Mlodozeniec made it very clear that he did not approve of the college students' use of his modified design. He believed that their motivations were financial and did not match the spirit of the design itself, especially since they made it known that they wanted permission to use the design so they could sue others who were using it. He stated in an interview with a blogger that, "the company promotes a feeling that they are idealistic and for the peace, but they are only interested in the money. They are dishonest people."

He also added that, "They phoned me. They tried to ask me to give them permission. I told them I don't like it and I want them to stop doing this... They make the suggestion that I have approved what they are doing. The truth is, I am strongly, strongly against them... As it is not enough, they are suing other people who use this design. So I do very strongly oppose that."

It’s sad how something that was designed to foster mutual understanding and good will among all people has instead become the subject of litigation and rancor. The infamous “Coexist” logo, with each letter designed to look like an icon representing a different religion or ideology, has become a staple of bumper stickers across America, joining the ranks of such classic phrases as “Baby On Board” and “How’s My Driving? Call 1-800-Eat-Shit.” The meaning of the sanctimonious sticker is obvious at a glance, but where did “Coexist” come from? The team at Vox traced it back to a Polish graphic designer named Piotr Mlodozeniec, who isn’t thrilled about what’s become of his creation. Mlodozeniec tells his story in a five-minute mini-documentary entitled “The Big Fight Over Coexist.” The logo, he explains, was originally created for a competition at a Jerusalem art museum in the year 2000. The artist’s version replaced only three letters, the C, the X, and the T. A more cluttered version, with every letter transformed into an icon, was done later by others. “The better is the enemy of the good,” Mlodozeniec laments.

Mlodozeniec’s “Coexist” poster became part of a touring exhibition, and that’s when the vultures swooped in. Some college kids in Indiana had the gall to trademark their version of the logo without consulting the original artist, and then started suing anyone else using “Coexist.” Possibly the weirdest chapter in the history of “Coexist” occurred in 2005, when U2 discovered the logo and made it a part of their “Vertigo” tour. “The Big Fight Over Coexist” contains some bizarre concert footage of Bono (Mlodozeniec calls him “Mr. Bono”) wearing a headband emblazoned with the logo and explaining it at length to the people in the audience, who probably just want to hear “With Or Without You” or “Mysterious Ways.” The artist eventually got credit on a live DVD.

Mlodozeniec disavows the redesigned “Coexist” logo and the overpriced T-shirts bearing it, but the original image still has a deep meaning for him as someone living in the EU in a nervous, mistrustful, post-9/11 world. “I didn’t know that the world will go in this direction,” the artist admits. “This ‘Coexist’ is, you know, a must.”

One of the most popular and pervasive bumper stickers in American culture only features one word: “coexist.” Yet, it is able to make a very clear message to its audience. Personally, I’ve seen this image numerous times in different forms such as stickers, t-shirts, or other merchandise. Despite only being one word, this design is able to get an important idea across to its viewers: the importance of tolerance between and acceptance for other religions.

The original version of the Coexist logo was a much less complicated and more effective design created by Piotr Mlodozeniec (pictured below). He incorporated symbols of three different religions into the word: a crescent moon for Islam, the Star of David for Judaism, and a cross for Christianity. Mlodozeniec actually created this design for a contest held by the Museum of the Seam in Jerusalem, which had a theme of “coexistence.” His creation had a clear message that was easily recognizable to his audience, but it does require that audience to be knowledgeable about the meanings of the crescent moon, Star of David, and cross. With the understanding that each symbol represents a religion, the use of the word “coexist” ties it all together and makes Mlodozeniec’s message apparent.

Piotr Mlodozeniec’s original coexist logo.

Several years after Mlodozeniec made his original Coexist design, the concept became viral (it was even featured by U2 on their Vertigo Tour). There were legal battles over the trademark to the design and later, it underwent many adaptations, leading to a new version of the logo that featured many more symbols. The popular bumper sticker version of the Coexist design features a peace sign, combination male / female symbol, pentagram, and yin-yang. The updates to the design made it more crowded and busy. The original intent of the message has also changed from simply being about religious tolerance to including aspects of gender equality and the incredibly general “peace.” Now, whoever views this bumper sticker must also have knowledge about five new symbols and be able to apply them within the context of the design.

While this design does not connect to a specific issue or movement, it can be applied to many. Opponents of this bumper sticker claim that it does not accurately represent how religious tolerance can actually be achieved; it’s much more complicated than simply agreeing that everyone should get along. However, the design was created in 2000 when, as Mlodozeniec himself puts it, “the situation was not so complicated as today.”