When did Joe Caroff create the James Bond 007 logo? Graphic designer passes away at 103

Joe Caroff, 103, passed away on August 17, 2025. The graphic designer was known for creating the James Bond 007 logo for the first entry of the franchise in 1962.

The news of Caroff’s demise was first revealed to The New York Times by his children, Peter and Michael. Furthermore, he was supposed to celebrate his 104^th birthday a day after his sudden death and was in hospice care for some time. Meanwhile, the cause of death remains unknown.

Netizens also recalled Joe Caroff’s work as they paid tribute to him on different social media platforms. Apart from James Bond, Joe had the opportunity to prepare the posters for other projects like West Side Story and A Hard Day’s Night. He started pursuing his career as a painter more than 15 years ago, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Joe later opened up about his work as he appeared on the documentary By Design on TCM around three years ago. Back in 2021, Caroff said during an interview on James Bond in the Making that he was planning to add something “decorative” while preparing the logo for the iconic character. He further stated:

“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.”

Joe Caroff was hired for Dr. No, which had Ian Fleming portraying Bond. Joe was paid $300 for his work on the logo, where he added a barrel and trigger to the code 007. However, Joe was never mentioned anywhere in the franchise for all these years, and he did not receive any royalties for his contribution.

On his 100^th birthday, the producers of the successful franchise gifted Joe a watch featuring the code 007, as stated by The New York Times. Caroff’s wife, Phyllis, also said in the TCM documentary that their condition would have been better if the makers had paid royalties for Joe’s work many years ago.

Joe Caroff created posters for many films: Career and other details explained

The Hollywood Reporter stated that Joe’s father, Julius, was active as a painter, and his family members also included a brother alongside four sisters. Joe began developing an interest in painting at a very young age and later served as an assistant for French poster designer Jean Carlu’s office in Manhattan.

Joe Caroff then joined the Army Air Forces at the time of the Second World War and was later employed at Alan Berni & Associates. After being fired from the company, he launched his business designing book jackets.

He was an art editor for the Pratt Institute’s yearbook, Prattonia. He served as a class president for three years at the same place, where he additionally worked as an assistant to Jean Carlu. He helped Carlu while the latter was preparing a poster for the U.S. Office of War Information, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Joe slowly began establishing himself as a graphic designer after he was approached to prepare the cover of a novel titled The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. The Hollywood Reporter stated that Joe formed a company called J. Caroff Associates, which was working on ten different films with only 22 staff members.

Joe Caroff’s work was even displayed at different exhibitions over the years. One of them was The Liberated Line, displayed at the New York City-based The Painting Center in 2012. There were many others, like the Terni series and the Iconic Metaphor series, which were created in 1986 and 1990.

He even designed logos for Fox and ABC Olympics alongside title sequences for films such as The Last Temptation of Christ. He created posters for several other films, including For a Few Dollars More, Tell Me That You Love Me, Gandhi, A Fistful of Dollars, Too Late the Hero, and more.

Joe Caroff’s wife, Phyllis, passed away in February this year. He is now survived by his sons, Peter and Michael, along with daughters-in-law, Ruth and Cynthia, and granddaughter Jennifer.