The Rolling Stones tongue-and-lips logo: designer and original inspiration

John Pasche designed the Rolling Stones’ tongue-and-lips logo in 1970. He was a 24-year-old student at the Royal College of Art when Mick Jagger commissioned him to create a poster and album cover for Sticky Fingers.

The logo was directly lifted from an actual photograph of Mick Jagger’s mouth. Jagger sent Pasche a snapshot of his own lips and tongue, and Pasche traced that image, simplifying it into the stark black-and-white silhouette we know today. No Hindu goddess or Indian inspiration—just a