Midcentury Modern Corporate Identity

Otl Aicher designed the icon set and way finding system for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Aicher and Max Bill and Anton Stankowsi distinguished their approach to design by an emphasis on semiotic theory.

Lester Beall (top left) Paul Rand (middle and top right) William Golden (bottom) Identity Systems Corporate identity systems European design aesthetics and a desire for an efficient, updated look to international corporations led to a move towards corporate standardization. The International style and its use of neutral abstract geometric forms was ideally suited to the needs of international businesses. (the geometry of the circle figures prominently in logo design by creating a strong gestalt)

Identity Systems Corporate identity systems The logotype is only one element - the “keystone” perhaps, in a systematic identity system. The success of the identity depends on how it is applied throughout the company. Design firms are often called upon to devise the rules by which the identity is to be applied. Textbook describes this as “the impoverished descendents of the Gesamtkunstwerk that captured so many artists’ imagination in earlier decades”

The logotype - which is the centerpiece for the program, but also include: Corporate signature (the name) The annual report Corporate typeface Packaging, Identification on vehicles, clothing, Signs on building And corporate attitude All these elements add up to something called Corporate Voice. Elements of a corporate identification program Identity Systems

Lester Beall

Identity Systems Lester Beall Standards Manual including color palette, typeface, and Logotype configurations Connecticut General

John Massey: Unimark in Chicago becomes the premiere Design company specializing in corporate identity Shown here: publications for the Container Corporation of America- all done within the guidelines laid down by their corporate program Identity Systems Golden Age of Corporate Systems

Logotypes from some of their Corporate clients Identity Systems Chermayeff and Geismar Ivan Chermayerff and Tom Geismar

Mobil Oil Logo, Chermayeff and Geismar: 1965 Identity Systems Chermayeff and Geismar Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar

NBC Corporate Signature Standards (notice how the sizes and spaces are specified) Identity Systems Chermayeff and Geismar

NBC Corporate Signature Standards (notice how the sizes and spaces are specified) Identity Systems Chermayeff and Geismar

NBC corporate standards Identity Systems Chermayeff and Geismar

Paul Rand Identity systems for IBM, abc, Westinghouse, UPS, Morningstar, Next, and Enron His explanations of his design concepts are famous for their succinctness and logic. He did not like to make personal presentations: instead he would put together a booket that explained the rationale for his design solution.

Paul Rand Combination of Word and image Turns images and forms into symbols by simplifying, juxtaposing and manipulating the context - t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand opics

- t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand opics

Rand created some of the most enduring corporate marks of our time - t Visual systems opics - t corporate identity opics

- t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand opics

- t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand opics

- t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand opics

- t Visual systems opics - t Paul Rand 1996 s

Saul Bass: Logos for ATT, Bell, Girl Scouts, etc Film titles and graphics for: Man with the Golden Arm Exodus Good Fellas Cape Fear, etc Film: directed shower scene in ‘Psycho’

Identity Systems Saul Bass: Identity for Girl Scouts: strong figure/ground relationships. Identity Systems: Saul Bass

Bell logo, 1905 (anonymous) Bell logo, 1969 (Bass and Yeager, Associates). Identity Systems: Saul Bass Redesign of Bell Systems Logo

Look at Quicktime video clips on the CD in the ATT folder. They show how a logo concept can be adapted to a variety of animated variations Identity Systems: Saul Bass Animation of the ATT Logo

Identity Systems: Saul Bass Animation of the ATT Logo

Massimo Vignelli: Knoll furniture National Park Service Internal Revenue Service New York Subway System

The National Park Service (using the “unigrid” by Vignelli and Associates One set of standards for hundreds of individual publications so they could be created and modified locally and still retain a consistent quality 1985 Massimo Vignelli received National Design Award Federal Design Improvement Program: 1974 Dedicated to improving and making more consistent the design standards for the federal government. Projects included streamlining all government forms and publications. For example: Identity Systems Massimo Vignelli

Identity Systems Massimo Vignelli

Identity Systems Massimo Vignelli Way-finding for New York Subway

and navigation systems Important design functions that benefit from a uniform approach are way-finding, navigation and information systems. These can vary from being purely functional, conveying objective information, such as highway signs, and railroad timetables, to systems that take on an appropriate expressive quality - such a graphics for a theme park or museum. Way-finding systems

Lance Wyman: Lance Wyman has specialized over a long career in designing multicultural environmental graphic design. His credits include: Mexico City Olympics 1968 American Museum of Natural History Minnesota Zoo

Lance Wyman

Lance Wyman: His design system for the Mexico Olympics reflect graphic elements he found in Pre-Columbian Mexican art and architecture - in this case, the repetitive lines and circles..

Lance Wyman: waytinding icons for the Museum of natural history

Lance Wyman: Minnesota Zoo - identity and wayfinding

Lance Wyman: Minnesota Zoo signage

Lance Wyman: This demonstrates the versatility of these icons - they have to work small in print and translate to enormous scale for three-D signs.

Deborah Sussman Design coordination for the 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles This work reflects a move to greater flexibility in design systems. She set a palette of colors, selected the typeface, graphic elements, such as stars and confetti, and then published guides as to how these elements could be combined.

Corporate identification systems

wayfinding How are identity and way finding systems for zoo, airports and other public spaces, similar to interactivity design issues such as navigation in web site and multimedia design? How does consistency help in creating an easy-to-navigate web site? How do content-specific icons or other graphics help the user in finding locations and feeling at home in a museum, an airport or a web site? Are different sections within the site indicated with symbols, titles or colors? Find examples of web sites that have interesting navigation graphics. Collect some maps or other brochures from museums or theme parks. Visit web sites for some of these institutions and see if there are similarities in the graphics between the print and the web material.