Before Class 04/14/10

Corporate Identity

After World War II America's economy was thriving. Important corporations were at the fore front of changing techonology and advancements. The head of these corporations realized as consumerism grew and more people were buying their products than ever before, they would need a way to simply and effectivly relate their company to the consumer through a symbol. The Olivetti corporation did their part in creating a "image" by hiring Giovanni Pintori. He joined the publicity team and was in charge of creating a "systematic design program." This did not meant that they had the same logo on everything, but rather the same feeling or style in their promotions because it was done by one person. CBS television was really the leader in creaitng a corporate identity. More people than ever before had television sets, and they knew they needed to make their company known on all things it accompanied ("from shipping labels to press releases") They did not create a single typeface for the company to use but rather a series of intelligent design. They changed their logo or typeface depending on the medium. "Emphasis was placed on concepts that quickly captured teh essence of each program using the connotative power of signs, symbols, and images."(meggs, 401.) Georg Olden was really the innovator behind this idea at CBS. He was the first African-American to gain recognition as a grahic designer. He eventually designed for the United States Post Office. It was a huge honor as he designed the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Finally, New Haven Railraod created a systematic style and design for their company that began on letter heads and extended to the fabric of the inside of the train cars. They unified their entire company by style, color, design, and typeface. We can definitly recognize this concept in companies today such as the red and white of the target logo and stores. Their logo is red and their stores have red carts, chairs, and check out counters.
Most interesting to me was AT&T design. I like how they took the idea and image of information bits circling the globe.
We can recognize all of these corporate logos but it's interesting to know the thought processes behind them.
I would be curious to know if it is super difficult to change the logos of companies such as CBS and IBM that have been around forever. They risk a lot by changing what people are familiar with.