Great Logos and Their Stories:

3M

By the 1970s, a change was needed. 3M was no longer a company focused on industrial abrasives and
tapes, but now had many innovative products for the commercial and consumer markets.
In 1977, 3M embarked on phase four in the evolution of the logo. Siegel & Gale (S&G), a New York
design firm, was hired to audit the existing system. At the core of S&G’s recommendations was a new
logo design — a very simple symbol in a modified Sans Serif typeface with the "3" and "M" touching one
another. Allen Siegel, president of S&G, also pushed for a new corporate color — red. The new, vibrant
logo caught on like wildfire.

The new 3M Corporate Identity and Design department guided the changeover on a case-by-case basis.
The department also did something very important that had not been done when the 1961 design was
introduced: It trained communications personnel around the world on how to use the new logo correctly.
Apple

The design process started with Rob Janoff going to the local store and buying a bag of apples. He put
them in a bowl and drew them for a week or so and worked on simplifying the shape. Once he had
developed something he liked he realized that it needed something extra. “The reason why I did the bite
is kind of a let down. But I’ll tell you. I designed it with a bite for scale, so people would get that it was an
apple not a cherry. Also it was kind of iconic about taking a bite out of an apple. Something that everyone
can experience.”

Chase Bank

Merger as Chase Manhattan Bank

The 1955–1961 logo

In 1955, Chase National Bank and The Manhattan Company merged to create Chase Manhattan Bank.
As Chase was a much larger bank, it was first intended that Chase acquire the "Bank of Manhattan," as it
was nicknamed, but it transpired that Burr's original charter for the Manhattan Company had not only
included the clause allowing it to start a bank with surplus funds, but another requiring unanimous
consent of shareholders for the bank to be taken-over. The deal was therefore structured as an
acquisition by the Bank of the Manhattan Company of Chase National, with John J. McCloy becoming
chairman of the merged entity. This avoided the need for unanimous consent by shareholders.

The 1961–1976 logo

For Chase Manhattan Bank's new logo, Chermayeff & Geismar designed a stylized octagon in 1961,
which remains part of the bank's logo today. The Chase logo is a stylized representation of the primitive
water pipes laid by the Manhattan Company, which were made by nailing together wooden planks.
Under McCloy's successor, George Champion, the bank relinquished its antiquated 1799 state charter for
a modern one. In 1969, under the leadership of David Rockefeller, the bank became part of a bank
holding company, the Chase Manhattan Corporation.

Merger with Chemical, J.P. Morgan

The 1996–2005 logo

In July 1996, Chemical Bank of New York purchased Chase Manhattan Bank. Chemical's previous
acquisitions included Manufacturers Hanover Corporation, in 1991, and Texas Commerce Bank, in 1987.
Although Chemical was the nominal survivor, the merged company retained the Chase name since it was
better known (particularly outside the United States).
In December 2000, the combined Chase Manhattan completed the acquisition of J.P. Morgan & Co., one
of the largest banking mergers to date. The combined company was renamed JPMorgan Chase. In 2004,
the bank acquired Bank One, making Chase the largest credit card issuer in the US. JPMorgan Chase
added Bear Stearns & Co. and Washington Mutual to its acquisitions in 2009. After closing nearly 400
overlapping branches of the combined company, less than 10% of the total, Chase will have
approximately 5,410 branches in 23 states as of the closing date of the acquisition. According to data
from SNL Financial (data as of June 30, 2008), this places Chase third behind Wells Fargo and Bank of
America in terms of total U.S. retail bank branches. In October 2010, Chase was named in two lawsuits
alleging manipulation of the silver market. The suits allege that by managing giant positions in silver
futures and options, the banks influenced the prices of silver on the New York Stock Exchange's Comex
Exchange since early 2008.

Citibank

Paula Scher drew the original napkin sketch nine years ago. Paula: "For Citi Bank I wanted to bleed the
logo all over everything after we designed it. The Citi Bank logo is completely intellectual. It was a
marriage of the Traveler’s umbrella and the word Citi to create an umbrella in the middle of the word. The
emotional part of it came in the application of how they handled their secondary blue. They used to use it
just as a band. I always called that type and stripe when a corporation takes a typeface and sticks a band
down the side of everything to make it look the same. So I spent two and a half years selling a logo and
trying to get this company to accept the notion of the expansiveness of this blue. Slowly and gradually
we’re beginning to introduce it everywhere. We’re in the process of redesigning the interior of the banks
as we speak, and the blue as a system, as an aura, as a lighting facility, becomes the basis for the
identity of the bank along with the most reproduced trademark I’ll ever design. These are the their new
credit cards. Sometimes I’ll invent typefaces for plays and then just spread it all over everything that goes
on in New York. So it’s one damn thing just repeated in all different types of forms. I’ve been able to do
that well in theatre but lately I’ve been doing it in architecture. I’ll design the logo and the identity for a
building and then it’ll become the building."
Pentagram was approached by Citi in spring 1998 when the bank first announced its combination with
insurance giant Travelers, then the largest merger in the world. Working with consultant Michael Wolff,
Pentagram’s recommendation was to unify the merged entity under a single, four letter name—Citi—and
to adopt a logo that would transform the Travelers’ red umbrella into an arc over the letter “t.” (Not only is
that letter Travelers’ initial, but it also is one of the few letters that looks like an umbrella handle!)

CNN
In 1980, Anthony Guy Bost (now deceased) designed the logo on what would be a shoestring budget.
The executives at CNN wanted something relatively simple in design. In 48 hours, Bost managed to put
together the logo, which CNN bought at the discounted price of $2400-$2800 (far less than the $5000
Bost had wanted). Just “CNN” joined together with a white line running through the middle of the letters.
Though it did not come without its critics (the Canadian National Railway thought that the design looked a
little too close to theirs), it has stayed virtually unchanged for 30+years.

Coca-Cola

The famous Coca-Cola logo was created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, in
1885. Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo's distinctive cursive script. The typeface
used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid-19th century and was the dominant form of
formal handwriting in the United States during that period.

Robinson also played a significant role in early Coca-Cola advertising. His promotional suggestions to
Pemberton included giving away thousands of free drink coupons and plastering the city of Atlanta with
publicity banners and streetcar signs.
Earl R. Dean's original 1915 The prototype never
concept drawing of the made it to production
contour Coca-Cola bottle. since its middle diameter
was larger than its base,
making it unstable on conveyor belts.

FedEx

Lindon Leader from Landor Associates, San Francisco designed the Fedex logo in 1994.

Did you have to manipulate the font in anyway to create a perfect arrow?
Yes, indeed. I was studying Univers 67 (Bold Condensed) and Futura Bold, both wonderful faces. But
each had its potential limitations downstream in application to thousands of FedEx media, from waybills
and embroidered courier caps to FedEx.com and massive signage for aircraft, buildings and vehicles.
Moreover, neither was particularly suited to forcing an arrow into its assigned parking place without
torturing the beautifully crafted letterforms of the respective faces. To avoid getting too technical here,
suffice it to say I took the best characteristics of both and combined them into unique and proprietary
letterforms that included both ligatures (connected letters) and a higher “x-height,” or increased size of the
lower-case letters relative to the capital letters. I worked these features around until the arrow seemed
quite natural in shape and location.

I Love NY

The logo is a rebus borrowed by Milton Glaser from a Montreal radio campaign. CJAD Montreal Quebec
Canada ran a campaign entitled "Montreal, the city with a heart".

The logo consists of the capital letter I, followed by a red heart symbol (♥), below which are the capital
letters N and Y, set in a rounded slab serif typeface called American Typewriter.
In 1977, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce hired
advertising agency Wells Rich Greene to develop a marketing campaign for New York State. Doyle also
recruited Milton Glaser, a productive graphic designer to work on the campaign, and created the design
based on Wells Rich Greene's advertising campaign. Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple
months and did the work pro bono. The innovative pop-style icon became a major success and has
continued to be sold for years. In the popular mind (though this was not the original intention) the logo has
become closely associated with New York City, and the placement of the logo on plain white T-shirts
readily sold in the city has widely circulated the appearance of the image, making it a commonly
recognized symbol. Glaser's original concept sketch and presentation boards were donated by Doyle to
the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The image became especially prominent following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the city, which
created a sense of unity among the populace. Many visitors to the city following the attacks purchased
and wore the shirts bearing the I Love New York logo as a sign of their support. Glaser created a modified
version to commemorate the attacks, reading "I Love NY More Than Ever", with a little black spot on the
heart symbolizing the World Trade Center site. The black spot approximates the site's location on
Manhattan Island.
Mercedes-Benz

The company was founded by life-long business partners Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach.
Mercédès is the name of Maybach’s elder daughter, while the Benz came as a result of a merger with
Benz and Cie in 1926.

The Mercedes-Benz logo consists of a simple depiction of a three-pointed star that represents its
domination of the land, the sea, and the air.

The color silver is typical of the Mercedes-Benz brand, and dates back to its involvement in the first
Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 1934.

This version of the logo was designed in 2009.

Nike

The Nike "Swoosh" is a design created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at
Portland State University. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started
doing some freelance work for his company, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS).

BRS needed a new brand for a new line of athletic footwear it was preparing to introduce in 1972. Knight
approached Davidson for design ideas, and she agreed to provide them, charging a rate of $2 per hour.

In June 1971, Davidson presented a number of design options to Knight and other BRS executives, and
they ultimately selected the mark now known globally as the Swoosh. Davidson submitted a bill for $35
for her work. (In 1983, Knight gave Davidson a gold Swoosh ring and an envelope filled with Nike stock to
express his gratitude.)

The logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess. The Nike logo is a classic case of a company
gradually simplifying its corporate identity as its frame increases. The company's first logo appeared in
1971, when the word "Nike," the Greek goddess of victory, was printed in orange over the outline of a
checkmark, the sign of a positive mark. Used as a motif on sports shoes since the 1970s, this checkmark
is now so recognizable that the company name itself has became superfluous.

The solid corporate logo design check was registered as a trademark in 1995. The Nike logo design is an
abstract wing, designed by Carolyn Davidson, was an appropriate and meaningful symbol for a company
that marketed running shoes. The "JUST DO IT" slogan and logo design campaign communicated such a
strong point of view to their target market that the meaning for the logo design symbol evolved into a
battle cry and the way of life for an entire generation. Isn't it amazing how a small symbol we call a logo
design can make a company into a huge success.
Warner Communications

Logo History: http://myfilmviews.com/2012/02/09/the-story-behind-the-warner-bros-logo/

In 1972 the logo was redesigned by the legend himself, graphic designer Saul Bass and has a stylized W,
seen above.

The Man With the Golden Arm

It was Otto Preminger who changed things by hiring Saul Bass to pep up the credits of Carmen Jones in
1954 with an animated flaming rose. The following year, Bass's credit sequence for The Man With the
Golden Arm played with a strong graphic image – white lines rearranging themselves into a junkie's
twisted arm – which was carried over into the film's publicity, prefiguring the corporate identity approach
of modern film advertising, in which everything from Twilight to The A-Team has its own special logo.

Bass, who approached his commissions in the spirit of a problem-solving graphic designer, continued to
take his lines for a walk for Alfred Hitchcock at the starts of North by Northwest and Psycho, with the lines
morphing into a vortex of whirling spirals in the sublime opening credits of Vertigo. Bass's ascetic strategy
fell out of favor in the 60s, when animated sequences went a bit bananas. The witty animation of The
Pink Panther and Maurice Binder's writhing Bond girls were in the vanguard of a riot of brashly exciting
opening sequences, often virtually mini-films in their own right.

Anatomy of a Murder logo/title

This was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to address sex and rape in graphic terms. It includes
one of Saul Bass's most celebrated title sequences, an innovative musical score by Duke Ellington (who
plays a character called Pie-Eye in the film) and has been described by a law professor as "probably the
finest pure trial movie ever made." Directed by Otto Preminger.
AT&T Logo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKu2de0yCJI (Saul Bass promo video for the Bell Telephone logo.)

http://www.porticus.org/bell/bell_logos.html (History of the Bell Telephone logo designed by Saul Bass in

1968. The company divested and Saul Bass designed a version of the current AT&T logo in 1984.)

Bass' work in logo design and movie title credit sequences spanned the latter half of the 20th century and
demonstrated prominent work in each field. He worked closely with AT&T, designing not only the 1970
"bell" logo that was ubiquitous for a decade, but also, upon the divestiture of AT&T, he designed the
original "death star" logo, unveiled in 1984.

One reason for this bell logo's ubiquity: This redesign was the largest corporate re-identity program in the
U.S., ever. The redesign covered:

* 135,000 Bell system vehicles

* 22,000 buildings
* 1,250,000 phone booths
* 170,000,000 telephone directories

Bass made this film, produced by his company, as a presentation to AT&T executives. It would have
extended to be shown to the public, but a number of his ideas in the film were not ultimately adopted, like
his phone booth designs, and men's and women's uniforms. But a great many were—including, most
memorably, the telephone vans and hardhat designs of the 1970s. He designed down to the details,
showcasing in this film a myriad of ideas, right down to the yellow pages book designs, cufflinks for
executives, and flags.

Bass' other very recognizable logo designs that persist today include those for Minolta, Girl Scouts of
America, Avery International, Geffen Records, Warner Int'l, and many more. Bass' design for AT&T was
the foundation for the logo that the company has today, redesigned in 2005 by Interbrand.

Produced by Saul Bass

Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ.

IBM

The story begins in 1956 when designer Paul Rand introduced what IBM refers to as the IBM continuity
logo (1956-1972) This logo is the solid block letters IBM in City Medium type font. At the time it was
considered a modernization from the IBM in transition (1947-1956) logo in the Beton Bold type font. This
earlier logo is most easily recognized by the flat bottom M, whereas the new block letter logo has a pointy
M.

1967 the ThirteenStriper first appeared in public ...

In 1967, when IBM introduced the first Disk drive storage system, the System 360's began to sport the
new look, this flashy new IBM logo. Although this logo was reported to have been introduced by Paul
Rand in 1960 and again in 1962, it was considered to "far out" by the brass and was not to be seen by the
general public until 1967. The new masthead was a solid black bar with silver thirteen-striped logo and
lettering, matched the silver on black look of the new front panels. This distinctive new silver on black look
was continued into the System 370 family of computers, when the logo design was refined one last time.
The resulting eight-stripe design remains in use today.