Chermayeff
& Geismar & Haviv is the design firm responsible for many of the
world’s most recognizable trademarks. The firm has been pioneering the
modern design movement since 1958. The New York based firm is famous globally,
with projects in all over United States and world. The company name is based on
the names of founding partners, designers Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, and
partner and designer Sagi Haviv. Here we will study some of their designed marks.
Showtime
cable network had 3 different logos during 1970 to 1997 period. In 1997, the
Showtime channels new logo designed by Chermayeff & Geismar &
Haviv, was introduced. It is featuring the text "SHO" in negative
space on a red circle with putting “SHO” into spotlight. After that the SHO became
a separate mark and started to being used in newspapers and as Showtime’s
on-air channel identification.
Mobil had
4 logos before the current logo, which has been designed by the firm in 1964. The
red winged horse is removed from the logo but is being used separately on
equipment, vehicles, and buildings. Chermayeff & Geismar &
Haviv in their website explains that “the idea of the red O came about partly
to reinforce a design concept to use circular canopies, pumps, and display
elements for a distinctive and attractive look.” Also, the red O helps the
viewer to pronounce the name correctly as Mo-bil, not Mo-bile.
One of
the most interesting marks designed by the firm is the Chase bank’s logo, which
was introduced in 1961.It can be argued that this logo was one of the first abstract
symbols used for identification of an American corporation. The company used
this opportunity to facilitate the symbol to reflect the banks innovative and growing
presence. But the designer used the idea of the blue octagon because of the
history of the company. According to The
Story Behind The Chase Bank Logo by Jamie Wayne, “the blue octagon means
the cross section of a wooden water pipe that represented the Manhattan Company
when they were a water supply company before they were a banking company.”
No comments:
Post a Comment