Unlike abstract art, figurative art is grounded in visible reality, clearly derived from real object sources. Similarly, figurative logos find their origins in the real world. However, due to the necessities of ownership and recognition, the designer goes one step further, offering an interpretation of the real world but as a flat and simplified form.

The benefit of such a logo is the immediate visual connection with the familiar, opening the door, so to speak, in which to then incept an idea and form an association with a brand. The skill is in maintaining a tension between the familiar and unique, the ubiquitous and the distinctive.

You can find hundreds more figurative logos to learn from on LogoArchive. Search “figurative”.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

Repeating the same shape can be used to imply further meaning. Techniques such as tessellating, stacking and mirroring each carries their own individual allusions. A tree becomes a forest, a person becomes a community, a book becomes a library.

In the repeated stacking of an ‘M’ Maurizio Milani calls to mind corrugated cardboard for manufacturer Mingazzini & Figli.

This techniques offers designers an opportunity to create a simple visual puzzle, inferred or felt not explicit nor ‘read’, inviting curiosity and instilling a logo in the memory of the viewer. The approach derives more from just a little more, just by duplicating, meaning and distinction are arrived at whilst maintaining simplicity.

You can find hundreds more repetition logos to learn from on LogoArchive. Search “repetition”.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

Welcome to the second Community Logos newsletter where we feature the latest logos added to LogoArchive from today’s best designers. To add your logos, and be featured in this newsletter and on LogoArchive Now, sign-up and start submitting here.

→ Join LogoArchive

New! Portal – Curated design jobs
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

In 1982 an antitrust lawsuit resulted in the divestiture of AT&T’s local operating subsidiaries. This resulted in Pacific Telesis Group becoming one of several regional telephone companies in the United States serving California and Nevada.

Landor & Associates developed a logo and design policy for Pacific Telesis Group that would help separate the company from AT&T and also link the Group’s subsidiaries.

Coinciding with this was a period of deregulation in the telecoms industry. This allowed the Pacific Telesis Group to expand into new areas of technology.

The themes of expansion and connection form the founding principles for the design of the new logo.

Based around an asterisk symbol derived from a telephone keypad the logo reaches outward, alluding to the group expanding into new fields. And, through the logo’s application, often placed at the centre of wordmarks, connected the holding company with its subsidiaries.

These subsidiaries included Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, the local regulated phone companies, PacTel companies and as well as the Group’s non-regulated communications businesses.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

Welcome to this new Community Logos newsletter where we feature the latest logos added to LogoArchive from today’s best designers. To add your logos, and be featured in this newsletter and on LogoArchive Now, sign-up and start submitting here.

→ Join LogoArchive

New! Portal – Curated design jobs
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

This post is supported by LogoArchive – The home of historical logos. Discover over 5500 of history’s greatest designs from the world’s finest designers. Updated every single day. Always find the logo inspiration you need for your next logo or branding project. Start here.

As part of an extensive urban renewal project for Manhattan the Beekman-Downtown Hospital underwent a period of modernisation. This introduced new facilities and technologies to the hospital.

A new visual identity programme was developed during the same period to outwardly convey the hospital’s new modernised facilities as well as addressing and improving communication and minimising production costs.

This economic consideration was particularly important as the hospital was funded through donations. Balancing important community communication with the cost of printing and postage had to be carefully considered.

Philip Gips, who had been responsible for the hospital’s annual reports, was responsible for developing the new visual identity and logo for the hospital.

The logo employs a cross motif, an international symbol for medical care and first aid. The dimensional element lends the cross a distinctive and dynamic element.

This implication of depth and direction, and the open righthand corner was said to express the deep commitment to delivering medical services to the community and suggest progress into the future.

The logo was applied across signage and printed materials with a metallic gold where possible, and as process gold elsewhere. In instances such as ambulances, the logo was used in red.

Employing a gold metallic spot colour in conjunction with powerful black and white imagery, the clarity of considered typographical layouts and new print formats, Philip Gips improved the visual immediacy of the hospital’s community communication whilst reducing production and postage costs.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

To coincide with the construction of a new headquarters, which would centralise the activities of 12 different sites throughout the capital, Banco Central do Brasil also sought out a new logo, engaging renowned designer Aloísio Magalhães to undertake the work.

Although, at the time of designing the logo, the building was just a model, Magalhães was inspired by the aerial view and the distinctive shadow that was created by the building’s form. This referenced the Dobrão, Brazil’s first currency, which was circulated between 1707 and 1750.

Architect Hélio Ferreira Pinto modified the ends of the Cruz de Cristo, which was engraved on the Dobrão and gave it a more squared finish, and from there came the footprint of the building which the extended upwards. This can also been seen in the logo.

As a final reference, a subtle plus sign can be seen within the logo. This was a subtle expression of wealth accumulation on the part of the bank’s clients. This connection between ancient currency, wealth accumulation and architecture saw the logo endure over time, and is currently still in use today.

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

The Japanese logo designers of the past have always surprised and delighted, not always in their design, rather, the willingness of all sorts of companies to take on a bird as a logo, from food to construction, early learning to confectionery. Often lending such a playful and convivial character where you don’t expect it, particularly in the west.

Discover many more historical Japanese logos with LogoArchive and now upload your own logos for inclusion in the archive. Your logos alongside history’s greatest. Start here.

→ Join LogoArchive

These are some of the latest Community Logos added to LogoArchive, can you spot yours? As this grows we will be spotlighting some of the emerging talent in the logo design space.

→ Join LogoArchive

It’s amazing to see these still pouring in four weeks later. Still trying to get on top of all the mentions and DMs. Here’s some recent favourites.

Chingiz
Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk
Jasmina Zornic
levsha_kg

Brusco – Brand Archive

Find the latest contemporary brands and their colour palettes, typefaces and assets, as well as historical brands. New additions include AG1, Good-grow and Pooch & Mutt. Build better brands with Brand Archive.

→ Brand Archive

Théodore Stamatakis, France

→ More logos

What’s the concept? – Montedison

A look at the concept behind Walter Landor Associates’ 1971 logo for Montedison. Find this, alongside over 150 other stories of logos from the past with Logo Histories.

→ Discover

New! Portal – Curated design jobs
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

This post is supported by LogoArchive – The home of historical logos. Discover over 5500 of history’s greatest designs from the world’s finest designers. Updated every single day. Always find the logo inspiration you need for your next logo or branding project. Start here.

Banco Itaú began in 1945 under the name Banco Central de Crédito (Central Bank of Credit). This was later changed to Banco Federal de Crédito (Federal Bank of Credit). The bank experienced financial issues and industrialist Olavo Setúbal was asked to help salvage the bank, successfully saving it from growing debt. When his uncle died in 1959, Setúbal became general director.

In 1964, Banco Federal Itaú S.A. merged Banco Federal de Crédito and Banco Itaú, a rural bank belonging to a group that originated in Itaú de Minas. Later that decade, Banco Itaú acquired Banco Sul Americano.

With these mergers and acquisitions came a chaotic corporate image so, when the name was changed to simply Banco Itaú, Alexandre Wollner and Bergmiller were hired by architect Jacob Ruchti to develop a signage system for the new headquarters. Helvetica Bold replaced a logo by legendary Brazilian Aloísio Magalhães. This presented the 'FI’ of Federal Itaú in a distinctive triangular composition.

In the design of signage, the intention was to create a uniform and cost effective visual image across all the bank’s locations, as well as its presence in the media and throughout official printed matter. This standardised many aspects of the banks visual presence. It also retained the square used in the second version of Magalhães design.

Despite this effort to formalise the corporate image of the bank, there remained inconsistencies in the application of Helvetica and rectangles were used alongside the square.

When the brand was further consolidated in 1972, an opportunity presented itself to further develop the image of the bank. Two options were presented: a square with straight corners and the ‘cutro’ with rounded corners. It is said that it was Olavo Setubal's wife had have the final say.

The black square with its rounded corners was a visual reinforcement of the Itaú logotype and its letterforms. Further, the black square made sense as Itau means ‘black stone’ in South American language Tupi-Guarani. With the typeface and square, Wollner, working with Hugo Kovadloff, began to build out a more striking and uniform visual identity, this type with a system that would irradiate inconsistencies.

To complement the black square and Itaú logotype, Wollner introduced two orange strips on either side to make the bank's branches easily recognisable in what was described by the designer as the ‘colourless urban context’ (also see: LEB).

The rectangular orange forms was a practical solution for organising the use of the logo and increasing the visibility of the bank from a distance, and avoided the ‘deformations in the implementation of visual codes’ that had previously happened.

In order to modulate all of the visual elements in print and as signage, Wollner established ‘set proportions and defined modules’. As a premise, the designer set a uniform division made up of four parts, which could be used either vertical or horizontal, for each format. This division could be further subdivided into four equal parts and so on, until an ideal proportion had been achieved. This was a means of arriving at a position and size that would ensure a harmonious relationship between the information, the available space and the reader.

The logo could be used inline or stepping outside of the boundaries of the orange stripes, and extended vertically of horizontally, increasing the usability of the logo and enhancing the overall recognition of the brand. To further this, were other versions were created. These included an outline version to place over solid colour.

Once the logo and signage was defined and formalised in three manuals (on the brand and company name, interior signage and exterior signage), it addressed the inconsistent typographic issues, and inconsistencies of the logo in application, setting standards in relation to viewers, available space, and the message that needed to be conveyed. This set the bank on a more consistent path.

The work was further revised in 1990 by Wollner, which remained in place with only small changes made to the logo, and adjustments made to the typeface in 2003.

In 2024, Pentagram evolved the corporate identity in a more substantial way enabling it to better function in a digital and motion-first context. The studio introduced a squircle holding shape, the most significant change to the logo since Wollner’s 1972 version.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

Multicanal was an Argentinian cable television and internet provider that launched in 1992 and operated across a number of South American countries. It was formed from the merger of Video Cable Privado (VCP) and Buenos Aires Cable (BAC).

Drawing on the name, which translates to ‘multiple channels’ in English, Steff Geissbuhler devised a logo in which five stars intersect form a negative space M.

The visual language becomes five star quality delivered across Multicanal’s network of channels. The convergence of these into a single operating entity was supported by an animation, with the five stars emerging from different directions, meeting and completing the logo at the centre of the screen.

Proximity

By using the proximity of shapes and lines it can be possible to evoke a sense of light and shade, depth and motion as well as forming layers and secondary images in logo design.

The movement of goods and the forward motion of public transportation is implied by the weight and closeness of lines used by Martine Gadbois for Gadbois Transport & Contant Transport.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

This post is supported by LogoArchive – The home of historical logos. Discover over 5500 of history’s greatest designs from the world’s finest designers. Updated every single day. Always find the logo inspiration you need for your next logo or branding project. Start here.

Radio Corporation of America, since its founding in 1919, had significantly changed. It had evolved from a manufacturer of crystal sets and other electrical products with sales of $2 million to a $3 billion corporation delivering advanced technological capabilities in a diversity of fields. By the mid 1960s it offered over 12,000 products and services, many of which did not exist a decade before.

With these changes in mind, RCA undertook a extensive review of its activities and the perceptions of customers and employees. The conclusion was that its corporate image needed to substantially change to better express its ‘diversity and dynamism’.

The previous logo, exemplified by a circled monogram and lightning bolt, dated back to a time when RCA was devoted to wireless communications. This only accounted for only 2% of total volume at the time of the review. Could a logo devised for a wireless company in the 1920s suggest the diverse operations of RCA in the changing environment of the 1960s and beyond? While the famous CA monogram had already undergone several subtle modifications, it was problematic to use in increasingly stratified contexts. By 1964 it had become obvious to the management at RCA that something needed to be done.

An internal Corporate Identification Committee (CIC) was formed. This consisted of three designers from various divisions of the company, two attorneys, and chairman Mort Gaffin, Manager of Corporate Advertising. The committee members would be responsible for not only commissioning a new logo but also delivering a standardised system that would bring greater uniformity to communications and leverage economies of scale.

The complexity and scale of such a programme, and the objectivity needed for its development required outside assistance. In 1966, Robert Sarnoff had moved from the chairmanship of NBC to the presidency of RCA. He was ‘graphically oriented’ having become aware of the importance of this design during his time at NBC. He saw the need for a vastly broader and more integrated approach, so sought the experience of Lippincott & Margulies (L&M) (Coca-cola, Eastern, FMC, Co-op, Amtrak) based on the firm's experience developing communications systems for other leading corporations.

As part of a ‘diagnostic study’, the L&M team held over a hundred interviews with corporate executives and divisional management. The studio delved deep into RCA history and its aspirations, visited RCA plants, offices, and sales outlets, and analysed visual and verbal communications from building signage to brand and divisional names. They studied each and every way the corporation projected itself to its various audiences, from its own employees to the financial community. Results of this analysis were given to the CIC who then presented their findings to Robert Sarnoff and key RCA executives.

The L&M study highlighted a discrepancy between RCA as a pioneer working in diverse technological fields and what it was communicating. RCA could not be described in simple terms so L&M recommended that RCA be defined by the ‘growing spectrum of its activities’.

As response to this new outlook, proper emphasis would be given to the corporate name, deemphasising ‘Radio Corporation of America’ and changing this to RCA Corporation. This would address the unwieldy nature of a long name and the limitations of being associated with just radio and the borders of the United States. The initials RCA had been commonly used and would be more concise and easier to use going forward. This would then be further enhanced through design.

The logo would be the ‘basis for all graphic implementations’. It would need to be highly flexible, as it would be required to not only be fabricated at scale as signage and reduced down to be printed on corporate stationery but also screened on to a plethora of electric products as small as as vacuum tubes.

As three potential directions emerged it was necessary to show how each would perform within a total system. The initial L&M presentation showed these directions applied to forty different formats. These included stationery, forms, brochures, advertising, packaging and animated signatures for TV commercials.

L&M evaluated each proposal on the basis of how well they preserved the equities of the old monogram, projected the corporate philosophy of delivering on a spectrum of growing activities and functioned across all use cases.

Three concepts were presented, with one being strongly recommended by L&M. This consisted of three block letters as a simple, unique rendering of the most important visual equity of the old monogram.

The bold weight of the letterforms, the mirrored legs of the ‘R’ and ‘A’ and consistent squared counters was said to convey stability and strength whilst also being ‘conceptually pure’. As an ideogram it involved the viewer, with the three letters forming a single unified abstract symbol. The total impact was felt before the letters were read.

In this new simplified and bold form, the logo was stronger, more versatile, impactful and modern. It could be scaled up and down without any loss of character or legibility. There were other advantages to. The horizontal block letters were well-suited to many of RCA’s rectangular applications, whereas the old circle had been described as often sitting uneasily. Its free-standing form provided more effective identification than when enclosed in a circle, allowing for larger letters within the same space. A solid single colour, and the availability and consistent use of Helvetica alongside the new logo afforded RCA a consistency and economy throughout its communications.

The versatility of the new logo permitted dramatic application in different situations. Versions were created to intensify or reduce the overall impact when needed across specific contexts such as packaging and on television. This included solid red and solid black versions, an outlined option, a version of lines and a full colour spectrum logo.

For corporate and financial audiences, the format would be ‘subtle and dignified’; for the governmental audience, technical; for dealers and consumers, promotional.

Signs that carried the new logo in a colour spectrum would then be used to convey colour television ‘forcefully’, while various packaging formats would use a pattern of alternating red and black logotypes to create interest on the shelves.

Sarnoff approved the design in 1967, and a design manual was produced. The new corporate image was introduced to the public at the beginning of 1968. With this, RCA appeared like the dynamic company it was, communicating a ‘fresh imagination’ and ‘youthful vigour’ to consumers, employees, stockholders, the press, the business and financial community.

Robert Sarnoff reported receiving “…hundreds of approving comments from customers and competitors, stockholders and employees.” Later saying that “we were especially encouraged by the enthusiastic response of many creative people-product designers, advertising artists, copywriters, and architects-who felt that the new style would liberate and revitalise their efforts to communicate the dynamism and diversity of the company."

Following a period of acquisitions and sell offs in the late 1980s, trading under the RCA brand ceased, and with it L&M’s RCA logo was retired.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

What’s the concept?

Yagei continues to manufacture a range of foods from its factories in Yamagata City, Japan, and has a distinct corporate philosophy made up of three parts.

‘Creation’ is to develop the market through new technologies and products. ‘Challenge’ is to challenge new fields and facilitate the personal-development of each employee. ‘Love’ is that the basis of health and eating habits is a warm human heart.

The three-part corporate philosophy of creation, challenge and love was brought to life by Akira Hirata and Koji Mori in 1986 through a new corporate identity program, and in a logo of three ovals that are arranged to form an abstract Y.

The theme of love and the Japanese origin’s of the company is added into the logo by way of a bright red. This stood the test of time, and remains in use today.

Tesselating Logos

Tessellation is the arrangement of forms, either loosely or tightly fitted, into a repeated pattern, sitting neatly beside one another or lock together to create a larger symbol. It relies on the multiplication of a single shape, with the original form gaining new meaning through its repetition and the emergence of secondary shapes.

This was used to great effect by Félix Beltrán to capture the patterning of tiles for Mosaicos. Tessellation has been used to represent companies that are engaged in mass production or offering integrated services.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

Hi, Rich here, off the back of the LogoArchive trend that swept social media, which saw thousands of designers share their very best work, LogoArchive launches Community Logos, an opportunity to have your logos sit alongside history’s greatest.

With the same care and curatorial oversight, LogoArchive intends to archive the very best of today, for tomorrow’s designers. Submit your very best.

Submit your logos

Scott Fuller

We recognise that many people signed up purely for the historical archive, so we’ve created a persistent function that allows you to fix your preference; Historical Logos, Community Logos or All.

Aryna Livadari

Christian Duckminor

It’s been wonderful to see the quality of logos that have been shared on social media, and delighted to have works submitted by some incredible designers to the site already. Check out the logos of Scott Fuller, Aryna Livadari and Christian Duckminor.

Sign-up and claim your @, get a public profile page and start uploading. Coming soon, custom tempates for your page, bios and other features.

A little note, we’re limiting uploads to three a month to keep the curatorial process easier and to encourage people to only submit their finest.

Have a feature request? Drop it in the comments section.

LogoArchive Now

Okay, I was planning on returning to the usual Logo Histories Monday newsletter, assuming the LogoArchive Trend would have abated now, however, it just got more momentum, well over a 1000 designers from around the world have participated.

With the success of this, the LogoArchive website will be expanding to include Community Logos, showcasing the work of today for tomorrow’s designers.

Have your logos sit alongside iconic logos of the past, and secure a place in design history. This will, as always, be highly curated, with the same care the historical logos have been selected and archived. Should be launching later this week.

Losan Brands
Xesta Studio
Patryk Hardziej
Everton Gargioni

CJ Crawley

Olka Pankova
Oanna Turta
Eve Warren
Tamari Chabukiani

Jack Chitty

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

What’s the concept?

In the 1970s Italy’s Montedison Group was made up of nearly 200 companies. Its rapid growth and then merger with Montecatini had created internal communication difficulties, producing thousands of pieces of paper work.

Following the appointment of a new president in 1971 the company embarked on a series of internal restructuring programmes to better utilise human, technical and financial resources.

They worked with Walter Landor Associates to help improve internal and external communications and develop a new corproate identity. This included the design of a new logo.

The logo combines four arrows and uses negative space to create a fifth. This fifth arrow symbolised the unity and growth of the four sectors that made the Montedison group; fibres, food and retail distribution and pharmaceuticals and services.

The group logo was blue but, to help delineate between the sectors, colour was introduced to the lower right arrow. Brown was used for fibres, red for food and retail distribution, green for pharmaceuticals and light blue for services.

Extrusion Logos

The flat surface of the page or screen is subverted by the ‘extruded logo’ mimicking the perspectives and depth of real world objects. It’s a tension that lends an eye-catching and memorable aspect to a logo. Often employed by designers in the context of, for example, packaging and manufacturing, construction and architecture, or by those seeking to suggest expansiveness or growth, or simply to create visual drama.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

This post is supported by LogoArchive – The home of historical logos. Discover over 5000 of history’s greatest designs from the world’s finest designers. Updated every single day. Always find the logo inspiration you need for your next logo or branding project. Start here.

On completion of his thesis, of which he wrote about temporary employment, Frits Goldschmeding turned his findings into a business. At the time, the literature on temporary employment in the Netherlands was sparse as this was a relatively new phenomenon post war. Capitalising on his insights, Goldschmeding formed the temporary employment agency ‘Uitzendbureau Amstelveen’ in 1960 with fellow economics graduate Ger Daleboudt.

Within the first few years, the agency opened branches in the cities of Leiden and Rotterdam alongside their original office in Amsterdam. This was accompanied by a change of name to Randstad Ultzendbureau, ‘Randstad’ referring to the urban area between Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, and Rotterdam. This decade saw tremendous growth for not only Randstad, but also the temporary employment industry as a whole. Therefore, it was key for the agency’s logo and design policy to distinguish it and give it a competitive edge in the market. This design policy and logo would be created by Ben Bos of Total Design (Furness, PAM, De Bijenkorf).

Frits Goldschmeding stated that he wanted the logo for Randstad to stand out from other logos such as the star of Mercedes and the ‘stylised’ drop of gas giant PAM but have something of their power and simplicity. With this in mind, Ben Bos promised to do his best. Having seen colleague Wim Crouwel’s ‘computer alphabet’, which Bos described as having a strong austerity, he was convinced that his solution should be typographical, that he should create a nicely designed ‘R’. Further, it should be more graceful than the calibrated typeface created by Crouwel, and reflect the dualistic role of Randstad, speaking to both employment candidates and those companies looking to fill vacancies.

When designing the logo, it became apparent that a single ‘R’ had the appearance of being somewhat ‘unsteady’. A second ‘R’ that was mirrored, solved this, creating balance and expressing the two sides of the company.

There was a belief that, alongside the logo, the corporate identity not only communicate the essence of the Randstad culture (with notable characteristics of functionality, good faith, and striving for perfection) but also helped to also moulded. This can be understood in the strict programmatic and systematic nature of the agency’s communications. As such, from 1967 the performance of Randstad and its employees was characterised by a high degree of consistency. This would continue to reinforce the reputation of the company and ensuring its future success.

Randstad–continuously striving for perfection–were notoriously tricky clients for external service providers to work with, owing to their extremely critical feedback. Despite this, Randstad maintained a strong relationship with Ben Bos who coordinated much of its communications and then its restyling in the 1980s. Even after he left Total Design in 1991, he continued to work with Randstad as a consultant, remaining involved with the firm until 1997.

Bos’ design remains in use to this day, along with Randstad’s global reputation as a leader in the HR services industry – developed across five continents and 38 countries. Further, thanks to Bos’ extended involvement across decades, the Randstad logo is now known as one of the oldest active designs in Dutch history.

Key Takeaways

The business of Randstad was principally about the connection facilitated between temporary employee and employer. The needs of the two should be balanced. This was reflected in the mirroring of the ‘r’ to create a stable and dualistic logo.

Even as a pioneer of temporary employment, rapid market growth and increased competition forced Randstad to keep innovating. Expressing this through a unified design policy allowed it to continue to stand out and show that it was striving for perfection in all aspects of its business.

A logo that lasts. The Randstad logo has been in used for nearly sixty years. An ongoing relationship with its designer delivered a functional and systematic framework to guide design, whilst also providing a visual variety throughout an extended period of time.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.

LogoArchive Now

I’ve never had an idea go viral before, but it happened. I posted a format, originally to present the work of designers from the past, and invited logo designers to use this to share their own work. And wow, it went wild on Instagram. Now with well over 500 and they keep coming in! Search ‘LogoArchive’ on IG to see them. i’d like to extend the invitation to readers of the Logo Histories newsletter. Create your own, post them to IG and tag @logoarchive and @logoarchive.now for a chance to be featured. To inspire you, here are a few of my favourites, there are many many more, I’ll share these in future newsletters.

With the success of this, the LogoArchive website will be expanded to showcase the work of today for tomorrow’s designers. Have your logos sit alongside iconic logos of the past, and secure a place in design history. This will, as always, be highly curated, with the same care the historical logos have been selected and archived. Register your interest in the comments section.

1. Kostadin Kostadinov

2. Amy Nortman Holocomb

3. Garasigrafis

4. Sarah Salah

Tom Muller

Sam from Berlin
Tim Jester
Jayr Marasigan
Milos Djuric

Dayler Martin

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What’s the concept?

Centennial American Properties was established by David W. Glenn in 1976. By the mid-1980s it had successfully developed over 7 million square feet of commercial space. To better reflect its success and continued growth the company commissioned designer Steve Rousso to develop a new logo.

Rousso’s logo for Centennial American Properties integrates the stripes of the American flag with the structure of a high rise commercial building in the style of the time. These references represented two aspects of the company, its proud American heritage and the material structure of its buildings. The logo employs three techniques; dimensionality, negative space and compounding (the bringing together of two or more motifs, here, a flag and a building). PMS 202 then adds a warm reddish brown to the logo, again, alluding to the flag but also brick.

The company continues to operate today, albeit without Rousso’s logo which was later replaced.

Rotation Logos

Rotation logos that feature a rotating or spiral component introduce a sense of motion to a static form. These logos typically rotate around a singular point, combining separate elements, offset or displaced at different angles to create momentum. Logos like this have lent themselves well to businesses such as manufacturing (continual production), learning (continued growth) and more obviously shipping (propellers). Basically, anything to do with activity and movement.

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The ‘Urban Frontier Movement’ was a new city planning initiative beginning in the early 1990s and advocated for by the Metropolis of Tokyo. It was founded with the intention of imagining and creating the ideal cities of the future.

The first public event of the movement, ‘Urban Frontier – Tokyo ‘96’, would be held in the city between March 24 - October 13, 1996 under the theme of ‘Meeting the Challenge of the 21st Century City’. This would be the first time these new visions of city living would be presented to the public.

The facilities and functions of ‘Tokyo Teleport Town’, a newly developed area situated on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, would be a demonstration of these new ideas, and would be introduced to both national and international visitors as one part of a multi-frontier vision for Tokyo.

In addition, planning projects of cities in other countries and state-of-the-art technologies for city living which would benefit the lives of citizens would also be exhibited. In tandem, a number of cultural exchange programs as well as events and attractions were created to inspire others and excite residents.

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The Tokyo Frontier Association organised a public competition among a select number of designers to find an appropriate symbol for the ‘Urban Frontier – Tokyo ‘96’ exhibition. With such a visionary and global ideal in mind the association invited eight internationally recognised designers to submit between 3 to 10 proposals by February 2, 1991.

Designers invited to participate included Ikko Tanaka (Japan), Ken Cato (Australia), Jun Chan (Korea), Shigeo Fukuda (Japan), Milton Glaser (USA), Grapuus (France), Saito Mokoto (Japan) and Rosmarie Tissi (Switzerland).

Designers were given free reign to interpret the theme of urban expansion and development, the location by the bay and the national and international audience, but were required to limit the design to only one or two colours.

The designs submitted were highly varied, with motifs such as water, sun and architecture playing an understandable part. Many of the design reflected the unique character of the designers themselves, the introduction of dtp to design and a post modern sensibility.

The winning design, created by Ikko Tanaka, was selected by the ‘Symbol Mark Selection Committee’. It depicted a pool of water, conveying the waterfront location of the Expo and the notion of expansion and the ripple effect of new ideas. This logo was officially revealed to the public in March, 1992, and used in the lead up to the event.

Although the Expo was cancelled before its scheduled opening due to the collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, Tanaka’s logo for the event remains a celebrated example of late 20th-century Japanese graphic design.

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What’s the concept?

MacMillan Bloedel was a Canadian forestry company with headquarters in Vancouver. It was formed by a merger of Powell River Company, the Bloedel Stewart Welch Company and the H.R. MacMillan Company in 1951 and 1959.

Following these mergers, as the company diversified its product lines and formed subsidiaries, the need for a new logo became evident.

The new logo, designed alongside a new corporate identity by Lester Beall, sought to establish a consistent visual language across all of the corporation’s products and subsidiaries.

Launched in 1960 the new logo combined both a literal representation of the company’s activities in forestry products and expressed some of its character.

This was achieved through a stylised M with two coniferous trees set within its negative space, and by using symmetry and consistent line weight to suggest strength and purpose.

The logo was also described as balancing and expressing the rugged essence of the company’s forestry operations but also the precision control required to process these for use.

Transitional Logos

Transitional logos use a state change to play with notions such as growth, evolution and creation. This could be in stepped line thickness or size changes, differing heights, or smooth scaling. Sometimes these are given a sense of moment through the use of diagonals, or used to build concrete imagery such as trees for further conceptual layers. These lend themselves well to companies that make and manufacture, those that distribute, educate, build or offer wealth accumulation.

Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:

New! Portal – Design-driven jobs board and applicant management.
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.
BP&O – Contemporary design editorial.