A black stone
A black stone
The story of Alexandre Wollner and Hugo Kovadloff's 1972 logo for Brazilian bank Itaú.
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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.
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