HT by Peter Hirt & Janne Andersen, 1985
Peter Hirt and Janne Igls Andersen’s 1985 logo for Denmark's transportation network HT.
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The story of the “Capital Region's Traffic Company”, Hovedstadsområdets Trafikselskab (HT), begins in 1974, with the takeover of 12 publicly owned (or majority owned) bus companies. Beginning operations on the 1st October that year, it would be Denmark’s first regional transport company and responsible for public buses in Copenhagen’s Capital City area. Owing to the various manufacturers and age of the near 1000 bus fleet, HT set about standardising it with repaints.
Their 10-year anniversary was marked with growing pains, which were further exacerbated by several drivers’ strikes in early 1980s which had resulted in high-profile legal conflicts. Change was in order. An underlying belief for Hovedstadsområdets Trafikselskab (HT) was that good design would create a good travelling experience. “A bus with happy, well coordinated colours, with comfortable seats, and surfaces which are pleasant to touch, all contribute to making the journey an experience.” said Erik Davidsen, of the Greater Copenhagen Traffic Board.
A new design program was planned and, like any corporate identity, a new trademark would be essential. “The purpose of any trademark is to serve as a visual symbol for the enterprise it represents, in clear and simple terms,” Finn Torjussen, Managing Director of HT, explained. “This basic demand, we felt, was not met by our present trademark.” The original logo, introduced with HT’s formation in 1974, was a pentagon enclosing the letters ‘HT’. Despite the five-sided shape clearly representing the five district regions covered by the service, the logo’s design was seen as old-fashioned and out-of-date.
Continue reading to discover the criteria put forward to guide the public competition for the design of the new HT logo, see the runner up and winning design, and how this was developed and applied.
In February 1985, the Copenhagen Region Transport Co., and the Danish Design Council announced a public competition to design a new logo, which would then be judged by a jury selected by HT and the Danish Design Council. A total of 2.222 proposals were received in total. At the time, this was a record for design competitions in Denmark. The wide range of interest was demonstrated in the demographics of competition entrants; from young school children to professional graphic designers.
Designers – whose identities remained anonymous during the evaluation process – were asked to submit their proposals in a positive version (black on white), a negative version (white on black), and in both big and small sizes. From a practical and economical point of view, this would ensure that the designs could be replicated inexpensively in a variety of forms and formats, “in imprint and in sizes from ca 5mm to over 50cm,” according to the competition specifications.
The logo would also need to pair well with the ‘HT Yellow’ that covered the exterior of new buses. This warm sunshine hue was introduced two years prior, following its creation by artistic advisor Lise Honoré.
Against the backdrop of this bright and distinctive colour, the logo would need to be striking, and clearly visible, even if read at a 20 m distance/ on buses and signage or in its wider applications applied to stationery and tickets. To fit in with HT’s pre-existing brand elements, the logo must be compatible with Helvetica, as well as the Danish State Railway (DSR) logotype, for joint applications.
Above all, the competition asked that the design express a core philosophy of the enterprise that “good design is not a luxury” and that as supplier of public transportation in the Copenhagen Region, buses should provide a comfortable and pleasant environment to travel in, making good design accessible everyday to everyone. In addition to this, the competition guidelines suggested that the logo could evoke associations of transport, movement, and communicating HT as an environmentally friendly and customer-oriented enterprise.
Due to the high calibre of entries, it proved difficult for the jury to pick only one winner. A total of eight proposals were awarded prizes. There could, however, only be one winner. Art Director Peter Hiort and Graphic Designer Janne Igls Andersen created the winning design; the two letters of ‘HT’ written with a single continuous line. In italics, the design conveyed movement, progress, and dynamism.
Whilst the jury was pleased with the overall concept, the design was in need of a few modifications in order to achieve the ‘simple’ and ‘strong’ look of a truly great logo. These changes would take into account the optical view of the logo, and the adjustments the eye ‘makes’ on perception. The original mark was too slender, therefore the line thickness was increased. Upward tilted lines were made slightly thicker than the horizontal lines - an optical illusion that would make the logo appear as if it uses the same line thickness the whole way around, just like the British Rail Double Arrow.
A design manual was created for the implementation of the new design system, with detailed guidelines for colour, typography, and applications clearly mapped out. Finally, in August 1985, The Copenhagen Region Transport Co. introduced the 1st Prize winning proposal as the new logo of HT.
“Everywhere I go, the new trademark of The Copenhagen Region Transport Co., HT, has been well received. We will use it on our buses, bus stops and buildings, stationery and everywhere else where HT meets the public.” - Erik Davidsen, Greater Copenhagen Traffic Board
HT's successor from 2000, Hovedstadens Udviklingsråd (HUR) continued to use Hiort and Andersen’s dynamic logo until it was slowly and gradually phased out in the late 2000s.
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