The logo and corporate identity design of International Business Machines (IBM) is perhaps most distinguished by its approach as much as it is by its results. Loose but profound and operating on the assumption that any theme or device is doomed to become “hackneyed” or “dated”, two constants were settled on, to reflect quality and “the contemporary”.
Paul Rand, Eliot Noyes and IBM’s design programme
This notion came out of a close collaboration between IBM Chairman Thomas Watson, outside consultant Eliot Noyes–who dedicated his time to developing the IBM program but not as an employee–and renowned designer Paul Rand, who Noyes brought in as a graphics consultant. Noyes and Rand worked together, not on a dogmatic and extensive design policy with exclusively extrinsic concerns but rather a programme developed to foster intrinsic change within the company, which would then manifest itself outwardly and more significantly.
One initiative of Rand’s, perhaps best exemplifying the cultural shift towards design, was the setting up of the IBM Gallery in New York. This was a place for IBM staff and the general public to go and experience the work of international designers. One such exhibition was “Toys and things”, a display of the works of renowned Japanese designer Shigeo Fukuda.
Designing a logo that could last
As noted by Rand, in cases where companies are as complex as IBM, which reach across many countries, the only realistic framework should be “good design” and the use of a distinctive logotype to identify and unify.
Flexibility, versatility and adaptability were the principal concerns governing the design of the logotype. Its configuration was simple, designed to minimise problems of compatibility with other typefaces whilst also being distinctive, to meet aesthetic and practical requirements and accommodate changing international needs. This can be seen in the evolution of the logotype in 1956, 1967 and 1972.
The 1956 IBM logo
The first iteration (1956), a solid or outlined set of letterforms, sought to present a grounded and balanced appearance. Square counters in the “B” helped to differentiate the logotype from other typefaces and support visual recall in the viewer. Different line weights were used to create three different versions to satisfy different needs and scales.
Why the IBM logo has stripes
The second iteration of the IBM logo (1967) presents viewers with a cryptic visual language. Some have read the introduction of lines as being linked to the scan lines of a CRT screen. However, the truth lies in the idea of authority, and the notion that stripes appear like a security device to protect signatures from being counterfeited. These stripes were also meant to give the logotype the impression of speed, efficiency and dynamism.
The 8-bar and 13-bar versions
An 8-bar version (1972) introduced further flexibility, particularly in unusual use-cases such as die cutting, embossing and engraving. The 13-bar version was then to be employed across formal documents that included contracts and certificates.
The Eye-Bee-M poster
Then, in 1981, Rand turned the logo into a puzzle. His Eye-Bee-M poster swapped the letters for an eye, a bee and a striped M, a rebus that playfully broke the very rules he had set for the mark. IBM reportedly banned it at first, worried it would encourage staff to take liberties with the logo, and it went on to become one of the best-known pieces of corporate design ever made. Here’s the story of how it came about.
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