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Lucas Industries was a British manufacturer of automotive and aerospace components that grew, by the mid-1970s, into one of the largest of its kind in the world.
At the time, the corporate policy was to appear publicly as small in scale, even though it was significant and extensive. This policy, however, had brought about a complex tapestry of subsidiary names, trademarks and brands.
Confusion and managerial difficulties grew in tandem with the continued increase in subsidiaries. With this problem in mind, in 1975, the Lucas Group decided to introduce a new corporate identity system and logo that would unify all subsidiaries under a single corporate image and design policy. Lucas chose Pentagram, and founders Colin Forbes and Alan Fletcher, to develop a new brand architecture and corporate identity.
The basic element of this new corporate identity was made up of what was known as the “Lucas diagonal”. This would function as the new group identifier and used to link and identify the diverse activities of the Lucas group.
The “Lucas Diagonal” was a 45 ° band moving from bottom left to top right, with an L-shaped, right-angled cut at its centre. This band was comprised of twenty equal squares from which three variations of the logo were derived. It was however possible, depending on the context, for the diagonal to bleed vertically or horizontally at either end. This full bleed version would be used across packaging, car liveries and signage.


The Lucas Diagonal was supported by the custom corporate typeface ‘Lucas Alphabet’ designed by Matthew Carter. This was used in conjunction with the secondary typeface Univers Condensed as a readily available option with worldwide distribution.
Lucas Green was used for all corporate and market sector materials, however, a broader colour palette was devised to help delineate between brands, quickly aid recognition within a complex catalogue of components and used to catch the eye and draw people to promotional materials.
Lucas Industries merged with Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc. Aspects of the brand were kept alive although in a far reduced form. The logotype and Lucas Diagonal remain, with the green becoming the single dominant colour throughout.
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