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.
Did you know that Paul Rand was invited to submit a proposal for a new Ford logo in 1965?
Rand described Ford’s logo as ‘hopelessly outdated, tied to the company’s 1903 roots and unsuitable for modern industry.’
When Ford was founded, “graphic identification was viewed more as artistic embellishment than functional necessity“. “The world was flooded with ‘heavied up’ scripts, fancy frills and shapely frames...If one were to choose but one flaw [of the present logo] it would be that it is incongruous in point of time with its environment...The oval shape in which the signature is housed is not distinctive; it is merely another oval which is not unique to any one time or period.”
Rand defined the key traits of Ford’s previous logo and proposed a version that translated these into contemporary terms; using even stroked letters instead of the Copperplate script; replacing a common oval frame with a lozenge and creating a distinctive ‘F’. The effect, as described in the proposal document ‘conveys the impression of motion and moving lights’ and vastly improved the logo’s usability.
Despite the pioneering attitude and vision of Rand, it would be Unimark that would win the project, not by reinventing, but by refining the old, and formalising the brand so it became far consistent where it previously had not been.
Thank you for subscribing to Logo Histories. If you enjoy reading this short you may also enjoy these resources from the same team:
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.