Drawing hands
Alexandre Wollner's 1986 logo for São Paulo Petróleo.
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Brazil’s Companhia São Paulo Distribuidora de Derivados de Petróleo was incorporated in 1961 in the city of São Paulo. It was formed with the intention of purchasing, selling and distributing petroleum derivatives. However, due to the oil crisis of the 1970s, and the economic impact that rolled into the 1980s, domestic oil production in Brazil was supplied only about 17% of demand, the was being fulfilled by imports. This created a competitive landscape of foreign-owned brands. Reducing imports was critical to managing rising oil prices.
In order to better compete with these brands Companhia São Paulo Distribuidora de Derivados de Petróleo, later become São Paulo Petróleo, sought to consolidate and formalise its image. In 1986 renowned Brazilian designer Alexandre Wollner was given this task.
The objectives included making the corporation’s identity more flexible and adaptive to technological and cultural development; to convey a more defined ‘national character’; improve overall communications; reflect the corporation’s quality standards; and make its image more ‘compatible’ with the international markets.
The prior logo featured the words São Paulo which appeared in a rectangle placed on top of an extended hexagon. This was originally printed in red and black, then changed to a orange and brown. The combination of form and the later colour were felt to have not made ‘reference to the company's activities’. This was seen as a missed opportunity to develop ‘special strategic value’ through ‘subtle symbolic allusion’. At the time, this wasn’t common for the industry and would offer a route to differentiation in a competitive landscape.
The logo that was devised by Wollner, as outlined in the book ‘Alex Wollner Brasil - Design Visual’ was based on the map of the state of São Paulo. And, ‘coincidentally’, the shape also resembled two fuel nozzles facing each other. Further, the ‘symmetrical composition of two hands' drawing' in Dutch artist M. C. Escher's Mains dessinant also provided an impulse for the design's formal structure. A distinctive yet abstract shape was successfully derived from the corporation’s activities, its location, and through analogy, a unique combination.
Alongside the new logo, the corporate logotype was also updated. This was changed from Univers to Frutiger, and a tilde was added to the first ‘A’. The unusual slicing of the ‘A’ and tilde formed a consistent cap height improving its flexibility in use across a diverse set of contexts. With the logo, the name was shortened, with the word Petróleo (Petroleum) appearing alongside the logotype in a condensed form only for ‘important institutional or promotional communications’.
Throughout the application of the corporate identity, a modular approach established a continuity across many diversified contexts which included industrialised equipment facades, gas pumps, and flags. The modular system would define the proportions of all visual elements and their relationship to one another.
Developing the association with São Paulo was a return to the use of red, white and black. This were the state colours. The logo could be used in red or knocked out of red or black, and used in conjunction with a light grey which made from striking uniforms.
From 1986 to 1996 São Paulo Petroleum invested regularly in the development and cultivation of a consistent corporate design program. After ten years of use, a study recommended its continuation, except for a small cut to the logo. This eliminated the pointed edges for ‘technical reasons’. Optically, however, the configuration and overall look and feel was maintained.
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