Chapter 20: Corporate Identity and Visual Systems; Chapter 21: The Conceptual Image

In Chapter 20, the topic covered is corporate identity and visual systems. After World War II, there were many advances in the economy and there was prosperity because of technological development. There was a positive outlook on the future, and it was said: “Good design is good business”. Graphic design was used as a way to develop corporate identity for viewers. In the past, trademarks and symbols were used as identity systems, but during the 1950s, a design system was used in order to communicate. Adriano Olivetti was the son of Camillo Olivetti—president of AEG—and he had a good sense of organization when it came to graphic design. He hired Giovanni Pintori, who created simple, yet complex designs; simple shapes and abstraction were also used in order to present function and purpose. CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) did not use a traditional corporate identity, like other companies used. Frank Stanton and William Golden were two who understood design, in the way that function needed to be carried out, and brought forth successful designs through creativity. Other designers during this time were Georg Olden and Lou Dorfsman. Olden was an African American who was cherished for his designs, which were comprised of symbols, signs and images. He also found a way to make the TV graphics more communicative. Dorfsman created clear, well-arranged graphics; no continuity was present between his layouts, imagery and typefaces. The intention of CBS was to carry out creativeness rather than a system of style, although, by the 1980s, their viewpoint changed and so did their graphics. There was a need for quickly-made, simple signage for travelers. The goal was to effectively communicate with simple, yet bold/interesting symbols/forms. When it came to the Olympics, it was important for the larger audience to be informed. Symbols had to be invented that would easily be understood by just about anyone. MTVs logo, which was introduced during the early 1980s, was continuously recreated, unlike other corporate identity logos. This made an impact on future logo designs, bringing forth more elements of color, texture and decoration.

Chapter 21 was on The Conceptual Image. After the war, a school of poster art opened, which was a union. New trends began to develop, with an interest in Surrealism and the metaphysical. Polish posters included many interesting elements, including, expression, communication, the spread of ideas, darkness, somberness, and surrealism. Tadeusz Trepkowski was a designer who focused on devastation by reducing the image and text to their simplest forms. Henry Tomaszewski carried out new emotions. Waldenar Sweizy created over 1,000 posters, incorporating perfection and the inspiration of folk art. In America, new processes were coming about for printing, paper, and photography. Milton Glaser was a type designer influenced by Art Nouveau, Victorian and Art Deco styles; he used unexpected form and started the Push Pin Studio—a studio where there was a creation of new ideas.

The most influential thing I learned about from chapter 20, how CBS cared more about using creativity while carrying out their designs rather than following a planned system of style, as other organizations/companies used. This brought forth an interest in designers to work for them because they were able to incorporate their own ideas and/or preferences. While looking at the CBS trademark on page 400 in Megg’s History of Graphic Design, it is seen that a layer of clouds are present among the simple shape of an eye and typography. I just looked up a contemporary trademark of CBS and noticed how the two designs compare/contrast. There is definitely more creativity/detail in the 1950s trademark than in the contemporary one. There are more words and clouds are present. In today’s CBS trademark, the letters “CBS” are largely present and positioned next to the same eye used in the old design.

What gave CBS the desire to use creativity for their trademark designs?