Mixing Messages | Essay


`INTRO THE STREET TYPOGRAPHY The Familiar The Modern IDENTITY Corporate Culture Subcultures Design Cultures PUBLISHING The Book The Magazine Electronic Publishing` `INTERVIEWS`

Steff Geissbuhler, principal
Chermayeff & Geismar Inc.

New York, June 1994

Describe your approach to corporate identity.
Over the years, we've come to approach identity in a different way. For example, for Knoll, we're focusing not on the logo but on an overall look and visual language. We've kept Massimo Vignelli's logo, because it's strong and has a history. We haven't approached the project in the old-fashioned sense of a trademark locked up with a typeface.

In the 1950s and 1960s, people working in corporate identity were discovering that repetition is important--the need to convey a consistent image. But that approach became too rigid, especially for smaller organizations, institutions, or companies that have other things to express--such as Knoll, where they want to express their creativity and attitude in presenting their design-intensive product.

Tell me about the work you did for Time Warner.
The Time Warner merger was a clash of cultures: Steven J. Ross, former chairman of Warner Communications, represented film, video, and television, while N. J. Nicholas, former chairman of Time Inc., represented serious journalism coming from a newspaper tradition. To represent the merger was very difficult. We showed them five different TW combinations, plus the eye and ear symbol. The products of both Time and Warner appeal to the eye and ear. But how do you combine an eye and an ear? It sounds good in theory, but it's difficult to do. Everyone said, You can't do another eye, because that's CBS. This town is not big enough for two eyes.

The eye/ear symbol was extremely well received by Steve Ross, who was the more flamboyant of the two chairmen. Ross convinced Nick that this was the way to go. Nicholas was very supportive and a great guy who knew that visual stuff was more Ross's territory.

We also proposed that the logo be purple to symbolize the merger--Time was traditionally associated with red, and Warner with blue. But purple wouldn't do--too "fruity" a color for Nicholas. Purple was okay for hairdressers, but not for these black-ink newspaper guys.

The designers of Warner's old logo had told them that their blue was "very special," and the designers of Time's logo had told them that their blue was "very special." It turned out that both companies were using exactly the same PMS color for their stationery--nothing special about it at all. We changed the color to a darker blue.

Why did Gerald Levin change the logo? New executives like to make their mark by changing logos-- it's cheaper than changing the architecture, although it's still exorbitant. The explanation for switching to a neutral typographic treatment was that our symbol was too powerful an image, that it competed with the individual identities of Time Warner's many subsidiaries. The eye/ear symbol is still used by Time Warner Cable.

What's important in corporate identity right now?
Corporate identity consists of a complete visual language, not just a trademark. If it's well done, corporate identity can communicate a lot about the workings of a company. It can say a lot about how a business runs. But the most important function of corporate identity is to increase brand recognition. No advertising campaign works if people don't know who authored the ad. Brand recognition is the most important value of corporate identity for companies. Think of Xerox--the made-up company name with x's on either end. It's become the generic name for photocopying and a whole class of office machines.

Executives have become more aware of graphic design, but business schools still don't teach the value of graphic design. In Switzerland, the situation is very different. Graphic design is part of the culture there--I never had to explain to my mother what a graphic designer is.