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3M
Today:
The mark
designed by
Siegel & Gale
has been used
worldwide for
nearly a quarter
of a century.
While successful companies tend to grow more complex
over time, their trademarks usually become simpler.
Such is the case with 3M and its logo.
the evolution of a logo
1906:
The first 3M trademark
features the company’s
full name, its location,
and, in a diamond at the
center, the term “3M
Co.”
1926:
During the first fifty years of the
company’s history, trademarks
come and go with little fanfare
and much variation.
1937:
Traces of the current
monogram appear.
1938:
Then they disappear a
year later.
Graphic Design That Works
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DW)
ge:12
1942-1948:
The monogram reap-
pear
s, sometimes with
a hyphen, sometimes
without.
1951-1960:
With no standards manual to guide usage, variations of the oval design flourish. In some cases the oval appears as an outline. In
others, as a colored solid. Sometimes the oval disappears altogether. When 3M celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, laurel leaves are added.
1961:
3M hires the design
firm Gerald Stahl &
Associates to create a
definitive logo that will
unite the corporation
and all its business units
under a single mark. The
result is a boxy, serif 3M,
whose industrial look
earns it the nickname
“Plumber’s Gothic.”
1961:
With the new logo
design comes a stan-
dards manual that
contains four approved
variations of the logo.
This one is based on the
geometric paintings of
the Dutch artist Piet
Mondrian.
1977:
When variations of the 3M logo multiply
due to differing needs of company
divisions, the design firm Siegel & Gale
embarks on a redesign to solve the
problem. The result is a monogram
simplified to the bone: Serifs vanish; so
do taglines. Even the space between the
3 and the M is stripped away. For color,
red is chosen to convey a sense of power.
1950:
An oval design debuts.
Who created this mark
and why is unknown, but
soon it is in general use.
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