LOGOEVOLUTION

“Do not seek to change what has come before. Seek to create that which has not.”

- David Airey

VOLKSWAGENVolkswagen was first developed in the 1930’s when Hitler wanted to create an automobile that the average person could afford. In 1937,

“Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagen mbH” was founded. In 1938 the company is renamed “Volkswagenwerk GmbH”. In the Volkswagenwerk plant in Wolfsburg, the production of a new vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche began. During WWII, Volkswagenwerk’s production is changed to armaments. Around 20,000 forced laborers, prisoners of war, and concentration camp prisoners were working in the plant. At the end of WWII, in mid June 1945, the British Military Government took responsibility for Volkswagenwerk. Under the direction of Major Ivan Hirst, the Volkswagen Beetle started mass production. In March 1950 the Type 2 goes in to production, making the company’s range grow. In 1955, the employees and dealers celebrated the production of the one millionth Volkswagen Beetle in Wolfsburg. In 1972 Volkswagen breaks the world record for car production, beating the Ford Motor Company Model T. 15,007,034 Volkswagen Beetles were assembled.

The first logo was designed by a Porsche employee named Franz Xavier Reimspiess during an office competition. The V and W of the logo were in a thick sans serif font, surrounded by what looks like a ship’s wheel and propeller blades. The logo was in plain black and white. The second design, which is from before WWII, removed the propeller blade design, leaving just the letters and ship’s wheel design. After WWII, when the British took control of the company, there wasn’t major changes made to the logo. They got rid of the ship’s wheel design, leaving just the letters inside of a plain circle. After, Volkswagen was returned to the German government, then became one of the bestselling car companies in the world. The current logo for Volkswagen is the same structurally as the previous logo, with only color variences. The black is changes to white, and a three dimension effect is added.

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PEPSIPepsi’s originial name when it was founded in 1989 by Caleb Bradham was “Brad’s Drink.” He made the drink and sold it in his pharmacy, like many of the time frame. He later changed the name to Pepsi Cola, after the pepsi and kola nuts used in the recipe. In 1903, Pepsi sold 7,968 gallons of syrup used to create the drink. Only six years later, the sales increased to 19,848 gallons. In 1926, Pepsi revealed its first logo redesign since the original in 1905. It was then redesigned in 1929. In 1931, during the Great Depression, Pepsi-Cola filed for bankruptsy, caused partially by the fluctuating cost of sugar. On three seperate occasions between 1922 and 1933, Coca Cola was offered chanes to purchase Pepsi-Cola, but declined each time.

In 1906, a modified script if created for the logo, alond with the slogan, “The Original Pure Food Drink.” The slogan is dropped when Loft, Inc. buys the company and gives Pepsi a new slogan, “Refreshing & Healthful” in 1933. In 1941, to support the war effort, Pepsi changes the logo from red to red, white, and blue. Two years later, the logo is changed to a bottle cap look with the new slogan, “Be Sociable.” In 1962, the logo becomes a serrated bottle cap with a “Pepsi Generation” ad campaign. Over the next decade, the logo evolves in to a boxed look with a minor typeface. In 1991, to foster the earlier logo’s movement, the typeface is changed to a capital italic. A new logo is revealed in 1998, with a three dimensional look against a ice blue background. The current logo, revealed in 2009, is a simple circle made of red and blue swishes. The typeface is changed to a lowercase light, where the “e” mimics the movement of red and blue.

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DC COMICSThe first logo, released in 1940, was a circle that said “A DC Publication”. After the release of Superman, the logo changed to say “A Superman DC Publication.” In 1949, the various businesses that made up DC Comics were formalized into National Comics, Inc. This changed the logo to say “Superman National Comics” with the DC initials in the center. In 1970, DC made an attempt to capitalize on sales success. During this time, the logo depicted to the host title’s character in a circle and a simple “DC” identification. In 1972, the logo became a simple white circle with the bold DC initials inside. The company modified the logo again in 1975 to read, “The Line of DC Superstars.” The current logo was created in 1976 by Milton Glaser. It mixes the elements of past logos while establishing a fresh feel.. This new logo is also known as “The Bullet.”

DC Comics started as New Fun Comics in 1935, but didn’t start branding itself until the 1940’s. The “DC” referred to Detective Comics, one of the oldest and most popular published comics at the time. DC Comics was started by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. In 1938, the first Superman appeared. In 1939, one million copies of Action Comics #7 were sold. By 1940, the distinctive circular DC logo was appearing on National Allied Publications and All American comics. In 1954, Dr. Fredric Wertham of Bellevue launched a Congressional inquiry where be blamed comics books and their gruesome covers for juvenile delinquency, and asserted that Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman were homosexual.

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SHELLMarcus Samuel started Shell Oil Company after he started exporting and importing shells in 1833. In 1912, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group funded the American Gasoline Company to sell gasoline along the Pacific Coast. After WWI, the demand for oil products increased, which fueled Shell’s search for new fields. Completed in 1915, Shell’s Martinez Refinery was the country’s first modern refinery. Immediate post-war years were tough for Shell, as reconstuction was expensive. The 1980’s saw the developement of offshore exploration projects such as the Troll Field in Norway and a well drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. The well in the Gulf of Mexico was drilled to a depth that broke a record, about one and a half miles.

The word “Shell” first appeared in 1891, as the trade mark for kerosene being shipped t the Far East. The first logo released in 1901, was a mussel shell. By 1904, the mussel shell was replaced by a pecten emblem. It’s a rumor that the shell was taken from the founder’s family coat of arms. As time progressed, the logo got simpler. It started to lose the details and square background of the previous logo. The current logo was designed in 1971 by Raymnd Loewy, who also made logos fr BP and Exxon. Now the company’s logo has become so recognizable, it often appears without the company name.

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Works Cited

Volkswagen:www.vw.com

Pepsi-Colawww.pepsico.com

DC Comicswww.dccomics.com

Shell Oilwww.shell.com

Designed and Written by Brittany JasminComposed in Impact and Times New Roman

Copyright © 2012 Brittany Jasmin, Portland, Maine, Maine College of Art