Graphic Design That Works

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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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Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)

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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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