The American society is inundated with advertisements, brands, and logos haunting individuals day in and day out. With little to no regard, we are decorated like war heroes in Converse, Starbucks, RadioShack, Apple, QuikTrip, American Eagle, and so many more. Seldom do we stop to think about the visionaries behind our collection of brands. Certain designers in particular have risen to fame (and fortune) by branding the most popular and most successful logos of our time.
Regarded as one of the greatest designers of the 20th century, Saul Bass had an extensive, masterful career. Born 1920 in the Bronx district of New York, little of Bass’ life before his education is known. By the time he was 16, Bass won a scholarship to study at the Art Student’s League in Manhattan. In 1946, Saul Bass made the move from the East coast to the West, settling in Los Angeles, California.
It wasn’t until 1954 that Bass began to venture into the film industry, where he quickly gained notable fame. His first project was an ad-campaign for Carmen Jones (1954), a film based on the Hammerstein classic opera Carmen, produced by Otto Preminger. Bass gained notoriety with the campaign by linking motifs in the ads and the film itself. He was again asked to design a motif for the 1955 film Man with the Golden Arm, in which he developed a logo shaped like an arm, intended to indicate addiction, a theme of the film. Saul Bass established working relationships with several other directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Martin Scorsese.
During the height of his career in 1966, Bass developed the corporate identity for the well-established Bell System telephone company. The logo was simple, straightforward and informative of the history of the corporation featuring a light blue bell surrounded by a thick, blue circle. Bell System served as a monopoly over the telephone industry until 1984, when the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the company to split into eight separate entities. AT&T emerged out of the split, asking Saul Bass once again to create the corporate identity for the “new” company.
The classic AT&T logo by Saul Bass features a single globe with a linear overlay. The weight of each line in the pattern is varied to create the illusion of depth. Underneath the globe is bold, capital text marking the solidity and power of the corporation. A country-less globe was chosen to symbolize the company’s power and position in the global market. The originator of the parent company, Bell System, was the very inventor of the telephone itself. Thus, it was very important to establish the AT&T as a prominent, global power. The simplicity of the logo propelled its meaning forward by being easily translatable across multiple languages.
In 2005, the AT&T Corporation decided to revitalize its logo to reflect the expanding nature of telecommunication. On the day of the release, Edward Whitacre, chairman and CEO had this to say about the shift away from Saul’s classic logo, “Today's shift to a new brand and a new look symbolizes the strategic transformation under way at the new AT&T. It also reflects the fact that, while our brand has a long and proud heritage, the attributes that bring it to life for our customers are as fresh and new as ever.” While AT&T claimed to be holding on to its heritage, a backlash was in motion.
Many designers felt that the shift was an ugly turn. They felt it was pure debauchery to alter such a classic logo – and alter it for the worse. Several of the base elements remained the same for the new version: implied spherical country-less globe, linear stripes of varying widths, and a signature blue. However, some of the changes were seen as negative, such as the shift in font to lower case and moved to the right side of the globe.
The main discrepancy with the logo change was that it wasn’t changed enough. It still sung to Bass’ original design, clinging desperately to the vision he originally crafted. AT&T’s goal was to slide easily into the new, digital age. To them, they felt a new logo was what it took to progress forward. What it all boils down to is taste. Both logos are thoroughly adequate in getting the message and identity of AT&T across. In the end, isn’t that all that matters to a multi-billion dollar corporation?
Sources
AT&T, "The History of AT&T." 2010.http://www.corp.att.com/history/ (accessed 09/16/2010).
"Biography of Saul Bass." 2010.http://www.answers.com/topic/saul-bass (accessed 09/16/2010).
Design Museum, "Saul Bass." 2006.http://designmuseum.org/design/saul-bass (accessed 09/16/2010).
Giampietro, Rob, Smith, Kevin. "AT&T's Not-So-New LogoBusiness Week (2005), http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2005/id20051212_770492.htm. (accessed 9/17/2010).
SBC Knowledge Ventures. “The New AT&T Unveils New Corporate Logo on First Day as Nation's Largest Telecommunications Company.” 2005. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=21908 (accessed 9/17/2010).
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