Hello and welcome to this video
Gareth here from TastyTuts.com.
In this video we're going to look at the AT&T logo
learn a little bit about the logo and the designer behind it.
So this AT&T logo was designed in 1983
and served until 2015 when it was
reworked by a studio called Interbrand.
This logo was designed by an American designer
called Saul Bass born in nineteen twenty.
Saul Bass is regarded as one of the best graphic designers
of the 20th century best known for his design
of motion picture title sequences,
film posters and corporate logos.
Saul Bass was also an academy award-winning filmmaker
examples of Saul Bass's famous title sequences include:
The man with the Golden Arm 1955.
North by Northwest 1959.
And Psycho 1960.
To watch it in terms in full
you can find links in the description.
Examples of Saul Bass's film poster work include:
The Man with the Golden Arm 1955,
Saint Joan 1957,
Vertigo 1958,
Anatomy of a murder 1959,
and the shining 1980.
Now these are just a few of many posters Saul Bass designed.
To see more posters you can
check out the website: Saulbassposterarchive.com
Load more to see there.
Link is in description.
So as well as his motion picture and poster designs
over his forty year career Saul Bass
designed many iconic logo designs,
many of which of gone largely unchanged.
It's been said that the average lifespan
of a Saul Bass logo is 34 years.
Examples include: The United Way logo
designed in 1972 only to be refined slightly in 2004.
The Girl Scouts logo designed in 1978
refined slightly in 2010.
The Kleenex logo modified slightly
from Bass's original design in 2007
and the Dixie logo designed in 1969
to be tweaked and modified slightly in 2016.
To see the logo evolution of these four examples
you can find links in the description.
Now out of all of his logo designs
one of his most famous is his AT&T logo.
The AT&T logo was redesigned from the
previous 'Bell logo' which was also designed by Saul Bass.
The 'Bell logo' served from 1969
to become a globe in 1983.
This logo would become known as the death star logo.
The horizontal lines would come to represent lines that covered the globe
suggesting worldwide communication.
The AT&T logo is essentially a combination mark,
it includes two visual elements
the prominent logomark and a logotype,
in this case more specifically a lettermark
because it's an acronym. To quote Saul Bass:
The symbol creates the uniqueness in the mark.
So the lettering in the logotype can remain clear and easy to read.
The symbol becomes a flag,
by itself the logotype is just another word in a sea of words
but combined the symbol serve as a focal point
directing attention to the name.
The lettermark element was a bold monolithic Sans Serif typeface
developed in the previous logo version.
This along with a blue colour was kept
in the 1983 version.
Over 40 years the logo would be
modified and refined slightly with a added dimension.
Today the AT&T logo is still reminiscent
of Saul Bass's design back in 1983.
In 2015 the logo would become refined
with a change of typeface and more curvature lines.
Today it is common for the logotype element
to appear standard alone
or as a lock up with the lettermark.
So what do I think about this logo?
Well ideally a logo should maintain a long lifespan
and remain consistent throughout the course of time
It's obvious that Saul Bass understood this concept
because lots of his his logos have gone largely unchanged.
This logo is one of them.
I like how simple the original incarnation was
and how to lent itself to a modern treatment.
It may have changed slightly
but it's still got Bass's original version behind it.
I like the new version
but I still prefer Saul Bass's 1983 logo
I find it more bold, striking and memorable.
So what can we learn from this story?
Well what's interesting about Saul Bass
is that he created many logos
between the 1960's and 1980's.
Since then there has been big changes in how society behaves
and reacts to different forms of design.
Many of his logos still remain very similar to their original incarnations
So how have they proved to be so effective and timeless?
What is most striking
about Saul Bass's work is it's simplicity.
His designs are bold logomarks and typically use just one or two colours.
Saul Bass saw his logo symbols as flags serving as focal points.
There is strong visual narrative, movement and direction in his designs
executed elegantly and simply. Each design is very distinct and memorable so
Saul Bass's work has proven that simplicity along with strong visual narrative and originality
is the formula for timeless logos.
If you'd like to learn more about Saul Bass
you can watch some video links and read more articles
links are in the description
there's quite a few interesting links there so I recommend you check it out.
So that's one of many logos and designers I have spoken about
if you enjoyed this video and want to watch more like it
you can see more episodes in the famous logos playlist
link is in description.
Well I hope you enjoyed this video.
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So until next time, have fun guys
and I'll see you in the next video.