ThrowBack Thursday: MOBIL

Today we pay respect to the work of one firm that has been around for a really long time and has done some of the most iconic work to date. May I present to some and introduce to others Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, the minds behind the Mobil Brand.


According to Wikipedia,
"Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv -- formerly Chermayeff & Geismar -- is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar. The firm is famous for designing logos for such companies as Pan Am, Mobil Oil, PBS, Chase Bank, Barneys New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Xerox, Smithsonian Institution, NBC, Cornell University, National Geographic, State Farm Insurance, and many others. Ivan Chermayeff and Thomas Geismar were awarded the AIGA Medal in 1979. In 2007, designer Sagi Haviv became the third partner at the firm. In 2013 Haviv's name was added to the masthead and the firm became known as Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. In 2008, Haviv, Chermayeff and Geismar released a new identity for the Library of Congress,and in 2009 redesigned the logo of the fashion brand Armani Exchange. In recent years, the firm created identities for the Kennedy Center Honors; Hearst Corporation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Conservation International, the Women's Tennis Association, Harvard University Press and other major institutions.^"

Their iconic work

 

 

Geismar and Chermayeff

 

Chermayeff and Geismar and Haviv

 

 

At work in the cg studio.

These guys are the real deal, way before the advent of photoshop and the ingenious convenience of mockups, they've been winning clients with raw talent and God given skill. Heres a look at the work they did for mobil (spanning a 35 year period,....WOW!)


Mobil Corporation by Chermayeff & Geismar

Official press release
"Our firm designed the Mobil logo and developed its complete corporate identification program, with continuing consultation for 35 years. The program was built around the logo, a specially designed alphabet, a clear policy for color, and a comprehensive design approach that integrated new graphics with new architecture designed by Eliot Noyes. It included design of product packaging, vehicle markings, print material, posters, and all design, packaging, and sign standards for facilities throughout the world."

The original, 'hand-drawn' custom typeface for Mobil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bold, Conspicuous, Corporate and Iconic, this is how Chermayeff and Geismar crafted the Mobil Brand years ago, and till today it stands as one of the most recognizable and iconic brands of the modern world.

Cheers to all creatives crafting our tommorows. God bless.

BNG.