Unimark International was an international

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1965 by seven partners: Ralph Eckerstrom, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Bob Noorda, James Fogelman, Wally Gutches, and Larry Klein. Although they were not listed as founding partners,

Jay Doblin Jay Doblin (December 10, 1920 – May 11, 1989) was an American industrial designer and educator, best known for his contribution to the field of design in particular his work related to systems thinking, design methods and design theory in genera ...

and Robert Moldafsky joined the new firm almost immediately. Initially, Unimark had three offices: Chicago, Milan and New York. The American branches were founded by Vignelli and his wife Lella, who subsequently founded Vignelli Associates. Additional offices opened around the world, but these were often short-lived as the client base and funding varied, and as American and global economic issues influenced the viability of each office. Unimark downsized dramatically in 1972 and filed for final

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

in 1977, with the company ceasing to exist. Although the firm was relatively short-lived, it was at one time the largest design firm in the world, and it had a major influence on the direction of American design aesthetics. The firm was a leader in establishing a modernist philosophical direction for corporate design that is still widely followed. Former

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

designer

Herbert Bayer Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...

was an early member of the firm's Board of Directors. The graphic style of Unimark's projects was decidedly

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. Unimark rejected the idea of the designer-as-artist, embraced standardization and systems and emphasizing the use of

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as an organizational tool for corporate communications. The typeface

Helvetica Helvetica, also known by its original name Neue Haas Grotesk, is a widely-used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the f ...

was widely, though not exclusively, used by Unimark designers. The firm was an early specialist in designing corporate identity systems, branding, and signage systems. Clients included

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC , doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio alon ...

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, and the New York Transit Authority who continue to use Unimark-created trademarks and graphic standards. Due to the significance and history of the Unimark name, a number of copy-cat design companies have adopted the name in order to attract business. However, none of the current firms or their employees are connected in any way to the original Unimark International. Along with the archives of founder Massimo Vignelli, many of the Unimark archives are now housed in the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

Bibliography

References

External links

List of Unimark holdings in the New York Museum of Modern Art
{{Authority control Graphic design studios Defunct companies based in Chicago Design companies established in 1964 1964 establishments in Illinois Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977