GM Corporate Identity Questions!

[lau]

I have trouble finding information about GM's logo.

1) Who designed GM's current corporate logo?

2) How many different corporate logos has GM used throughout its history? And what do they look like?

Edited April 16, 2006 by lau

[balthazar]

Good question. I do not know offhand who designed it. Probably overseen by Bill Mitchell.

The familiar turquoise GM Mark of Excellence first appeared in the door jambs on '67s. It does not appear in Divisional print advertising until sometime during model year 1966.

As for earlier versions, I have some corporate ads from 1930 where a very similar "GM" in a square (black & white, no underscore, "General Motors inside the square) is shown. It does not appear in a 12-page full-line GM ad I have for 1929, nor in a 1925 GM ad featuring all divisional logos (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, GMC, Klaxxon, Fisher, Delco, Remy, AC, Harrison, Jacox, Fridigaire, Jaxon, Hyatt, Brown-Lipe-Chapin, Lancaster Steel, DN).

After '30, it does appear, tho not consistantly, in GM corporate ads I have for '35, '44, '45, but not '60, '63, '64. I have an extensive print advertising collection and I would go out on a limb and state that it appeared in maybe only 25% of print ad & publications (corporate, owner's manuals, non-car division material, etc) between 1930 and 1966. Most of the time "GENERAL MOTORS" was merely spelled out.

Here's a version from circa '44: slight variations were used- this one features "Diesel Power" underneath. BTW- that black & gold/yellow was the common corporate color scheme, too: I have a '64 part new in box with the same color scheme & logo, but a '66-67 part box was blue/turquoise on white.

Clearly the '30 design is related to the current one, but someone tweaked it circa '66.

[lau]

Thanks for the find, balthazar.