CBS Identity, 1960s- Font Article-Fontke.com For Mobile

CBS Identity, 1960s

News|Fonts in Use|Cave Grove 2014-02-13 12:48:37

In 1959, Lou Dorfsman was given the impossible task of following William Golden (the designer of the "eye logo") as Creative Director at CBS Television. One of the most important contributions to the CBS corporate image was his expounding upon Golden's high contrast Didone designs with help from ATF alum Freeman "Jerry" Craw.

In 1962, Dorfsman commisioned legendary type designer Freeman Craw to add finishing touches to an earlier specimen drawn by CBS staffers George Lois and Kurt Weihs. (Graphic designer Will Burtin once claimed that Golden's original logo used a Didot specimen that Burtin stuffed into his suitcase when he fled Nazi Germany in 1939.)

By 1964, Dorfsman was promoted to Director of Design, overseeing virtually every design aspect of the company. In 1965, CBS set up its new headquarters on 52nd Street in New York.

The resulting typeface was used in CBS's identity along with all promotional materials for the company.

Dorfsman was put in charge of designing all sorts of fixtures in the CBS Building, including elevators buttons, exit signs and wall clocks. Dorfsman used Craw's CBS Didot thoughout the whole building, with the famous exception of Gastrotypographicalassemblage, a project assisted by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase.

By the 1970's, Dorfsman started to stray away from the uptight design sensibilities of the 60's. Craw's custom typeface saw less and less use. CBS Didot would still go on to be used on CBS projects, like the self-titled debut LP of Jaco Pastorius.

Dorfsman's years at CBS are prolifically documented in his book Dorfsman and CBS: A 40 Year Commitment to Excellence in Advertising and Design.