Thomas Geismar, (1931 - *)

I know it’s something of a cliché to say this, but we really do view graphic design, and especially logo design, as a problem solving process, a process not dissimilar to that used in other related disciplines such as architecture and engineering. The initial task is to understand and define what the issues are, and what the goals should be. With that background in mind, we strive to come up with the best possible design “solution” to the problem, using imagination and artistic invention to create something memorable and meaningful. In that sense, our approach has not changed at all.

I have always been attracted to reductive design, trying to find the essence of an idea, and then finding an imaginative way to clearly express it. that approach is quite relevant to logo design, especially the design of symbols and marks. I have also always loved type and typography, and designing letter forms, and that is certainly relevant to the design of wordmarks. I also like the fact that logos don’t get thrown out with the trash, as does so much of graphic design. The logo is only one part of any organization’s 'identity'. the logo essentially helps people clearly identify the entity. but over time the logo inevitably takes on, or rather stands for, those other characteristics that make up 'identity'. as with national flags, it becomes almost impossible to separate the pure logo design from all of one’s feelings about the entity it represents.

Thomas Geismar has designed numerous innovative and imaginative corporate logos; including  logos for Xerox, Chase Manhattan Bank, Best Products, Gemini Consulting, PBS, Univision, Rockefeller Center and, Mobil Oil.

Born in 1931 in Glenn Ridge, New Jersey, Tom Geismar  studied concurrently at the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University. He received a master's degree in graphic design from Yale University, School of Art and Architecture.

Chase Manhattan Bank

In 1957, Geismar teamed up with fellow graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff and Robert Brownjohn to establish   Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar which in 1960 became  Chermayeff & Geismar  when Brownjohn moved  with his family to London to seek help for its devastating drug addiction. Geismar projects include such major tourist attractions as the Ellis Isand Immigration Museum, the Statue of Liberty Museum, the Truman Presidential Library, and the redesigned Star-Spangled Banner exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. He has received major awards in the field, including one of the first Presidential Design Awards for helping to establish a national system of standardized transportation symbols.

Univision

National Aquarium in Baltimore