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Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

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Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
FormerlyBrownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (1957–1959)
Chermayeff & Geismar (1959–2006)
Company typePartnership
IndustryCorporate identity
Founded1957; 67 years ago (1957) in New York City
FounderRobert Brownjohn, Tom Geismar and Ivan Chermayeff
HeadquartersNew York City
Key people
Websitecghnyc.com
Well-known logos designed by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv: (left to right, top to bottom) NBC, Mobil, Merck, Armani Exchange, Smithsonian Institution, PBS, Showtime, NYU, Barneys New York, Chase Bank, National Geographic, Univision

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv (formerly Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar and Chermayeff & Geismar) is a New York–based branding and graphic design firm. It is currently led by partners Tom Geismar and Sagi Haviv.[1]

About

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It was founded in 1957 by the two Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar as well as Robert Brownjohn, a protégé of László Moholy-Nagy and Chermayeff's father, industrial designer Serge Chermayeff, at the New Bauhaus in Chicago.[2] Brownjohn, who struggled with heroin addiction for most of his adult life, left the partnership to join J. Walter Thompson's London branch in 1959.

The firm has designed 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,[3] State Farm,[4] and many others. Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar were awarded the AIGA Medal in 1979.[5][6] Chermayeff died on December 3, 2017, at the age of 85.[7][8]

Between 1976 and 2005 Steff Geissbuhler also joined as a partner. In 2006, designer Sagi Haviv became the third partner at the firm.[9] In 2013 Haviv's name was added to the masthead and the firm became known as Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.[10] Designer Mackey Saturday joined the firm as a principal in 2016.[11]

In recent years, the firm created identities for America250,[12] Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.,[13] the New York City Marathon,[14] Bechtel, [15]Discovery, Inc.'s online streaming service Discovery+,[16] the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum,[17] the US Open tennis tournament,[18] the Culinary Institute of America,[19] tech and electric car company Togg,[20] fintech company Network Capital,[21] esports brand Panda Global,[22] Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment,[23] Animal Planet,[24] Impossible Aerospace,[25] Hearst Corporation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Conservation International,[26] the Women's Tennis Association,[27] Harvard University Press,[28] State Farm, Grupo Imagen TV (Mexico),[29] L.A. Reid's Hitco Entertainment,[30] Leonard Bernstein at 100,[31] ClearMotion,[32] Nanotronics,[33] Flatiron Health[34] and other major institutions.

The firm is known for the exhibits and environmental art installations it has designed, including the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the Statue of Liberty Museum, two World's Fair pavilions (the U.S. pavilions of 1967 and 1970), and the red number 9 at 9 West 57th Street in New York City. In 2008, the new Star-Spangled Banner exhibit designed by the firm opened at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The firm also designed the Kennedy Center Honors medal,[35] and designs motion graphics, such as the titles for the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary series Carrier[36] and in 2009, a motion graphics display for Alicia Keys’ annual fundraiser for her Keep a Child Alive Foundation.

Published Books

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In 2018, Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar and Sagi Haviv co-authored Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. The book was published by Standards Manual (ISBN 0692955232).[37]

In 2011, Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar and Sagi Haviv co-authored the book Identify: Basic Principles of Identity Design in the Iconic Trademarks of Chermayeff & Geismar. The book was published by Print magazine's book imprint, (ISBN 978-1440310324).

National Design Award

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In October 2014, the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Tom Geismar and Ivan Chermayeff by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.[38]

Visual Identities Designed

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See also

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Sources

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  1. ^ Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv website
  2. ^ Art, a Laboratory for Sign Language, New York Times
  3. ^ NBC And Pan Am Designers On How They Made Some Of The World’s Most Iconic Logos Fast Co. Design
  4. ^ State Farm Gets Less Wordy in Logo Refresh AdAge
  5. ^ Chermayeff, I; Geismar, T; Geissbuhler, S., (2003) Designing:, New York; Graphis, Inc.
  6. ^ Chermayeff, Geismar, Inc., (2000) TM, Trademarks Designed by Chermayeff & Geismar, New York; Princeton Architectural Press.
  7. ^ Fox, Margalit (2017-12-04). "Ivan Chermayeff, 85, Eminent Designer of Familiar Logos, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  8. ^ "Ivan Chermayeff, who defined the look of corporate America, has died". Quartzy. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  9. ^ Sagi Haviv interview on designboom
  10. ^ *New York Times announcement that Sagi Haviv's name was added to Chermayeff & Geismar's masthead
  11. ^ Amanda Aszman, "Designer of the Week: Mackey Saturday," Print, April 28, 2016.
  12. ^ New York Times, America 250
  13. ^ Fast Co. Design Warner Bros. Discovery Gets a Modern New Logo
  14. ^ Creative Review Lady Liberty Turns Orange for the NYC Marathon
  15. ^ UnderConsidertation Brand New New Logo for Bechtel Corporation
  16. ^ UnderConsideration
  17. ^ U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum site
  18. ^ US Open Tennis announces new logo
  19. ^ "If you can't Stand the Wheat, Get out of the Kitchen". underconsideration.com.
  20. ^ "Hot Togg Time Machine".
  21. ^ "Brand New: New Logo for Network Capital by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv".
  22. ^ Esports Insider
  23. ^ New Logo for Wolf Films by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
  24. ^ Discovery Channel announces new brand identity for Animal Planet
  25. ^ Graphic Design USA
  26. ^ The World Underlined, Under Consideration / Brand New
  27. ^ EssentialTennis report on WTA logo
  28. ^ designboom review of Harvard University Press logo
  29. ^ UnderConsideration BrandNew review of Imagen logo
  30. ^ UnderConsideration Review of Hitco logo
  31. ^ UnderConsideration Brand New review of Course Hero logo
  32. ^ Adobe Create interview with Haviv
  33. ^ UnderConsideration BrandNew review of Nanotronics logo
  34. ^ Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv website
  35. ^ American University Magazine
  36. ^ Carrier film credits
  37. ^ Standards Manual / Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
  38. ^ "2014 National Design Award Winners," Cooper Hewitt, 2014.
  39. ^ "Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv".

Further reading

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