Dewag Dia Dresden is a 1965 logo design by German graphic designer Johannes Brase. The mark was created for the DEWAG (Deutsche Werbe- und Anzeigengesellschaft) advertising operation in Dresden, where Brase served as head of the studio from 1950 until his retirement in 1977. [1]
Design and History
Johannes Brase (1912–2000) was a Dresden-based Gebrauchsgrafiker (commercial graphic artist) who worked primarily as a designer of posters, signets (corporate marks), brochures and advertisements for industry. [1] His tenure at the DEWAG-Werbung Dresden studio spanned nearly three decades, during which he produced numerous corporate identities for East German enterprises.
The DEWAG itself was founded in Dresden in October 1945 under a Soviet military administration license, initially as a KPD-owned enterprise. Its headquarters moved to Berlin in 1949, and the organization was dissolved in 1990. [2] The Dresden studio where Brase worked remained an active design center throughout the GDR period.
Documentation of the specific Dewag Dia Dresden mark is limited. Brase’s known signet work for other clients includes marks for VVB Zuschlagstoffe und Natursteine (1964), PGH Wasseraufbereitung Dresden (1967) and VEB Feinwerktechnik Dresden (around 1970/1975). [1] The 1965 date attributed to the Dewag Dia Dresden logo places it within the same productive period as these other commissions.
Meaning and Symbolism
No official documentation has been located that describes the intended symbolism or design rationale behind the Dewag Dia Dresden mark. The DEWAG produced a range of advertising media, including slide film series (Dia-Serien) for cinema advertising and educational presentations. [3] The “Dia” in the name likely references this slide production activity, though this connection is not explicitly confirmed in available sources.
Brase’s signets for other clients are documented as appearing on products and packaging, such as the VEB Feinwerktechnik Dresden mark found on the Telefonuhr TFU 1501/4 telephone timer, now held in the Kunstgewerbemuseum collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. [4] This museum record confirms Brase’s signet work was applied across physical products and packaging in the mid-1960s.
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