Mesy Shirts is a Belgian clothing brand whose 1974 logo was designed by Paul Ibou, one of the country’s pioneering graphic designers. Ibou, born Paul Vermeersch in 1939, began working as an independent designer in 1962 under the pseudonym Paul Ibou, derived from the French word “hibou” (owl) [1]. Over a career spanning more than 60 years, he designed roughly 350 logos and symbols for organizations and companies [2].
Design and History
The Mesy Shirts logo was created in 1974, during a period when Ibou was actively producing corporate identities for Belgian businesses. His approach to logo design was notably hands-on: to convince clients of his proposals, Ibou built three-dimensional logo objects, mostly in plexiglass mounted on a base, which he presented to customers. This collection of roughly thirty logo-objects, known as his “logotheek,” was acquired by Design Museum Gent in 2019 [1].
Ibou’s work for Mesy Shirts fits within his broader practice of creating clear visual identities for companies and organizations, a field in which he played a pioneering role in Belgium [3]. Among his other well-known commissions were logos for Antwerp-Tax (1967), the province of Antwerp (1983), the Belgian Tiercé (1984), and Tele-Onthaal (1987) [4].
Meaning and Symbolism
Documented symbolism for the Mesy Shirts mark itself is not available in published sources. However, Ibou’s broader design philosophy is well recorded. His logo for the province of Antwerp, for instance, used 15 equilateral red triangles that together formed both the letters “P” and “A,” referencing the then-current number of cantons in the province [5]. This example illustrates Ibou’s characteristic approach of embedding multiple meanings within a single, geometrically constructed mark.
Typography and Design
Specific typographic details of the Mesy Shirts logo have not been documented in accessible sources. Ibou’s known body of work demonstrates a consistent interest in letter-based marks and geometric construction. His book “Letters as Symbols: International Collection of Lettermarks” collects logos based on letters of the Latin alphabet (A-Z), reflecting his lifelong fascination with typographic form [6]. The Mesy Shirts logo, created in the same era as many of these lettermarks, likely shares this typographic sensibility, though no source confirms its exact construction.
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