Tabasa is the acronym for Túneles y Autopistas de Barcelona, S.A., a Spanish infrastructure concession company founded on 15 July 1967 to build, conserve and operate the Vallvidrera Tunnel and its access roads.[1] The company later operated under the name Tabasa Infraestructures i Serveis de Mobilitat, S.A.[2]
Design and History
Tabasa’s visual identity has been documented through Spanish trademark registrations. A mixed (figurative and word) mark for “T TABASA” was filed on 20 February 1995 by Túnels i Accessos de Barcelona, Societat Anònima Concessionària, covering construction, repair and installation services under Nice class 37. The trademark registration describes the figurative elements as circles or ellipses containing one or more letters, with fine lines.[3] This mark was renewed in 2005 and lapsed in 2016 for failure to renew.[3]
An earlier trademark for “TABASA TUNELES Y AUTOPISTAS DE BARCELONA, S.A.” (registration M-0615458) is referenced in the opposition proceedings of the 1995 application, indicating that a prior Tabasa mark existed.[3]
Separately, a different “TABASA” mark (M-2256001) was filed in 1999 by Comercial Tabasa S.A., a Madrid-based wood processing company, and was opposed by the Barcelona tunnel operator. That mark, which featured more than two triangles one inside another and underlined letters, was ultimately granted in 2002 but lapsed in 2020.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 1995 “T TABASA” mark’s figurative elements, described as circles or ellipses containing letters with fine lines, suggest a monogram-style device built around the letter T, consistent with the company’s acronym. The trademark record does not document any additional symbolic meaning.[3]
While the Spanish designer Enric Huguet (1928-2024) is widely credited with corporate identity work for Autopistas C.E.S.A. and other major Spanish companies,[5] no verifiable source in the available research connects Huguet specifically to the Tabasa logo. The claim that Huguet designed a Tabasa logo in 1969 cannot be confirmed from the documented record.
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