Instructional Systems Incorporated was an American education technology company active in the mid-1960s. Its 1965 logo was designed by Lance Wyman, the American graphic designer later known for the Mexico 68 Olympics identity and the Mexico City Metro icon system. The mark is one of Wyman’s early corporate logo projects from his time in New York before he joined the Mexico 68 design team in 1966.
Design and History
Wyman graduated from Pratt Institute in 1960 with a degree in industrial design and worked at General Motors in Detroit before joining the George Nelson office in New York in 1963. While at the Nelson office, he was responsible for projects including the Chrysler Pavilion graphics at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. In 1966 he joined the Mexico 68 Olympics Design Team, where he designed the logotype at the heart of the graphics system. Between 1966 and 1970 he designed some of the best-known logos in Mexico, including the Metro identity and icon system, World Cup 70, Camino Real, La Moderna, Vanity, Hylsa and Peñoles. [1]
The Instructional Systems Incorporated logo dates to 1965, placing it in the period Wyman worked at the George Nelson office in New York. The mark uses a clean, modular geometric form, consistent with Wyman’s approach to logo design during this early phase of his career. In an interview, Wyman noted that his early favorite logo designs included the 1961 Challenger Sales mark and an hourglass logo for the American pavilion at a Zagreb trade fair, both created in the same period. [2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The geometric forms in the Instructional Systems Incorporated logo suggest structured learning and interconnected ideas, reflecting the company’s focus on systematic education. The simple, bold lines make the mark easy to recognize and remember. Wyman’s design fits the mid-1960s shift toward modern, functional branding in the U.S. education sector.
Wyman’s broader design philosophy emphasized functional communication. His work at the George Nelson office, where he worked under art director Irving Harper, helped develop his interest in creating practical communication systems. [3] The Instructional Systems mark reflects this functional approach, using geometric construction to convey the company’s systematic methodology.
Typography and Design
The logo’s construction relies on geometric forms rather than a distinctive typeface. The mark’s modular quality, with its interconnected geometric shapes, was characteristic of Wyman’s early logo work. His later Mexico 68 logotype, designed in 1966, was created using a compass, as graphic design software did not yet exist. [4] The Instructional Systems logo from the previous year likely employed a similar hand-drawn geometric approach.
Wyman’s work for Instructional Systems Incorporated is not among his most widely documented projects, and the company itself is not well documented in public records. The logo remains notable primarily as an early example of Wyman’s corporate identity work, created just before his career-defining Mexico 68 project.
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