Centrais Elétricas de São Paulo (CESP) is a Brazilian electricity generation company, created in 1966 from the merger of eleven energy companies in the state of São Paulo.[1] The company was renamed Companhia Energética de São Paulo in 1977.[2] Its visual identity is closely associated with the São Paulo design duo João Carlos Cauduro and Ludovico Martino, who founded the Cauduro Martino Arquitetos Associados studio in 1964.[3]
Design and History
The CESP mark was created in 1966 by Cauduro and Martino, according to a doctoral thesis on the designers’ working process that documents the studio’s projects.[4] The FAUUSP Acervos archive, which preserves the Cauduro Martino collection, also credits the duo with composing the visual identity of the Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) in 1977.[3] The Casa da Arquitectura archive similarly lists the CESP identity among the studio’s works from 1977.[5]
The 1966 mark is documented in the thesis with a figure caption reading “Marca CESP, 1966.”[4] The thesis also records Cauduro’s own recollection of the project: “a gente fez a marca da CESP” (“we made the CESP mark”).[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The thesis documents that the CESP mark used black and red, colors that referenced both heat as a source of energy and the colors of São Paulo. This usage is explained in the Cauduro/Martino report of 1977.[4]
Typography and Design
For the CESP project, the studio chose to follow its standard alphabet, using the Univers Bold Italic typeface.[4] The thesis also records Cauduro’s comments on the design process, including a note about optical adjustment: “A gente colocava menos branco porque ele expande, o preto encolhe, me ensinou o Ludovico, era uma marca óbvia” (“We put less white because it expands, black shrinks, Ludovico taught me, it was an obvious mark”).[4]
The company’s current website, cesp.com.br, continues to operate under the CESP name, with the company now focused on hydroelectric generation at the Porto Primavera and Paraibuna plants.[6]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
