Electrolux Competition Entry 5 is a logo design submitted by Swiss graphic designer Walter Ottiger in 1962 for the Swedish home appliance manufacturer Electrolux. The mark is one of the many proposals created for a corporate identity competition that ultimately produced the company’s long-standing “e” symbol.
Design and History
In 1961, Electrolux launched a design competition to replace its aging logo, which featured a globe, sun rays and elegant lettering. The contest drew 80 graphic designers who submitted 123 concepts in total. A seven-member jury reviewed the entries over a day and a half, and after eight additional selection rounds, decided not to award a first prize. Instead, they granted two second prizes and one third prize.[1]
The third prize went to Zurich-based designer Carlo L. Vivarelli, whose concept, titled “Sun/globe concave/convex,” placed a capital “e” inside a circle that could symbolize the earth or the sun. The jury asked Vivarelli to develop his idea into the company’s new logo, which was introduced in 1962 and remained in use for over 50 years.[1]
Walter Ottiger’s Entry 5 was one of the unsuccessful proposals from this same competition. Ottiger, a graphic designer based in Bern, Switzerland, was active in the 1960s and 1970s, producing posters and other graphic works.[2] The entry is catalogued as a circle-and-cross design associated with Switzerland, though detailed documentation of its visual features is limited.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
Because Entry 5 was never adopted, no official meaning or symbolism was documented for Ottiger’s specific proposal. The competition brief gave designers freedom to keep or discard the existing globe, sun rays and lettering elements, so each entry reflected the individual designer’s interpretation of the Electrolux brand.[1]
By contrast, the winning Vivarelli concept carried explicit meaning: the circle could represent the earth or sun, and the embedded “e” expressed the company’s global advertising message. This symbolism was central to why the jury selected it for further development.[1]
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