Madlin is a Spanish insurance brand whose visual identity was created in 1960 by José Santamarina, a designer working at the Barcelona studio Elias & Santamarina. The studio, founded by Elías García Benavides and José Santamarina, is recognized among the pioneers of Spanish graphic design for its work in logos and packaging during the mid-20th century.[1][2]
Design and History
The Madlin logo dates to 1960, placing it within the modernist wave of Spanish corporate identity work that emerged in the post-war decades. José Santamarina, who later became known for other Spanish corporate marks such as the Asturiana de Informática symbol designed in 1967, created the Madlin identity during his time at Elias & Santamarina.[3]
The studio’s broader portfolio, documented in retrospectives of Spanish graphic design pioneers, includes logotypes and packaging for a range of clients. Elias & Santamarina is listed among the fifteen ground-breaking figures in Spanish graphic design whose legacy has been established in dedicated surveys of the field.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
No official documentation has been located that describes the intended symbolism or meaning behind the Madlin logo. The mark’s design rationale, including any specific color choices or symbolic elements, remains undocumented in publicly available sources. What is verifiable is the attribution of the 1960 design to José Santamarina at Elias & Santamarina, a studio whose work is characterized in design retrospectives as pioneering within Spanish graphic design.[1]
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