Ameritone Paint Corp was a California-based paint manufacturer whose brand identity evolved through several corporate owners before the name was retired. The company operated from a facility at 18414 S. Santa Fe Ave. in Compton, California, and its trademark registrations show the Ameritone name in use for house paints, varnishes and lacquers since at least May 1, 1949.[1][2]
Design and History
The most documented visual identity work for Ameritone Paint Corp came from the Los Angeles design studio Gould & Associates, founded by graphic designer and art director Jerome (Jerry) Gould.[3] A photograph of packaging for Ameritone Paint Corporation designed by Gould & Associates was selected for the Industrial Design magazine Annual Design Review, appearing in the December 1966 issue (vol. 13, no. 11, p. 89).[4] This confirms the studio’s involvement with the brand’s packaging in the mid-1960s, though no detailed description of the mark itself is documented in available sources.
The company registered several trademarks over the decades. A trademark for the word mark AMERITONE covering exterior and interior house paints, varnishes and lacquers was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with first use recorded in 1949.[1] A separate AMERITONE trademark for retail paint store services was later filed by Ameritone Paint Corporation.[5] The company also registered the SUN SCREEN trademark in 1979 for protective coatings in the nature of paints; the USPTO drawing code for that filing indicates a stylized word/letter form rather than a pictorial design.[2]
Corporate ownership of the Ameritone brand changed multiple times. The Grow Group acquired Ameritone in the 1980s, and in 1995 ICI purchased the Grow Group, which included the Ameritone brand along with Devoe Paint, Fuller O’Brien and Sinclair.[6] ICI was subsequently acquired by Akzo Nobel, and in 2013 by PPG.[6] By 2023, the Ameritone paint brand no longer existed as an active product line, with PPG Paints serving as the primary brand at stores that once carried Ameritone products.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
Documented symbolism for the Ameritone wordmark is limited. The name itself combines “Ameri” (suggesting American) with “tone,” a reference to color, fitting for a paint manufacturer. The company also marketed a color system under the name “Color Key,” for which copyright registrations were filed in 1975.[8]
Typography and Design
Available USPTO records indicate that at least one Ameritone trademark filing used stylized lettering rather than a pictorial or illustrative design.[2] The specific typeface used in the Ameritone wordmark has not been documented in accessible sources, and no official specification of the brand’s typography has been located.
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