Avery is an office and consumer products brand whose visual identity has been shaped by two prominent American design firms. Its current logo, a redrawn wordmark set against a tilted red square, was created by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv in 2014, replacing a famous paperclip mark designed by Saul Bass nearly four decades earlier.
Design and History
Saul Bass designed the original Avery logo in 1975 for Avery International Corporation. The mark depicted three paperclips arranged in a leaning red triangle, and it became a familiar sight on binders, labels and office products for decades.[1] The paperclip triangle identity remained in use by Avery Dennison after the company was formed through the 1990 merger of Avery International and Dennison Manufacturing.[2]
In 2013, Avery Dennison sold its Office and Consumer Products and Designed and Engineered Solutions businesses to CCL Industries for $500 million.[3] The office products division, now operating simply as Avery under CCL, needed to separate itself visually from its former parent company, which retained the Saul Bass paperclip logo.[4]
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv was commissioned to create a new visual identity for Avery.[1] The firm’s designer Sagi Haviv kept the spirit of the Bass mark with an off-kilter red square placed behind a redrawn wordmark.[5] The new identity was introduced in early 2014.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The tilted red square in the new Avery identity was intended as a nod to the way Avery products had historically been represented, according to the designers.[6] The designers described the assignment as carrying a famous legacy trademark designed by Saul Bass in 1975, and the new mark was created to maximize brand recognition while giving the CCL-owned Avery division a fresh look.[6]
The earlier Saul Bass paperclip triangle, which depicted three interlocking paperclips, remained in use by Avery Dennison after the office products division was sold.[7]
Typography and Design
The 2014 Avery wordmark was redrawn as part of the Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv identity program. The design combines the redrawn wordmark with a tilted red square positioned behind it.[5] The firm lists the project as a logo and identity program for Avery Office Products on its official portfolio.[8]
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