Dow, the Midland, Michigan-based materials science company, uses a red diamond containing the white word “DOW” as its corporate logo. The mark is officially called the DOW Diamond, and it is one of the oldest continuously used corporate logos in American industry.
Design and History
The DOW Diamond’s origins trace back to 1898, when M.B. Johnson, Dow’s first operations superintendent, used a Dow-in-diamond mark to help resolve product shipping problems. Speculation on the origin of the symbol goes back to shipping barrels being marked with four slashes in the shape of a diamond, with “Dow” placed in the middle. By 1918, the symbol was used as a corporate mark, and sketches in founder Herbert H. Dow’s notebooks suggest early design concepts, including type treatment. The logo was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office in 1921 and has remained virtually the same over the years, with only minor tweaks. [1]
In 1970, different colors were used based on geographies: yellow for Asian countries, blue for Europe and green for Pacific countries, with the red DOW Diamond reserved for North America. In 1990, guidelines outlined proper use of the DOW Diamond, specifying Pantone 185 Red for all external correspondence. [1]
When DowDuPont announced in February 2018 the names of the three companies that would emerge from its planned split, the materials science company adopted the name Dow and retained the Dow red diamond as its brand logo, described as a tribute to the business’s 121-year history. [2] When Dow completed its separation from DowDuPont in April 2019, the company confirmed that the iconic Dow Diamond, which had stood as the company’s logo for more than 120 years, was unchanged and would continue to be a core element of the Dow brand. [3]
The diamond-shaped logo is also referenced in Dow’s built environment. In 2019, Dow named its new office building in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, the “Terneuzen Diamond Center,” referring to the diamond-shaped Dow logo that has been the company’s brand mark for more than a century. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
Dow’s official brand guidelines describe the DOW Diamond logo as consisting of three elements always used as a unit: the symbol (red diamond), the logotype (the company name in white text), and the trademark symbol. [5]
Dow Red, the color of the DOW Diamond, is described by the company as an integral part of the Dow visual identity. According to Dow’s brand guidelines, it connotes leadership, courage, willpower, vigor, faithfulness and the heritage of the company, and symbolizes the company’s passion for using science to improve the world. [6] The specified color for the Dow Diamond is Dow Red, matched to a Pantone 185C color swatch. [7]
Typography and Design
Dow’s brand guidelines specify that the DOW Diamond logo consists of the red diamond symbol, the logotype with the company name in white text, and the standard registered trademark symbol. The red diamond symbol is described as a core element of the Dow brand that must only be used as part of the official Dow logo and should never be altered. [8] The guidelines also note that the word “DOW” should not be placed in a shape or design element other than the official Dow Diamond. [9]
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