Gebrüder Sulzer, the Swiss industrial company founded in Winterthur in 1834, has a visual identity history that spans nearly a century of Swiss graphic design. The company, which began as an iron foundry and machine workshop established by the brothers Johann Jakob and Salomon Sulzer with their father, grew into a global engineering concern. Its logo history is documented through museum collections and the company’s own communications, though the attribution of specific designs has evolved over time.
Design and History
The earliest documented Sulzer wordmark dates to 1933, created for the heating and ventilation division of Gebrüder Sulzer AG. This perspectival wordmark, which passes by like a cumulus cloud and represents the symbol for pure air, is probably an invention of the German graphic designer Anton Stankowski (1906–1998), working in collaboration with Swiss designer Hans Neuburg (1904–1983). The design was produced as a clean drawing (Reinzeichnung) for the company’s heating and ventilation advertising, and appeared on the cover of a Sulzer brochure for ventilation systems in 1934.[1][2]
Hans Neuburg, a pioneer and advocate of constructive Swiss graphic design, began designing sober and informative “commercial faces” for companies such as Sulzer and von Roll in the 1930s, in which both word- and brandmark played a central role.[3] The 1933 Sulzer wordmark is documented in the eMuseum collection of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, which lists both Hans Neuburg and Anton Stankowski as designers.[2]
In November 2020, Sulzer introduced a new logo and corporate design. The company described the new mark as a bridge between its history and the digital future, preserving common central values while translating them into a contemporary design. The redesign retained significant features of the previous word/picture brand, including the colored squares, to maintain high recognition value. The new logo was described as reduced to the essential, radiating openness and clarity, with a new typeface characterized by a minimalist, timeless style.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 1933 perspectival Sulzer wordmark, which passes by like a cumulus cloud, was intended to represent the symbol for pure air, appropriate for the company’s heating and ventilation division.[1] The 2020 redesign retained the colored squares from the previous word/picture brand as a deliberate nod to the company’s history and 40-year success story, according to Sulzer’s own announcement of the new identity.[4]
Typography and Design
Sulzer’s 2020 logo announcement described the new typeface as minimalist and timeless, appearing friendly, dynamic and lively. The company stated that the logo was reduced to the essential, radiating openness and clarity.[4] Specific typeface names or exact color specifications for either the historical or current marks have not been documented in the available sources.
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