Marler Haley is a British manufacturer of portable display and exhibition systems, founded in 1946 as a partnership between Sid Marler and Jim Haley under the name Marler Haley Displays.[1] The company is best known for introducing the Multiscreen modular display board in 1960, a product line that remains in its catalogue today.[1]
Design and History
Marler Haley’s corporate identity was created in the early 1960s by June Fraser, a graphic designer working at the Design Research Unit (DRU), the London multidisciplinary consultancy founded in 1942 by Herbert Read, Misha Black and Milner Gray.[2][3] Fraser joined DRU in 1957 after leaving the Royal College of Art, and during her time there produced visual identities for several major British clients.[3]
The Marler Haley mark dates to 1961, a period when the company was expanding its modular display product range following the success of Multiscreen.[1] Fraser’s work for Marler Haley is not individually detailed in surviving DRU records, but her broader portfolio at the firm included visual identities for Bata shoes and British Sugar, a logotype and packaging for Wedgwood, a logo for Sadler’s Wells theatre, and packaging for the Royal Mint.[3]
Fraser remained at DRU through the 1960s, where she met interior designer Allen Cull, whom she married in 1963.[3] She is listed among the DRU staff photographed in 1968.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
No official documentation has been located that describes the intended symbolism or meaning of the 1961 Marler Haley logo. The mark was created during a period when DRU was producing geometric, modernist identities for British industry, but specific design intent for this particular logo has not been published in accessible sources.
Typography and Design
Details of the original 1961 Marler Haley logo’s typography and construction have not been documented in the available research. The company’s current branding, which appears across its website and product materials, uses a contemporary wordmark, but no source confirms when or how the original Fraser identity was replaced or updated.[1]
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