MM Enclosures is the trade name associated with the Multi-Measure (MM) Metal Enclosures product line, a series of industrial catalogs and brochures designed by Czech-born modernist Ladislav Sutnar. The identity is best known through Sutnar’s graphic work for the Long Island-based manufacturer A & P Metal Products, which produced these enclosures for controls, communication equipment, and instruments.
Design and History
The MM Enclosures visual identity dates to the 1940s, when Sutnar created a series of promotional materials for the product line. The Museum of Modern Art holds a lithograph of the MM Multi-Measure Metal Enclosures catalog cover dated 1941-1944, published by Sweet’s Catalog Service, where Sutnar worked as art director alongside Knud Lonberg-Holm.[1] PRINT Magazine credits the catalog cover to Knud Lonberg-Holm with Ladislav Sutnar, circa 1944.[2]
The design work continued into the 1960s. The Letterform Archive lists a Sutnar-created piece titled Multi-Measure Metal Enclosures for Controls, Communication Equipment, and Instruments dated to the 1960s, alongside the earlier MM Multi-Measure Metal Enclosures materials.[3] A Swann Auction Galleries lot of approximately 25 Sutnar industrial catalogs also lists “MM Enclosures” among brochures for other companies including Craftint, Holophane Co., Foxboro, and Warren Telechron Co.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The “mm” lettering in the brochure uses Sutnar’s signature geometric lettering, a hallmark of his information design approach.[5] The mark functions as a product identifier rather than a corporate emblem, reflecting Sutnar’s broader mission to present mundane industrial products as visually striking and worth investigating.[5]
Typography and Design
The MM Enclosures brochure pairs Sutnar’s custom geometric “mm” lettering with Futura, a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner.[5] The MoMA-held catalog cover is a lithograph measuring 11 x 8 3/8 inches (27.9 x 21.3 cm).[1]
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