Liverpool Metallising was a UK metal coating company that received a logotype in 1968 from the London design partnership Crosby, Fletcher, Forbes, the studio formed by Theo Crosby, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes after Bob Gill’s departure in 1967.[1] The mark is catalogued as a logotype built around two letters, featuring the letter M rendered with lines or stripes.[2]
Design and History
The Liverpool Metallising logotype was produced in 1968, during the period when Crosby, Fletcher, Forbes operated as a partnership in London.[3] The design is attributed jointly to Theo Crosby, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes, the three principals of the studio.[2] The company’s activity is recorded as metal coating, within the building materials and components production sector.[2]
The studio itself was a short-lived but influential partnership. Crosby, Fletcher, Forbes was formed in 1965, following the earlier Fletcher/Forbes/Gill collaboration, and the three partners later went on to co-found Pentagram in 1972.[3] The Liverpool Metallising commission fits within the studio’s broader output of corporate identity work for industrial and commercial clients during the late 1960s.
Meaning and Symbolism
The logotype is categorised as a monogram-style mark using two letters, with the letter M constructed from parallel lines or stripes.[2] No documented explanation of the mark’s intended symbolism has been located in the available research. The striped M construction may visually echo the company’s metal coating process, but this interpretation is not confirmed by any primary source and should be treated as speculative.
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