Anton Stankowski (1906–1998) was a German graphic designer, photographer and painter who developed an original Theory of Design and pioneered Constructive Graphic Art.[1] He is best known for creating some of Germany’s most enduring corporate logos, including the Deutsche Bank mark, the Viessmann trademark and the SEL “Strahlenstern” symbol.[2] Stankowski refused to separate fine art from applied art, and his logos often carried the aesthetic attraction of a work of art while conveying specific information.[2]
Design and History
Stankowski trained as a decorative and church painter before studying at the Folkwangschule in Essen from 1926 to 1928, where he learned typography, poster design and photography from Max Burchartz.[3] In 1929 he moved to Zurich and worked for the advertising agency of Max Dalang, where he became a key figure of Swiss Constructivist advertising design and formed a cultural circle with artists including Max Bill and Richard Paul Lohse.[3] After his residence permit was revoked in 1933, he moved back to Germany, and in 1951 he established his own graphic design studio in Stuttgart.[3]
In 1953, Stankowski was commissioned to develop the corporate design and company logo for Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL), a Stuttgart-based telecommunications company.[4] The challenge was to give visual form to something invisible: the sending and receiving of radio signals.[4] His resulting “Strahlenstern” (radiant star) brought the core activities of the telecommunications company into a graphic formula.[4]
In the 1960s, Stankowski designed the “Berlin Layout,” the city’s visual identity, as well as trademarks for Iduna and Viessmann.[5] The Berlin Layout, developed in 1969, is regarded as one of the first corporate designs for a German city.[6]
In 1972, Deutsche Bank invited eight internationally renowned graphic design studios to compete for a new logo.[7] Stankowski won with his design of an upward oblique stroke inside a square.[7] The logo was first presented to the public on April 2, 1974, and appeared in an advertisement in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on April 25, 1974.[7] After Karl Duschek joined his studio, Stankowski also created logos for REWE and the Olympic Congress Baden-Baden.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
Deutsche Bank’s logo stands for “dynamic growth within a stable environment,” with the slash symbolising growth and the square-shaped frame standing for security and stability.[7] Stankowski described the visual motif as “the polarity between the solid base and a future-oriented dynamism.”[7] The staggered diagonal appears symmetrical but is in fact asymmetrical: the sloping forward slash does not divide the square diagonally, and the attention value lies in this unexpected visual shift.[7]
For SEL, the “Strahlenstern” gave visual form to the invisible process of sending and receiving signals.[8] The Viessmann corporate identity, created in partnership with Stankowski in the 1960s, was one of the first holistic corporate identities in German industry.[9] Viessmann’s double-S logotype was modelled after a coil heat exchanger.[9]
Typography and Design
Stankowski’s approach was guided by his mantra to “omit, simplify, rationalize, humanize.”[9] His designs typically attempted to illustrate processes or behaviours rather than objects.[10] The Deutsche Bank logo uses a slash angled at 53 degrees, with the tips of the oblique beam aligned with the inner corners of the square on the top right and bottom left.[7] The colour blue stands for trust.[7]
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