EWT was a Dutch energy brand operated by the Steenkolen Handels Vereeniging (SHV), a coal trading company that diversified into oil and gas in the 1960s. The visual identity for EWT was developed by the Amsterdam design studio Total Design under the direction of Benno Wissing, one of the studio’s founding partners. The design work is documented in the NAGO archive (now held by the Allard Pierson museum), which records EWT as a house style program commissioned by SHV, designed by Total Design and Benno Wissing between 1965 and 1975.[1]
Design and History
In 1963, SHV formally adopted its abbreviation as its official name to reflect its diversification beyond coal trading. Total Design was hired to develop a visual identity to coincide with and support the name change.[2] Under Wissing’s direction, the studio created a red right-angled triangle as the core logo element for the SHV group.[2]
The EWT identity was part of a modular brand concept proposed by Wissing for SHV as a whole.[2] The archive record confirms that the EWT house style program was produced between 1965 and 1975, with the design attributed to Total Design and Benno Wissing.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red right-angled triangle used across SHV’s identities was based on an element from the coat of arms of Utrecht, symbolising Saint Martin, the city’s patron, cutting his cloak in half to share with the poor.[2] The same abstract triangle was later developed into a second logo for SHV’s heating company Warmtecentrum, which featured the triangle in a 2×2 arrangement.[2]
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