OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 1, 1988, by Bob Hurwitz and Michael Feuer. The company opened its first store on July 5, 1988, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Today, OfficeMax operates as a brand under The ODP Corporation, which also owns Office Depot. [1]
Design and History
OfficeMax’s visual identity has undergone several significant changes since its founding. The most notable transformation occurred in 2007, when the company unveiled a new logo featuring black lettering accompanied by a colorful rubber band ball. The new mark was introduced through a guerrilla marketing campaign in Chicago, where the logo was projected onto sidewalks and buildings in the city’s center. [2] [3]
Prior to this redesign, OfficeMax had used red lettering in its corporate logo. The switch to white and black was made specifically to differentiate the brand from competitors Staples and Office Depot, which both employed red in their identities. [4] The change required updating store signage across the chain, with North American Signs, an OfficeMax partner since 1991, executing the new sign program using internally illuminated LED channel letters in the corporate white and black color scheme. [5]
The rubber band ball element became a central part of the brand. OfficeMax registered a trademark for the rubber band ball symbol, which appeared alongside the OfficeMax wordmark on storefront signage, billboards, and delivery trucks. [6] The company also brought the symbol to life through a publicity stunt, creating a 4,590-pound rubber band ball made from 175,000 rubber bands that set a Guinness World Record. [7]
In 2013, Office Depot and OfficeMax completed a merger, with OfficeMax becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Office Depot. [8] The combined company later became The ODP Corporation, which maintains both the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands. [9]
Meaning and Symbolism
The rubber band ball in the OfficeMax logo functions as a non-verbal brand symbol, similar to how Target uses its bullseye mark alongside its name. [6] The colorful ball of rubber bands was described in a 2009 television advertisement as rolling into place within the OfficeMax logo, reinforcing its role as a central brand element. [10]
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