The history of the Siemens logo 1878 - 2001

Siemens AG CC CB Thomas Klaffke 2002

Siemens & Halske vignettes 1890

With the advent of mass production, products had to be labeled to indicate their origin, differentiate them from those of competitors and guarantee quality. These labels clearly reflected the times and cultural environments for which they were designed. Here the floral, late Baroque design contrasts with the rational world of technology.

Siemens & Halske logo 1897

The letters intertwine, symbolizing the equal standing of the merged companies. The forms have obviously been borrowed from ironwork motifs common at the time. When printed, the logo looks like an ex libris stamp of the kind used by contemporary booklovers.

Siemens & Halske logo 3D, cast iron 1897

Bulky material acquires a dynamic form.

Sign mounted on a plug board 1905

Technical products look sober and impersonal. Forms taken from nature are intended to make products more appealing.

Siemens & Halske draft logos for the Berlin plant 1897

Prosaic production operations require a logo that reflects their character. Logos must be simple, clear and easy to understand.

Draft logos for the Vienna plant 1897

Logos with enclosed forms have the advantage of being very stable and unaffected by their environments.

More logo designs for the Vienna plant 1897

Open logos, especially those with filigree designs like this one here, are soon swallowed up by their environments.

Siemens & Halske draft logo 1897

In this logo design, Siemens clearly dominates Halske.

The logo chosen by the Board November 1897

This an astonishing design for the period. A simple, unadorned logo, far ahead of its time. It anticipates the era of the sanserif fonts with a clarity that reflects the thinking of engineers.

Trademark registration No. 35800 1899

This logo had a long life. It was used until very recently for components that were too small for the present Siemens logo.

Variation in a circle for casting moulds and other products 1899

This logo design was cast into the metal surfaces of large industrial products.

Sign mounted on a plug board 1901

The contrast between the contemporary design forms and the progressive logo is obvious. Since a standard Corporate Design has not yet been introduced, the logo can be varied slightly to meet different requirements.

Siemens product logo 1917

This enclosed variation was used for labeling industrial goods.

Examples from the communications department

Early advertisements

In 1925, Siemens & Halske merged with Reiniger, Gebert & Schall, then the market leader in medical engineering. This was the birth of today's Medical Solutions Group.

Siemens & Halske poster 1895

Early posters like this omitted the logo. Looking at the ad today, it is hard to see what S&H is actually trying to sell. However, the general public of the time would have known that the poster referred to electricity.

Title page of a brochure advertising a device for measuring flow rates 1897

Uniform typography with a standard company typeface has not yet been introduced. Ads use bold individual typefaces.

Automobile ad from SiemensSchuckert 1910

The Protos was manufactured from 1908 to 1927. The car's high quality was demonstrated by a first-place finish in the 1908 transcontinental road race. The 21,000-km race started in New York and went through California, Seattle, Siberia, St. Petersburg and Berlin before ending in Paris 165 days later.

Siemens product logos for telephones and radios 1924

Since there is still no consistent logo policy, Siemens businesses create a variety of different logos to meet their individual communications needs.

Siemens product logos for telephones and radios 1925

Retail advertising for a special Christmas promotion. The use of the S&H logo on a Christmas decoration is pretty original.

Another product logo for household appliances 1925

"Protos" was originally a brand name for Siemens-Schuckert cars. It was later transferred to household products because it belonged to Siemens and had a nice ring to it.

Washing machine ad 1925

This ad focuses on the product name. The consumer finds the brand in the logo attached to the machine. The musical notes, which suggest that the woman is on her way to a concert, reinforce the message.

Ad for Siemens radios 1925

The S&H logo symbol is sufficient to identify the producer. The Protos logo has been omitted. The ad design suggests that Siemens & Halske, unlike its competitors, offers customers an entire range of radios to choose from.

Retail ad for radio receivers 1926

The retailer is using two logos and two company names here. How are customers supposed to orient themselves?

Ad for a Protos stove 1935

Ad without a headline. The picture communicates the stove's advantages.

Ad for Siemens refrigerators 1935

The name "Protos" has disappeared. The headline refers to customer benefits.

Ad for a Siemens iron 1938

A Siemens-Schuckert logo, a Siemens logo, a product name, four typefaces. "Protos" has now been transformed from a car name to an appliance logo to a product name.

Ad for an electric heater 1939

The Siemens logo has become dominant, but continues to be supported by a group-specific logo. The name "Protos" is now superfluous. The Gothic typeface reflects the nationalistic mood of the time.

Ad for movie cameras produced by Siemens' Cinematic Technology Division 1939

Advertising has become more incisive. Claims have been reduced to a minimum. Only one typeface is used.

Siemens ad in Great Britain 1954

Siemens in the U.K. was an independent company up until the 1950s, boasting its own distinctive Siemens logo.

Siemens company signs 3D, etched 1930

Business integration and globalization are increasing. Ways are being sought to convey this complexity via logo design.

The logos of the various Siemens companies and production facilities 1938

Identifying particular Siemens businesses by means of a brand name coupled with a logo addition increases clarity.

The Siemens "house logo" 1963

A global presence requires a uniform worldwide appearance. The bundling of communications activities on a common platform requires a new logo. Now that "Halske" and "Schuckert" are no longer used, the focus shifts to the brand name "Siemens." "Haus Siemens" replaces the S&H logo addition.

Siemens logo development 1899-1973

In 1973, a consistent, standardized Corporate Design policy bundles all communications activities under one common brand name. The logo is austere in keeping with the technical approach then favored by Siemens marketing.

Siemens logo development 1991

Changed markets and an unsettled zeitgeist in the 1970s and 1980s call for a redesigned logo. A variation in weight of type, an emphasis on round shapes and unusual coloring heighten the logo's emotional appeal.

Siemens logo development 2001

But a global study of name recognition suggests that the Siemens logo of 1991 should be retained. One claim is adopted as a logo addition bracketing all of the various Siemens activities Global network of innovation

Global network of innovation

Ten years later global trends again force a change in logo appearance.

World-famous ad agencies are commissioned to make suggestions.

Siemens logo development 1899 - 2001

An overview of the entire history of the Siemens logo. This and the following examples taken from other companies show that branding is a never-ending process.

AEG logo development 1883 - 1982

Siemens' traditional competitor is also forced to adapt its logo to the demands of the zeitgeist. The company goes bankrupt and is broken up. The AEG logo survives today as a group logo of the Electrolux company.

Opel logo development 1899 - 1972

Few know that Opel started out as a bicycle manufacturer. The logo has passed through three phases: a brand name, a combination of brand name and symbol, a pure symbol.

Agfa logo development 1903 - 1982

The current logo clearly harks back to older motifs. The "sal ammoniac lozenge" of 1928 survives today in orange.

Pepsi-Cola logo development 1898 - 1996

The two red versions are clearly oriented on Pepsi's archrival Coca-Cola. The change in Corporate Identity from red to blue in 1995 cost "a mere $500 million.

Conclusion

No logo will live forever!

Thanks for your attention...