I wondered if anyone knew of any major organisations that, as part of their brand/identity, developed a unique font/typeface? Recently Coca Cola have done so. Apple would be another company, originally with their own version of Garamond and other fonts more recently (although I suppose thse are adaptations, rather then brand new fonts).
I’m finding it hard to find many others – aside from in the various organisations’ logos.
With so many existing fonts to choose from, or adapt, what do people think about the effectiveness of this approach?
There are quite a few. German companies seem particularly inclined to have them. Siemens and Thyssenkrupp, use bespoke typefaces. BMW has their own special version of Helvetica called, appropriately enough BMW Helvetica. Daimler uses a custom typeface called Daimler CS.
Coincidentally, just this past week, I had a book publishing company contact me about designing a custom typeface. It was a bit out of their price range. I think people grossly underestimate how much time goes into building a good-quality font.
For a large multi-million dollar company, though, a few tens of thousands of dollars for a custom design isn’t that much, so quite a few have commissioned them.
I looked it up. I think Intel’s custom typeface is called Intel Clear.
Nokia, GE, Toyota, IBM, CNN, Netflix, Airbnb, YouTube, Buccellati, Dwell Magazine, etc., all have custom typefaces. Many of them look a whole lot like Helvetica, though.
