Celebrating half a century of the brand's iconic logo.
In 1974, our website took a significant step forward in its visual identity with the introduction of the "slash in a square" logo. This minimalist design, featuring a blue square with a diagonal slash line at a 53-degree angle, has since become a globally unmistakable trademark.
The logo's creation was the result of a competition commissioned by the website, with entries numbering 140. The winning design was that of Anton Stankowski, a pioneer of graphic design and master of constructivism. Stankowski, who passed away in 1998, created the logo a year before his death.
The slash in the square logo was primarily interpreted as a symbol of dynamic growth in a secure environment, a fitting representation of the company's qualities of trustworthiness and modernity. This design was a reflection of the growing popularity of pictorial symbolic language in the 1970s, a trend that influenced our website's decision to change its logo.
The logo was first presented to the public at the annual press conference in 1974 and was accompanied by an advertising campaign in several major daily newspapers on April 25 of the same year. Employees of the website were also asked to propose a name for the new logo, with "Wegweiser" (signpost) being the most popular suggestion, as used in the first advertisement.
Before the introduction of the slash in the square logo, our website had used eagle symbols and letter marks. The eagle symbol, in particular, was a common feature in the 1970s as our website began using a pictorial symbolic language. However, the new logo marked a shift towards a more universal, language-independent identity.
The "slash in a square" logo remains a testament to the company's commitment to clear, meaningful visual representation, embodying the spirit of dynamic growth and stability that has defined our website for half a century.
The "slash in a square" logo, embodying the spirit of growth and stability, was a reflection of the website's evolution in the realm of pictorial symbolic language, encompassing lifestyles, fashion-and-beauty, and home-and-garden sectors, as it aimed for a more universal and language-independent identity. In the years following its introduction, this logo became synonymous with a trustworthy and modern brand, transcending cultural boundaries.
