Anatomy of Design

1

ANATOMY OF DESIGN

Logos are charged symbols that embody and radiate the ethos as well as the

aspirations of a company or institution. The intensity of meaning encoded in

this simple iconic mark must not be underestimated, but neither should it be

worshiped as sacred. A corporate logo is not as mystical as, say, J. J. Tolkien’s

famous Ring because it depends on external forces for its power. Even Superman’s

S signifies strength not because the S itself has superhuman powers but

because the one who wears it—in this case a symbolic, fictional character—is a

superman. The Nazi SS rune lightning bolt logo represented an organization of

self-styled supermen, but it became shorthand for its members’ inhumanity and

crimes toward millions of victims. No matter how startling or elegant, beautiful

or ugly, ultimately a logo is only as good or bad as the entity it represents.

One thing is certain: No designer deliberately starts out to make a bland logo.

By its nature, a logo must demonstrate visual strength. A visual identity may be

sophisticated or kitsch; nonetheless, the logo must be a mnemonic, a sign that

lights up with resonance. Logos must be indelible when they are in use and

memorable when they are out of sight. Of course, they may change with

mergers and acquisitions, or simply because a business or organization

chooses to alter its persona—and a logo is the agent of that persona.

In 1998, when Tom Kluepfel and Stephen Doyle of Doyle Partners

redesigned the identity scheme for St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, the

mandate was to unify the attributes of this neighborhood institution under a single

contemporary banner. St. Vincent’s had merged with eight other hospitals into a

citywide healthcare system, so the designers sought an identity that built on its

existing recognition in the community, signaled its newfound reach, and exemplified

its distinct holdings. The basic symbol was rooted in a classic motif. “When the logo

committee includes nuns from the Sisters of Charity, it’s not too long before

crosses show up in the sketches,” says Kluepfel. All the hospitals had a common

Catholic heritage and iconography—the colors, the cross, the shield—that were

expressed through light (“as in the light seen through the stained-glass window of

a hospital chapel”) and science (“implied in the precise way the shapes and colors

intersect”). Kluepfel initially resisted the shield simply because it is such a familiar

motif, but ultimately he accepted its familiarity as comforting. “Yet it somehow

conveys aggressiveness—a nice metaphor for proactive healthcare,” he adds.

Aside from the cross, the shield is the most historically significant of

the design elements here. Familiarity is actually a modest understatement. The

shield dates to pre-Christian history but is common iconography of the

Crusades. Crusaders marched with huge cross-emblazoned shields that, in

addition to protecting themselves from their enemies, announced their territorial

ambitions. Today, shields signify authority—like a police badge, also known as a

shield. In graphic terms, shields frame visual ideas; like an adjective, a shield

describes the fundamental concept, which in this context is the cross

representing the Sisters of Mercy.

The ambulance is the most public expression of the St. Vincent’s identity

program. The bold arrow, a device almost as old as the shield—and arguably

the first graphic symbol, and one that appears in all cultures—suggests

assertive motion in whatever direction it points. It implies thrust, motive, and

outcome. Arrows lead and we follow, right or wrong. This ambulance also

follows conventions recalling early branded commercial vehicles and is an

advertisement for itself. Like a moving billboard, the ambulance graphics must

be bold, clear, and unmistakable; they must announce that this is an emergency

vehicle as well as promote the institution that operates it. This expressive

visual display is no different from that of a UPS truck in that the graphically

dynamic principles of visibility and accessibility are the same. From the fusion

of these graphic principles the ambulance emerges metaphorically as a crusader

in its own right—for emergency healthcare.

St. Vincent Hospital Ambulance

Designer: Doyle Partners

1998 St. Vincent Logo and Ambulance Graphics, identity

ad,d: Tom Kluepfel, Stephen Doyle s: Doyle Partners

St. Vincent’s had merged with eight other hospitals into a citywide healthcare system, so

the designers sought an identity that built on its existing recognition in the community,

signaled its newfound reach, and exemplified its distinct holdings.

Shields—serve and protect

Arrows

Stained-glass effect

Travelling advertising