LOGO Genealogy

History of identity and trade marks, from neolithic till now

Long version: 2 hours & around 120 slides.
Short version: 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previous lectures

• 19 december 2025: Cergy Paris University, Paris, F.
• 25 october 2024: Cergy Paris University, Paris, F.
• 22 october 2024: Université du Québec, Canada.
• 21 october 2024: Université de Moulins, F.
• 8 january 2024: Bellecour Ecole, Lyon, F.
• 13 december 2023: Epitech, Lyon, F.
• 8 december 2023: Cergy Paris University, Paris, F.
• 21 october 2022: Cergy Paris University, Paris, F.
• 15 novembre 2021: Graphéine, Lyon, F.
• 30 avril 2021: Istituto Europeo di Design, Milano, Italy.
• 8 mars 2021: Les amis du Musée de l’Imprimerie & de la Communication Graphique, Archives départ., Lyon, F.
• 24 avril 2019 : Le Signe, Chaumont, F.
• 16 avril 2019: École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art, Paris, F.

Graphic design is a relatively recent professional discipline, yet if the separation between design and production took place progressively around the second half of the 19th century, the productions and supports of this practice have a much earlier history. Among the histories of books, posters and typography, it is worth noting the absence of a history of Logos.

Firstly, we will research the history of the logo as we know it, in order to trace the emblems and graphic marks that have influenced it. Secondly, we will highlight the common components of this genealogy: territoriality, narration and filiation.

Finally, we will attempt to answer the question: “Does a logo serve to distinguish itself? Identity marks (or emblems), such as commercial ones, have been constructed according to a graphic syntax allowing both recognition and inscription in a globality. In the same way that language aims at expression and not singularity via the construction of a language, the identity mark, then the commercial mark, is anchored in this logic. By becoming a logo, the brand loses its generative syntax to become a system of graphic style, each economic and cultural sector typifying its brand according to stylistic norms with shared informal denotations.

kaMon,
emblem & logo

From the court emblem, the battlefield to the trade mark

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previously published

• Etapes: #263, september-october 2021

Mon are traditionnal japanese emblems appeared a thousand years ago in order to identify the Emperor and the nobility, mostly during the battle and the various wars. The emblems took a great place in the japanese culture in order to be applyed on shinto shrines and temples, as well for commerce and industry. Mon share a great interest in the references for logo modernism. 

• From the colored standard to mon
• The family mark on the battlefield
• Divine protection & honnor to the Emperor
• Identification
• Religious symbolism
• Popular & commercial pratices
• Creation
• Influence & marriage
• Japanese logo (Mitsubishi, Kikkoman, Yamaha)
• Katachi

seals from antiquity

Genesis of the logos

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previously published

• Etapes: #265,
  january-february 2022

While domesticating the land and the animals, the man needs to identify his property. The invention of a graphic symbol as an emblem is the first appearance of a graphic system, before ciphers, before wryting.

But this private use evolved to become the emblem of a deity, emblem of a king, then of a city. The diplomatic use draw the pratice of an identity mark becoming also a social marker, a validation mark preserving the integrity of a good.

Because tracing the history of the first emblems and trade marks is tracing the silhouette of the evolution of the human relationship, its exchange, its expectations.

• Ornaments of identity: prehistoric seals
• Sealed logos: image, writing, authority
• Stamped logos: titulus pictus

médieval marks

The trading identity

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previously published

• Etapes: #267,
  may-june 2022

In the medieval house, the hearth is the heart of the home, allowing everyone to live in rudimentary conditions while cooking meals. Some scholars report that the Germanic peoples used to engrave a sign made up of geometric shapes, sometimes runes, on one of the beams near the fire. This mark is said to have the ability to ward off bad luck, which is the only cause of fire or other disasters.
Different according to the house, they would have become marks of identity and property that the members of a family would reproduce on their house, their goods, their livestock, and even on their handicrafts. Presented as a superstition, the hypothesis nevertheless sheds light on numerous practices linking commercial marks and popular beliefs.

• Merchants’ marks: from hearth to bundle
• Stonemasons’ marks: the identity glyph
• Printer’s marks: the invention of the logotype

Mascots

the embodied animal

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previously published

• Etapes: #257,
  september-october 2020

We see them on posters, in commercials or in logos. Wild or pet, we imagine them as predators, clever or even capricious… The animals used by graphic designers are never more than a reflection of our human desires. And when Man dons the costume of an Animal, he becomes a mascot whose grotesque attitudes resemble those of a comic book or cartoon creature. Mascot is a catch-all word with a wider meaning than just a costume.

• Mascot: the origin of a good luck charm
• Modern mascot: personification for youth
• Mascot: golden age
• Postmodern mascot: the virtual embodied
• Mascot or totem?

Monograms

The fame in cyphers

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previous lectures

26 october 2022: ECV Paris, France

Previously published

• Etapes: #269,
  september-october 2022

In antiquity, the monogram denotes of the passage from word to abbreviation by contraction, then to the ideogram.
The value of this system of signs traces the current trajectory of a spiritual or divine mark or divine mark extending to the whole society through the figures of authority political, ecclesiastical, commercial and finally popular. It then remains for the privileged social class to adorn itself with a new system of signs. a new system of signs.

• Abbreviation
• Nomina Sacra
• Chrism & christogram
• Roman, byzantian monogram
• Western monograms in medieval times
• Cyphers
• Trademarks

Branding

Cattle & human marks in the flesh

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previously published

• Etapes: #271,
  february 2023

Branding applied to humans is a constant reversal of reference points: divine and symbolic in sacred texts, it becomes an act of submission when it is forced. Consented, it becomes an initiatory rite within a social group, when it is not a symbolic act sending the human back to the animal. The mark inscribed in the flesh affirms the performative power that the society carries to the graphic sign: the sign attests of an act and alters the value that the society carries to the animal, that is to say also to the human. Today, bodies free of consenting signs are increasingly rare. The skin has become a space of expression as much as the body film that one seeks to reappropriate. Marking the epidermis is as much an initiation rite as a way to affirm one’s identity, to do one’s own branding.

• Branding the flesh : protection
• Branding the creature : identity & property
• Brading the human creature : infamy & submission

History of square books

The reasons of a modern monster

Duration : 1 hour & around 60-80 slides.

Previous lecture

• 12 novembre 2019: Les mardis de Lure, La Générale, Paris, France.

The great developments in the history of societies could be summed up in these rare cataclysms redefining interactions between people: articulated language, writing, printing and finally the Internet. The book remains the cultural object shared by all civilizations since its appearance more than 4000 years ago. We know it in all sizes, flexible or rigid, handwritten or printed, in codex or leporello, handmade or industrial. Of its protean anatomy it remains, like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey, a rectangular block. However, of all the quadrilaterals, the square has remarkable geometric characteristics: it is defined by four equal perpendicular sides and its orthogonal diagonals intersect at its centre. And if form is the substance that resurfaces, as Victor Hugo said, then the graphic designer cannot avoid a reason justifying the anything but trivial choice of the square in publishing.

AG Fronzoni
(1923-2001)

Those who refuses design accepts to be designed

Duration : 1 hour for 100 slides.

Previous lecture

• 20 octobre 2018 : 
  E-Artsup Lyon, France.

AG Fronzoni remains a relatively unknown Italian designer and architect in France, yet his influence on designers such as Rudi Baur and Claudio Silvestrin has been notable.

This lecture presents the maestro’s work and philosophy decade after decade, focusing as much on the formal aspects of his practice as on the holistic and minimalist thinking that directs each of his formal choices.

Young students who want to approach design without disciplinary barriers will probably find a perfect echo to their desires.

Graphic Design history through its magazines issues 1

Those who refuses design accepts to be designed

Duration : 1 hour for 100 slides

Graphic design publication were, during a century, the only source of information available for the professionnals. Based on issue 1 of a wide selection of the most important worldwide publication, we can understand how graphic design history was build month after month. Issues 1 of magazines should be concidered as a maniphesto by the editorial team: a magazine out of the publication time.

Various topics can be proposed :

• Early Modernism publication (1924-1944)
• Modernism publications (1944-1965)
• House organs publications
• Type design publications
• Japanese graphic design magazines
• Swiss graphic design magazines
• Graphic design school publications

• Bulletin Officiel des Cours Professionnels de la Chambre Syndicale Typographique Parisienne, France, 1904 (Typography).
• Wendingen, Netherlands, 1918 (architecture, decoration, graphic design)
• Gebrauchsgraphik, Germany, 1924 (graphic design, type design, advertising)
• Arts et métiers graphiques, France, 1927 (graphic design, type design, bibliophily, illustration, bookbinding, photography, etc.)
• L’Art Nouveau, France, 1938 (Art, writing, ideas)
• Graphis, Switzerland, 1944 (graphic design, type design, advertising, photography)
• La Publicité en France (Publimondial), France, 1945 (graphic design)
• Open oog, Netherlands, 1946 (fine art)
• Caractères, France, 1949 (graphic design, type design, advertising)
• Portfolio, USA, 1950 (graphic design, type design, advertising, photography)
• Caractères noël, France, 1951 (graphic design, type design, advertising)
• Idea, Japan, 1953 (graphic design, type design, advertising)
• Neue Grafik, Switzerland, 1958 (graphic design, type design, advertising, photography)
• Graphic design, Japan, 1959 (graphic design, type design, advertising, photography, illustration)
• Pagina, Italy, 1962 (graphic design, type design, advertising, photography)
• Eros, USA, 1962 (erotic art)
• Dot Zero, USA, 1966 (graphic design, semiotic)
• Opus international, France, 1967 (society)
• 2dimensioni, Italy, 1967 (graphic design, advertising, photography)
• Baseline, UK, 1977 ( type design)
• Typomondo, France, 1980 (type design, lettering)
• Octavo 86.1, UK, 1986 (graphic design, type design)
• Creation, Japan, 1989 (graphic design)
• Eye, UK, 1990 (graphic design)
• Bulldozer, France, 1993 (graphic design, type design)
• Étapes graphiques, France, 1994 (graphic design)
• Ink, France, 2006 (graphic design, type design)
• Back cover, France, 2008 (graphic design, scholar studies)
• Optical sound, France, 2009 (fine art, music)
• The Shelf Journal, France, 2012 (edition)
• Apres/avant, France, 2013 (type design)
• Pli, France, 2015 (architecture & edition)
• La Perruque, France, 2016 (type design)
• Back office, France, 2017 (digital design, scholar studies)
• Revue Faire, France, 2017 (graphic design)
• GUT, France, 2017 (graphic design student zine)
• Maurice, France, 2018 (graphic design student zine)

abc verlag, zurich

swiss graphic design books collection

Duration : 1 hour for 100 slides

ABC Verlag (1963-1989) was a Zurich based publisher. Its main collection, edited by Konrad Baumann, is composed of 25 books that gathered the most important graphic designers as authors and contributors. During more than 30 years, ABC Verlag give us a good panorama of the evolution of the philosophy & style of swiss graphic design, from a the legacy of avant-garde to the postmodernism of the end of the century.

• Graphic Art of a Swiss Town, Armin Tschanen, 1963
• Official Graphic Art in Switzerland, Walter Bangerter & Armin Tschanen, 1964
• Graphic Design in Swiss Industry, Hans Neuburg, 1965
• Publicity and Graphic Design in the Chemical Industry, Hans Neuburg, 1967
• Conceptions of International Exhibitions, Hans Neuburg – 1969
• Color Sells Your Package, Jean-Paul Favre, 1969
• History of the Poster, Joseph & Shizuko Müller-Brockmann, 1971
• Basic Typography: Handbook of Technique and Design, Ruedi Rüegg & Godi Fröhlich, 1972
• Drawing, A Creative Process, Kurt Wirth, 1974
• Form + communication, Walter Diethelm, 1974
• Design Concept Realisation, Wolfgang Schmittel, 1975
• Signet Signal Symbol, Walter Diethelm, 1976
• Graphic Design International: Creative Work of Selected Colleges of Design from 12 Countries, Igildo G. Biesele, 1977
• Process Visual: Development of a Corporate Identity, Wolfgang Schmittel, 1978
• Color and Communication, Jean-Paul Favre & André November, 1979
• Type Sign Symbol, Adrian Frutiger, 1980
• Graphic Design Education, Igildo G. Biesele, 1981
• Visual Transformation, Walter Diethelm, 1982
• Top Graphic Design, F.H.K. Henrion, 1983
• Swiss Sport Posters, Karl Wobmann & Max Triet, 1983
• Corporate Design International: Definition and Benefit of a Consistent Corporate Appearance, Wolfgang Schmittel – 1984
• Political and Social Posters of Switzerland, Karl Wobmann & Willy Rotzler, 1985
• Experiment Design: More Creativity through Experimental Design Work — Case Studies from Practice and Training, Igildo G. Biesele 1986
• Communication design 2000, Heinz Kroehl, 1987
• Art & graphics, Willy Rotzler & Nathan Garamond, 1989
• Typography: Design with Letters, Ruedi Rüegg, 1989

METALogos

The History of Metal Logos

Duration : from 40 minutes to 3 hours

Previous lecture

• 5 novembre 2025: Fonts & Faces #12. Camus de la Fonderie de l’Image, Bagnolet, France
• 13 february 2026, University Cergy-Paris, Paris, France.

Dark, intertwined letterforms arranged in rigorous symmetry now appear on Fashion Week runways, light up Rihanna’s concert stages, and adorn K-pop and rap album covers. To the general public, these enigmatic—almost indecipherable—logos embody the avant-garde of contemporary graphic design.
Yet their roots lie far from the mainstream. They plunge deep into the dark, abrasive world of Heavy Metal and its most extreme offshoots—Grindcore, Death Metal, and Black Metal.
Everyone is familiar with Metal’s provocative imagery, but few pay attention to the emblems of its most underground bands, far removed from the media icons that are Kiss, Iron Maiden, or Metallica.
From the razor-sharp typographies of Thrash Metal to the illegible interlacings of Black Metal, each logo is a declaration of intent—a graphic outcry translating a band’s raw energy and singular universe.
The lecture Metalogo traces the evolution of these symbols, from the early letterforms of Hard Rock to the most extreme contemporary compositions, where text nearly dissolves into abstraction.
Through a selection of several hundred logos, classified according to the many subgenres that make up the Metal galaxy, this retrospective plunges visitors into the heart of a visual language that is as radical as it is fascinating.

METALOGO

History of Metal logos and their reappropriation

Long version: 2-3 hours & around 120 slides.
Short version: 40 min. around 50 slides.

Previous lectures

• 19 december 2025: Cergy Paris University, Paris, F.
• 5 novembre 2025: Fonts & Faces #12, Bagnolet, France

System or Chaos? What Metal Logotypes Do to the Latin Alphabet
In the world of extreme music, Metal band logotypes enact a radical transformation of the Latin letter: pushed to its expressive limits—sometimes to the point of illegibility—it becomes an image, an emblem, a totemic monogram. These graphic forms, saturated with ornamentation, symmetry, and distortion, are no longer designed to be read but to be recognized — acting as sigils, condensers of identity, genre, and intent.
Drawing from a corpus of logotypes in death, black, and grindcore metal, this talk offers a cross-reading between typographic design and musical culture. It examines the ambivalent nature of the letter — poised between linguistic sign and graphic figure — and explores the tensions between legibility and expressivity, between norm and sabotage, between system and singularity. Metal logotypes reveal a mode of creation in which graphic tradition — Gothic, epigraphic, calligraphic — is not rejected but reinvented. They show that the letter, far from being fixed in a logic of reading, can once again become a surface of stylistic projection, a ritual object, a site of active transgression.
Echoing the notion of progress (from progredi, “to move forward”), we might recall Frank Zappa’s remark: “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” These extreme letters, as esoteric as they are sculptural, bear witness to another kind of progress — lateral, discontinuous, and saturated with visual noise.