Hello and welcome to this video
Gareth here from Tastytuts.com
In this video we're going to look at the HSBC logo
Learn a little about the logo and the designer behind it.
The HSBC logo was designed in 1983 by an Austrian graphic designer
called Henry Steiner born in 1934.
Henry Steiner was born in Vienna but left when he was 5
when the Nazis were taking over Austria.
He moved to America and had most of his schooling in New York.
Early in career Steiner worked as a freelancer for a New York magazine
and around the early 1960s he was given the opportunity
to go work in Hong Kong for nine months to work on an Asian magazine.
Steiner would stay in Hong Kong permanently and it is
where he lives today.
Henry Steiner has been dubbed the father of Hong Kong design.
In 1964 he founded his own consultancy firm Steiner & Co.
The company scope would include:
corporate identity, corporate literature, architectural graphics, books and magazine design.
and bank notes.
Henry Stiener has created designs for some of the most identifiable brands
such as IBM, Hilton Hotels, Dow Jones, HSBC, Standard chartered
and Unilever to name a few.
Some of Harry Steiner's poster examples include:
Hong Kong international music festival 1969.
Morisawa Font Poster in the middle of 1990s.
Sinn bildungen, 2XGOLDSTEIN, Germany, 2007
and Hong Kong Vienna Opera Ball, 2008
Henry Steiner is also known for creating some of Hong Kong's banknotes
which the government commissioned him to do in 1975.
In 2003 he would update the designs including:
Aquatic, Amphibious, Terrestrial and Celestial creatures.
Steiner pioneered the expression of identity through branding
particularly in Asia where his skill for incorporating Eastern cultural symbols
into Western design has gained international acclaim.
To quote Steiner:
Design must contain contrast. This can be contrast of colour
of expectation, psychological tensions, size, old vs new. etc.
Henry Steiner is well known for his poster and banknote designs
but it's best known for his corporate identity designs
notably his HSBC logo.
The design of the HSBC logo was inspired by the bank's house flag
that had been in use since at least 1800's
This being a white triangle with two pointed triangles in the shape of an hourglass.
Now would you believe me if I told you that the HSBC logo has its origin in a Scottish flag?
Well in the late 19th century many companies were established in Hong Kong
by Scottish expatriates.
HSBC was founded by Sir Thomas Sutherland a Scottish banker and politician.
HSBC opened for business on the 3rd March 1865.
Like many other companies flags of that era
the design was based on the Scottish flag, the cross of St. Andrew
For HSBC the flag would become white and red.
Henry Steiner would take inspiration from this flag and add additional triangles
suggesting connections and points on a compass
This mark fuels HSBC's dramatic expansion.
So the HSBC logo is essentially a lockup combination mark
What makes up the logo are two distinct parts
We have the prominent logo mark: The Red triangle shaped competition
and the logotype.
The font used is a simple serif font
which seems to be either Times New Roman or Basketball Old face
Set in black the colour evokes positive associations of power, sophistication and elegance.
When used formerly it can be seen with the logotype wordmark element
either to the left or underneath
When used in a confined or decorative space the logo mark is used alone.
So what I think about this logo?
Well I like how Steiner took inspiration from something that was part of his HSBC's history
dating back to the late 1800's
Taking the banks house flag and simply adding two additional triangles
creates not only a new distinctive shape
but creates point of a compass that can be easily interpreted positively
and outward looking. This is simple and memorable
So what we learned about this story?
Well in this example all it took was the addition of two extra triangles to make an iconic brand.
Henry Steiner simply built on top of an already established legacy
to create something fresh and new.
This shows that sometimes a great idea
can be imagined from part of a company
institution or projects history.
When creating a logo be sure to ask questions
about any stories leading up to the creation of the company institution or product.
Take note of anything interesting that may exist
a great idea to be waiting to be imagined.
If you'd like to learn more about Henry Steiner
you can find further reading and interesting video links in the description.
So that's one of many logos and designers I have spoken about
If you enjoy this video and want to watch more like it
you can see more episodes in the Famous Logos playlist
Link is in the description.
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So until next time have fun guys
and also you in the next video.