Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
Name	Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
Founded	1957
Founders	Ivan Chermayeff; Tom Geismar
Location	New York City
Notable clients	NBC; Mobil; Chase Bank; National Geographic; Smithsonian Institution

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv is an American graphic design firm known for corporate identity, logo design, and branding for major institutions and corporations. The firm has created enduring marks for organizations across media, publishing, energy, finance, and cultural institutions, influencing practices in twentieth- and twenty-first-century graphic design and corporate identity. Its work intersects with figures and organizations from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the Smithsonian Institution, and its marks appear alongside projects by designers and firms such as Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, and Pentagram.

History

The firm began in 1957 in New York City amid a postwar expansion of corporate branding and broadcasting, contemporaneous with projects at NBC and collaborations with publishers like The New York Times and Random House. During the 1960s and 1970s it produced identities for clients in petrochemical and aviation sectors such as Mobil and regional authorities including the New York City Transit Authority, paralleling corporate redesigns by IBM and AT&T. In the 1980s and 1990s the studio engaged with cultural organizations including National Geographic Society and the Carnegie Institution for Science, while the firm’s portfolio expanded into museum signage and environmental graphics for institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. In the 2000s and 2010s the practice continued under new leadership to deliver branding for projects associated with Google, Twitter, Harvard University, Columbia University, and public commissions for state and municipal clients.

Founders and Key Figures

Founders Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar trained and worked within networks that included Alexey Brodovitch protégés and peers such as Herbert Matter and Lester Beall. Ivan Chermayeff collaborated with institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art and engaged with collectors and patrons including Saul Steinberg and D. D. Adler. Tom Geismar’s career connected him with faculty and alumni from the Art Students League of New York and the Cooper Union, and he worked alongside contemporaries such as Massimo Vignelli and Bradbury Thompson. In 2006 Sagi Haviv joined as partner, linking the studio to younger networks including designers affiliated with Rhode Island School of Design and Parsons School of Design. Other notable figures associated with the firm include long-term collaborators who contributed to identity programs for CBS, Chase Manhattan Bank, National Park Service, and the United States Postal Service.

Notable Works and Identity Designs

The firm’s portfolio includes widely recognized marks such as the identity for Mobil and the emblem for National Geographic. They designed wordmarks and symbols for media clients including NBC associates and print publishers like The New Yorker affiliates, along with branding for financial institutions such as Chase Bank and corporate identities for energy clients comparable to ExxonMobil transitions. Cultural commissions include identities and signage for the Smithsonian Institution, Lincoln Center, and exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their transport and municipal signage projects involved collaborations with agencies like the New York City Transit Authority and regional transit authorities similar to projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Education-related identities include work for Harvard University and design systems for museums comparable to programs at the Museum of Modern Art and Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Design Philosophy and Influence

The studio emphasizes simplified, geometric forms and visual economy, a lineage traceable to modernist practitioners such as Jan Tschichold, László Moholy-Nagy, and Bauhaus-influenced curricula at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Black Mountain College. Their approach stresses clarity for corporate and cultural clients including National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution, aligning with editorial sensibilities evident in publications by George Lois and typographic strategies championed by Herbert Bayer. The firm’s work influenced branding processes at agencies such as Pentagram and informed pedagogical examples in curricula at Rhode Island School of Design and Parsons School of Design. Their minimalist logotypes and pictograms have been cited alongside trademarks by Paul Rand and signage systems by Unimark International.

Awards and Recognition

Over decades the firm and its principals have received honors from institutions like the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), and international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and awards conferred by the Type Directors Club. Individual partners have been recognized with lifetime achievement awards from organizations including the Art Directors Club and fellowships connected to Yale University and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Their work is included in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt.

Corporate Structure and Notable Projects Timeline

The studio evolved from a partnership model to a branded firm with named partners, integrating new leadership such as Sagi Haviv while maintaining founders’ legacies comparable to transitions at firms like Pentagram and Landor Associates. Key projects by decade: - 1960s: Identities for clients akin to Mobil and early media projects related to NBC. - 1970s: Museum and cultural commissions for institutions like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and transport signage collaborations with New York City Transit Authority-level agencies. - 1980s–1990s: Corporate identity systems for financial institutions similar to Chase Bank and publishing clients such as Random House. - 2000s: Rebrands and new marks for organizations comparable to National Geographic Society and commissions tied to universities like Harvard University and Columbia University. - 2010s–2020s: Continued global identities and expansions under partners including Sagi Haviv, engagement with technology-sector brands such as Google-adjacent projects, and participation in exhibitions at venues like the Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt.

Category:Design firms