Reading alumnus's logo is in the top ten

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

A logo created by Reading alumnus, Ian Dennis, has been voted by readers of Creative Review as one of their top ten favourite logos.

The National Theatre logo, which he worked on in 1974, has been featured this month in the graphic design magazine, alongside Michelin, World Wildlife Fund, and Woolmark. Ian's logo beat those of Apple, NASA and the London Underground to number ten in the top twenty list.

Ian, who now runs Indent Design in Reading, graduated in 1973 in Typography and Graphic Communication and almost immediately went to work for legendary Dutch designer FHK Henrion. He said: "Henrion had been working on a design but had to go to a conference, so he asked us all to have a go.

"He'd created a Union Jack design made up of triangles and I could sort of see a ‘NT' in it, but I worked up something at home in Letraset, then developed it by hand after suggestions from Henrion."

The logo is still a feature of the Theatre's publicity and the South Bank site. Former National art director Michael Mayhew says it has stood the test of time "because it is so beautifully simple."