Ford Almost Let a Graphic Design Legend Update Its Blue Oval Logo in 1966
Paul Rand, who designed iconic logos for IBM, Cummins, ABC and numerous other companies, designed a sleek logo for Ford that went unused.
Ford's script wordmark logo is instantly recognizable even on its earliest models, but the famous blue oval almost got a sleek update in 1966 at the hands of one of history's most legendary graphic designers.
Paul Rand's design work is all but unavoidable, especially in logo form. He's the man responsible for ABC's round network logo as well as the Cummins C and even Enron's infamous "crooked E." His long-running UPS logo featuring an updated company shield with a little box on top deserves a comeback, but I digress. He did numerous magazine and ad designs as well that helped set the bright, high-contrast, high-impact mood for the mid-century era and beyond.
Rand presented a proposal for an updated Ford logo in March 1966, which you can read in its entirety here on a site dedicated to Rand's work. It's immediately recognizable as a Ford logo, but it's been pared-down for the sleek, modern sixties.
(photo credit: Paul Rand)
