Logotype

Technically the term logotype means a symbol comprised of only typography but it has evolved to a simple term = "logo"—a mark or symbol that identifies a company or product. The Coca-Cola symbol is a very well known example of a purely typographic logotype.

The top logotype above is from the Weiner Werksätte, or Vienna Workshops, formed in Austria in 1903. The workshops were a co-operative of artisans and artists united in their goal of making products that merged pure and applied arts. In a response against cheap industrial production, they hand manufactured high quality goods which were imprinted with the WW logo. One single product could carry several marks including the individual mark of each designer and craftsman associated with the work as well as the Werkstätte studio symbol. By 1913 Weiner Werkstätte was officially registered as a trademark. The symbol was applied to a wide range of items inclu