Logo Design

Museum 2D

In 1968, a new logo marked the moment in which Molteni&C, established in 1934, switched from its traditional production of period furniture to what we now define as design-led furniture. At that year’s Salone del Mobile, Molteni&C presented an emblem of how it had decided to develop itself: a logo, designed by Hans von Klier and Luca Meda, that incorporated the traditional suggestions of a seal, blended with the rigour of the Ulm School of Design from which von Klier had graduated.

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This logo evoked the history of corporate branding, with a recognisable graphic element that plays on the letter M. The logo of the Industria Mobili Molteni Angelo, which had appeared on headed notepaper in the 1950s, consisted of two squared-off triangles that were mirrored and spaced out so as to suggest an M (within which an A is also visible for Angelo Molteni) executed with a graphic wooden texture that evoked the craftsmanship in which the company excelled. In the early 1960s, the company’s partnerships with designers intensified and the Industria Mobili Molteni Angelo morphed into Molteni&C. In response, a new logotype was executed in capital letters and finished off with a full stop, while the new graphic was more geometric and minimal than the previous one: a red M, this time explicit and inclined, almost as if to create a perspective puzzle.

Molteni&C logo designed by Hans von Klier and Luca Meda in 1968

The end of the 1960s saw UniFor join the Molteni Group. Established in 1969, UniFor’s first logo was “UNIFOR EMME3”, adapting both the name and graphics of the Unimark International design firm: a homage to Unimark’s Bob Noorda and Franco Mirenzi who had developed the company’s first product: Modulo 3. The logotype was rigorous, precise and possessed clear references to the Bauhaus teachings that had been re-proposed by the IvKNO school and the Ulm School of Design.

UniFor Emme 3 logo, 1970s

Unimark International was also involved in the logo for Citterio, which had become part of the Molteni Group Founded in 1958 as FRATELLI CITTERIO, the company moved its production in the 1960s to the office furniture sector with the design of its iconic Programma 3.

Citterio logo, 1960s

Its logo, designed by Unimark, summarised Citterio’s family history with a graphic F and C that were juxtaposed to form something that was clean, geometric, rigorous, minimal and immediate. This was accompanied by a simple and effective logotype, which features the Helvetica font – a timeless choice that has remained unchanged up to the present day.

In these same years, Unimark International helped to design the graphics and staging of different Molteni&C stands. To complete or replace the trademark, in these stands was used the logotype "Molteni & c.", made with a minimal, clear and rigorous font. This logotype would gradually replace the previous logo in the 1980s.

Molteni&C logo, from 1970s to 1980s

In 1979, Dada also joined the Molteni Group. The firm, established in 1926, had operated since 1950 as “Angelo Garavaglia & Sons”, but created its “DADA” logo in 1972, as prompted by Gaetano Garavaglia.

This graphic change corresponded to another major shift made by the firm, which began to work with world-famous architects and designers. Within its new logo, the words “Alta Cucina” also appeared. A rectangular mesh grid, in which the squares had rounded corners, characterised this logo, which remained unchanged even after the firm joined the Molteni Group (the logo only changed in the early years of the 21st century, when the company opted to keep its typographic character, but execute it in full colour). The words “Alta Cucina” disappeared , although they did return in the logo used at the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Alongside the “DADA” logotype, the company initially used “Polidada” too, while the design of a clear and recognisable graphic was entrusted to Luca Meda.

Dada Alta Cucina logo, from 1970s to 1990s

The 1980s marked a complete change for the image of UniFor, which needed to underline the importance of its brand. With the arrival of Pierluigi Cerri as its art director, the company introduced a complete and radical change in its communication strategy, all while keeping its natural tendency for understatement. In its first catalogues, the company’s existing font was accompanied by additional fonts used for product names, creating strong visual contrasts. Having abandoned the historic “UNIFOR EMME3” in favour of the more direct “UNIFOR”, Cerri designed a small logo, in negative on a red background, that was in turn positioned on a larger white background – much better for catching people’s attention than a message written in block capitals.

Pierluigi Cerri, UniFor logo, 1980s and 1990s

Between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 90s, Felix Humm (who was to manage the company’s image for 15 years) redesigned the Molteni&C logotype, opting for a more graceful typeface: Bodoni Berthold. The redesign was gradual. Initially, the more graceful font was introduced, going back to the capital C of the early 1960s and keeping the full stop.

In the definitive version, still used today, the full stop was eliminated altogether and the distance between the various elements was recalibrated, thereby achieving an extremely elegant logo. That choice also brought the Molteni&C logotype closer to Italian tradition, returning to one of the characters, Giambattista Bodoni, who had revolutionised the history of Italian typography.

At the same time, Cerri introduced a selection of colours that were added to the red to accompany the UniFor logotype. Yellow and the blue, in addition to the original red, referred to the primary colours and to the essential nature of things, pointing to the idea that simplicity helps symbols stand the test of time.

These chromatic elements, initially composed as rectangles and then as squares along the sides of catalogues or in advertising campaigns, characterised the logo and the company’s graphics in the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century, becoming the distinguishing feature of UniFor’s stands and shop windows.

In 2014 Cerri changed UniFor’s logo, refreshing its message and adapting it to the company’s ethos, which evoked a specific cultural context: the U and the F remained in capital letters, differentiating themselves from the rest of the writing in small letters. What’s more, new importance was given to the red background with which the logo had been created.

UniFor logo designed by Pierluigi Cerri in 2014

In 2021, Nicola-Matteo Munari redesigned UniFor’s visual identity, enhancing the reputation and history of the brand. Munari opted for a highly considered intervention, without introducing any radical changes in form. The red band was lengthened in order to achieve a proportion that communicated greater visual tension, elegance and incisiveness, thereby symbolising an evolution in keeping with the brand’s history.

UniFor logo redesigned by Nicola-Matteo Munari in 2021
Citterio logo still used today