Domestika Maestros: Tom Geismar

Tom Geismar, one of the most important graphic designers of the 20th Century, took us through his career and his life-long commitment to design

Founder of the influential agency Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, and the creator of the visual identities of many of the most well-known brands in the world, such as Mobil, Xerox and PBS, the story of design would look very different if it weren't for Tom Geismar. Over 50 years in design have confirmed Geismar's place as one of the greats of modern logo design and visual identity.

Always up to date with the most recent trends, Geismar guided us through his most recent achievements such as the visual program for National Geographic, making it clear once more that good design doesn't depend on eras or styles but timeless principles.

Find out what he had to say in the video below:

A cut above the rest

Tom Geismar started his career in 1957, when he founded an agency alongside Ivan Chermayeff and Robert Brownjohn that would carry their three names, known today as Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. They soon began specializing in logos and visual identities for America's most important brands: their redesign of Chase Manhattan Bank's identity, that encompassed abstraction and simplicity, would influence innumerable proposals for decades to come.

For Geismar, those principles have never changed: simplicity and search for the cleanest solution are as important today in the digital age in which smaller interfaces require easily read and understood proposals, no matter what device we're using.

Redesigning National Geographic

When Geismar and his partners approached the redesign of the National Geographic identity, they found that the company was working with a great variety of logos, between 50 and 100 according to him.

National Geographic had expanded to new fields, from magazine publications to TV, and each initiative had its own identity.

Returning to simplicity, the graphic designer decided that, starting from the classic yellow rectangle that the entire world identifies with National Geographic, you could adapt all of these identities into one visual treatment that would be applicable to every facet of their company.

And, of course, it worked: National Geographic is one of the most solid and recognizable brands in the world.

Dare to go beyond

The graphic designer encourages us to never stop exploring, searching for what connects with us, creatively and personally. Instead of specializing in just one area, Geismar recommends researching diverse paths to see that knowledge of different areas, and the ability to bring elements from each discipline together, will make us better designers.

You may be interested in:

- Domestika Maestros: Milton Glaser
- Domestika Maestros: Yves Zimmermann
- Domestika Maestros: Paula Scher