In designing the logo we were guided by a number of ideas: As well as symbolizing the international significance and globality of the Group, the logo should project a dynamic, forward-looking, innovative image which is instantly recognizable and distinguishes us from our competitors. It was also important for the logo to integrate the identities of the former Thyssen and Krupp groups and reflect our roots and traditions.
The ThyssenKrupp logotype retains both the names and the logos - the Thyssen arch and the three-ring emblem - of the former companies.For these reasons, unlike examples from other mergers, we decided against a completely new look. Everyone involved agreed at a very early stage that the traditions of the two companies should be used as a basis to create something new for the future.
Another important logo design criterion was to enable employees to identify quickly with the newly created company. It was therefore only logical to involve them in the decision-making process from the start.
Employees of the Thyssen group and Krupp group throughout the world were invited to develop ideas for the new logo. Their response exceeded all expectations. Around 5,000 suggestions submitted by over 1,100 employees - a third of them based outside Germany - were clear evidence of the enthusiasm with which this step towards a new, common identity was greeted. Entries were pooled and the final logo developed by communications experts.
The two former identity elements - the Thyssen arch and the Krupp three-ring emblem - remain recognizable in the ThyssenKrupp Group logo. They have been placed in a forward-looking, dynamic context to create a new, cohesive identity. The three-dimensional appearance emphasizes the competence and performance capabilities of the Group and its products which will continue to hold a strong competitive position in the market in future. The spelling of ThyssenKrupp as a single word also symbolizes the growing together of two equal partners who have joined forces and at the same time creates a powerful and distinctive logotype.
The appearance of the logo on letterheads, brochures, outdoor signs and advertisements, vehicles and trade show booths throughout the world is the best proof of the logo's international impact.
The logos - History
The Arch
August Thyssen-Hütte AG, the name selected again in 1953 in memory of the company's founder, introduces a new logo in April 1967 based on the standard elements used in trademarks since the 1920s - circles, polygons and combinations of letters. An "open T" developed from the first letter of the name Thyssen can be combined with the traditional logos of companies acquired and thus shows that the subsidiaries belong to the group, even though most of them at this time do not incorporate the name "Thyssen" in their company name. The logo is thus the first step towards illustrating that individual companies are part of the Thyssen group
Change in logo on the August Thyssen-Hütte AG company magazine in 1976.When August Thyssen-Hütte AG acquires a majority shareholding in Rheinstahl AG in 1973, it is generally assumed that the new company will adopt the Thyssen logo. However, in two years of negotiations the executive board of August Thyssen-Hütte AG is convinced of the modernity and symbolic value of the Rheinstahl arch and on January 12, 1976 resolves "to introduce the Thyssen arch as the standard logo for all domestic and foreign subsidiaries of the Thyssen group. It will symbolize, as it were, the "arch over all Thyssen activities". In March 1976 the new logo appears for the first time on the cover of the employee magazine "Our ATH".
While the yellow "Rheinstahl" lettering is replaced by the blue "Thyssen" lettering, the arch remains as a central element linking together a changed and bigger group. So it is that in 1976 two company identities are united in a single logo.
Founded in 1871, Rheinische Stahlwerke, a predecessor of today's ThyssenKrupp Industries, did not have a trademark of its own until the introduction of the Rheinstahl arch in 1958. In the early 1950s the publication of the annual report for the years 1948 to 1953 gives rise to the wish for a company logo.
Built in 1955, the Rheinstahl Pavilion at the Hanover Fair was a model for the new Rheinstahl logo, as this photo clearly shows.Rheinstahl chooses the design of the Hamburg graphic artist Schierning, which is based on the distinctive shape of the Rheinstahl pavilion at the German industrial show in Hanover. With loving attention to detail, the combined logo and lettering are developed on this basis featuring curves which cannot be calculated using simple mathematical formulae. The colors chosen are blue and yellow, the colors of the city of Essen. The yellow lettering Rheinstahl on the blue arch is a reference to the company's home town.
The Three Rings
Since 1875 three rings have been the worldwide symbol of products made by Krupp and serve at the same time as a reminder of the seamless forged and rolled railway tires invented by Krupp and patented in Prussia in 1853.
In 1875, Alfred Krupp registered three superimposed seamless railway tires as the company's trademark.Prior to 1875 furnishes his steel products initially with steel quality labels and stamps such as "Krupp zu Essen" (1839), "Fr. Krupp bei Essen" (1840) or "Fr. Krupp bei Essen in Preußen" (1841). In later years the stamps read only "Fr. Krupp" or simply "Krupp". Only when the imperial law on trademark protection is passed on November 30, 1874 does Alfred Krupp decide to develop his own trademark. Of the designs drawn up he chooses the Three Ring Emblem, showing three double rings placed on top of each other (not interlinking!) to symbolize railway tires.
Outside advertising system with the Krupp threering emblem
This Three Ring Emblem is registered for the first time on December 9, 1875 with the imperial district court in Essen as a trademark of Fried. Krupp "for steel and iron as well as steel and iron goods". Before World War One the Three Ring Emblem is a registered trademark in 56 other countries outside Germany. In 1994 the trademark ceases to be protected in its original open form. Until the merger with Thyssen AG the more modern version with the solid black rings is used which had already been registered as an additional trademark on October 9, 1934.
Reference:http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/index.html?lang=eng&id=konzern/geschichte_logo.html
http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/en/konzern/wir_marke.html
