Company logos: Goldschmidt

The Goldschmidt tree For the first 47 years of its existence, Chemische Fabrik Th. Goldschmidt did not have what today is regarded as essential for marketing: a logo. This logo-less period ended in 1894 with the advent of the Goldschmidt tree, which linked the initials of the company name with the symbol of organic, natural and enduring growth. This type of illustration was relatively popular in the 19th century. The new logo was not used consistently, however; its use was mainly restricted to special events and publications. Contemporary taste soon rejected this naturalistic style, and use of the tree declined, without anything else taking its place. As a result Goldschmidt operated in the 20s and 30s without a logo - something which would be unthinkable today.

The ThG logo

It was not until 1939 that the company launched a competition to design a logo, which in future would unmistakably identify all media used for business and advertising purposes. The commission was awarded to Prof. Wilhelm Poetter, a lecturer at the Essen School of Arts and Crafts, whose design functionally modified the letters of the entwined Goldschmidt tree. The logo was used almost unchanged for 60 years, and was only enclosed by a box in the 70s (right).

The Goldschmidt lettering By the 90s, the ThG logo began looking increasingly old-fashioned. An up-to-date replacement finally materialized in 1999. The new design reduced the company logo to the company name, which had established itself as a chemical industry brand far and wide. The new logo set in a DIN medium type was designed by Saarbrücken agency Maksimovic and Partners.