Letters divided into bars
Paul Rand designed IBM’s eight-bar logo in 1972. Horizontal stripes divide the three capital letters while retaining their combined outline. The design followed an earlier thirteen-bar version.
Reproduction and identity
The change addressed the difficulty period photocopiers had reproducing narrower stripes. The mark therefore offers a specific connection between a graphic decision and the equipment used to reproduce it. IBM’s identity also included corporate typography, historically Helvetica and later IBM Plex.
IBM used Helvetica as its corporate typeface for 50 years, until the custom-designed IBM Plex replaced it in 2017. The company’s nickname, Big Blue, comes partly from its blue logo and colour scheme and partly from a former de facto dress code of white shirts and blue suits.
A comparison to make
Compare the eight-bar and thirteen-bar versions at the same small size. Examine when the stripes remain distinct and when they begin to merge. Then consider the mark alongside ordinary text. The exercise makes recognition, reproduction and supporting typography separate questions that can be tested together. It is a more useful way into the design than treating a familiar corporate symbol as automatically successful in every setting.
