TM: A retrospective exhibition of American trademarks from 1945 to 1963

Are you sitting down? This one is just . . . awesome. We know that’s a lame word. Awesome. But we are in some awe. This is a showing of 193 American trademarks, symbols, and logotypes chosen by a jury of leaders in the field of design (by which we mean men) that was represented in TRADEMARKS/USA, the first national retrospective exhibition of its kind. First of all, it is an exception showing of what can be done with just two colors: Ebony and ivory, living together in perfect harmony. Second, when we flip through, we see marks we recognize and think, Oh. He designed that?! And then there are other marks we see every day and we think, Oh. Who they heck is that designer?! It’s full of surprises. All of these marks are on loose flats, so they’ll be perfect for an exhibition (or scanning). In addition to the 193 marks in the show, also included is a 56-page booklet which shows all the logos that were rejected from this exhibition. And even the rejects are good! Or, interesting. We spot some Paul Rands and Saul Basses that were rejected, so even the big boys sometimes missed the mark.