History
On 9 December 1948, the Westinghouse Electric Supply Company (Wesco) moved into a new building located at 209 West General Robinson Street in the North Shore section of Pittsburgh. Wesco was a wholesale distributor of electrical apparatus, and a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Electric Company founded by George Westinghouse in 1886.
For many years, a large orange and blue sign on the Wesco roof proclaimed the company’s advertising slogan: “You can be sure...if it’s Westinghouse”. The sign was pointed to the south, across the Allegheny River, making it easy to see from Downtown Pittsburgh.
Early in 1966, Westinghouse decided to replace the aging advertising sign on the Wesco Building. The idea was to remove the slogan from the existing 200-foot (61 m) support structure, and replace it with a modern view of the Westinghouse corporate identity.
In due course, Richard Huppertz of the Westinghouse Corporate Design Center developed a concept that would bring greater recognition to the ‘circle w’ logo created by graphic designer Paul Rand. Rather than using words, the sign Huppertz had in mind would rely solely on the Westinghouse corporate mark. The concept was then presented to Paul Rand, who produced a design emphasizing the nine elements of the logo he had illustrated in a 1960 graphics standards guide.
Read more about this topic: Westinghouse Sign
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