Standards Manual publishes Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv monograph

Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv showcases 60 years of work from the seminal New York design firm

Standards Manual is Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth’s imprint, which has previously produced highly popular reprints of graphic standards manuals for both NASA and the New York City Transit Authority. It has now progressed to creating original books.

Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv features key projects from a design studio that is behind many of the most significant US corporate identities. (Sadly, co-founder Ivan Chermayeff died recently, read our tribute to him here). The Chase Bank octagon, the NBC peacock, the PBS faces, the red Mobil O are all included in its 308, 302 x 292 mm pages.

The book’s cover features 30 of the firm’s most influential logos, silkscreened on canvas-covered board.“The cover illustrates our approach to trademark design: our primary concern is a strong, distinctive silhouette — this is what people remember,” says Sagi Haviv. “Although each trademark in this book represents a solution to a particular client’s problem, and there’s a story behind each, here they are presented simply as artwork.”

Though mainly a visual showcase, it also features contributions from significant US design figures including John Maeda and Milton Glaser, as well as interviews with Tom Geismar and Sagi Haviv.

Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv can be pre-ordered for $88 before December 31.