Wolff Olins
 | |
| Company type | Wholly-owned subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brandconsulting |
| Founded | 1965inLondon,United Kingdom |
| Founders | James Main Michael Wolff Wally Olins |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Sairah Ashman (Global chief executive) Michael Khoury (president,North America) |
Number of employees | 150 |
| Parent | Omnicom Group |
| Website | wolffolins |
Wolff Olinsis a globalbrand consultancyagency that specializes incorporate identity.It was founded in 1965 inLondon,where itsmain officeis still based, as well as having offices inNew York City,San FranciscoandLos Angeles.It employs some 150 designers, strategists, technologists, environment specialists and programme managers, and has been part of theOmnicom Groupsince 2001.[citation needed] Since the agency was founded, it has worked for several entities in various sectors includingtechnology,culture,retail,sport,consumer goods,travel,energyandpublic utilities,mediaandnon-profit.[1][2]
In 2012 the firm was listed byThe Sunday Timesas one of the "best small companies to work for",[citation needed]and was in 31st place on list of the "best places to work" compiled byAd Agemagazine.[3]In 2018Fast Companymagazine placed the company at the head of a list of the "most innovative design firms".[4]
History[edit]
Wolff Olins was founded inCamden Town,London, in 1965 by designerMichael Wolffand advertising executiveWally Olins.[5]Wolff left the business in 1983, and Olins in 2001; Wolff is still active in the field of branding, and Olins died on the 14 April 2014.[5]Wolff Olins currently has offices inLondon,New York CityandSan Francisco.
In 2002, Wolff Olins was selected by theBritish Libraryas a subject of theirNational Life Storiesoral history project.[1]
In 2012, designs forOrangeand the London Olympics were included in a retrospective examining design from 1948 to 2012 at theV&Ain London.[6][failed verification]
In 2017, Sairah Ashman was appointed as the first female CEO of Wolff Olins.[7]
Work[edit]
From 1965 to the early 1990s, Wolff Olins developed corporate identities for various large European companies. During this time Olins publishedThe Corporate Personality(1978) andCorporate Identity(1989).[8]Olins definedcorporate identityas "strategy made visible", and the firm worked with companies includingBOC(1967),The Beatles'Apple Records(1968), Bovis (1971),Volkswagen's VAG (1978),3i(1983),Prudential(1986) andBT(1991).
During the 1990s, Wolff Olins focused more on corporate branding. The company's work during that time includesFirst Direct(1989),Orange(1994),Odeon(1997),Heathrow Express(1998),Tata Group(2000),Unileverflower U logo (2004), and theBBCReith blocks logo (2021).
Thelogofor the2012 Olympic Games,designed by the agency in 2007, was included inExtraordinary Stories about Ordinary Things,an exhibition in 2012 at TheDesign Museumin London.[9]
Criticism[edit]
Some of Wolff Olins' work has received controversial reception.[10][11]Its piper design for BT in 1991 attracted a great deal of opposition.[12]The company was also responsible for the short-lived $110m (£75m) re-branding ofPwCConsulting toMondayin 2002.[13]The launch of theLondon 2012brand in 2007 was met with widespread public derision.[14]Design criticStephen Bayleycondemned the London 2012 Olympic Games logo as "a puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal".[15]
In July 2021 Wolff Olins designed a rebranding for, the then largest active asset manager in the UK, Standard Life Aberdeen plc to change its name toAbrdn.Although pronounced Aberdeen this vowelless name was met with widespread ridicule and was the butt of many online jokes. An online poll of investors described the rebrand as an “act of corporate insanity”.[16][17][18]
References[edit]
- ^ab"National Life Stories: An Oral History of Wolff Olins".Bl.uk. 30 November 2003.Retrieved6 January2012.
- ^"Wolff Olins".Design Is History.Retrieved6 January2012.
- ^"Wolff Olins Is No. 31 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List",Ad Age,26 March 2012.
- ^"The World's Most Innovative Companies 2018, Design Sector".Fast Company.Retrieved3 September2018.
- ^abGomez-Palacio, Bryony; Vit, Armin (2009).Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design.Rockport Publishers.ISBN978-1-59253-447-0.
- ^"British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age".V&A.
- ^"Wolff Olins appoints Sairah Ashman as first female CEO - Design Week".Design Week.3 August 2017.Retrieved20 October2017.
- ^Wally Olins, The Corporate Personality, Design Council, London, 1978 and Corporate Identity, Thames and Hudson, London, 1989
- ^"Design Museum".
- ^Stephen Bayleyweighs (5 April 2006)."Design expert Stephen Bayleyweighs up other contenders for Britain's lousiest logo | Media".The Guardian.London.Retrieved6 January2012.
- ^"Wolff Olins: Expectations Confounded".Creative Review.Retrieved6 January2012.
- ^Bayley, Stephen (10 June 2007)."Stephen Bayley: You can't fool the British people with a logo and an instant brand".The Observer.ISSN0029-7712.Retrieved31 May2020.
- ^"Monday name change for PwC".10 June 2002.Retrieved31 May2020.
- ^April 2019, Nick Carson 09."14 controversial moments in logo and brand design".Creative Bloq.Retrieved31 May2020.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Olympic chiefs under fire for 'puerile' logo,The Telegraph,June 4, 2007.
- ^"Standard Life Aberdeen to become Abrdn in" digitally-enabled "rebrand".DesignWeek.
- ^"Is the ridiculed 'Abrdn' rebrand the biggest branding misfire of 2021?".CreativeBloq.
- ^"Abrdn rebrand dubbed 'act of corporate insanity'".DailyBusiness.