Norman B Hathaway Associates was a design studio located on the edge of Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood. The company had an enviable reputation and worked across many disciplines, but most notably in packaging and corporate reports. Clients were primarily large, national and international firms including: Gillette, Rowntree, Welch’s, Ford, General Foods, General Motors and Maybelline.

In 1972, having recently completed work on the Government of Ontario Trillium Symbol and identity, Norm Hathaway tasked Glenn Fretz (then only 24 years old) to work on a new logo and collateral for the studio. As part of the project, this ‘budget control’ form was created to manage and track projects, billable hours and associated expenditures. A beautifully functional design was built on a 12-column typographic grid and set in Helvetica and Univers. The new NH monogram symbol is positioned prominently in the upper right hand corner.