Trademark: TM30
Title: Ontario Hydro
Year: 1962
Designer: Allan Robb Fleming
Studio: Hathaway-Templeton
Client: Ontario Hydro
Sector: Energy
Title: Ontario Hydro
Year: 1962
Designer: Allan Robb Fleming
Studio: Hathaway-Templeton
Client: Ontario Hydro
Sector: Energy
Two years after CN, Allan Fleming was brought in to develop a new identity for Ontario Hydro, although the work wasn’t actually launched until 1965. Fleming was working at MacLaren Advertising at the time, but completed this particular contract through Templeton-Hathaway.
An overlapping O and H create a stylised electrical connection, which is rotated by 45 degrees and reproduced in a vibrant vermilion and orange to add a sense of dynamism and energy. An accompanying lower case wordmark (using the typeface ‘Standard’) is set at the same angle, reinforcing the sense of connectivity.
From the accompanying launch materials:
“As you can see, our new symbol is dignified and dynamic. It’s clean, contemporary form was designed to stand the test of time… (It) will serve as a constant and quickly-identified reminder that Hydro is alive to the changing needs of its customers, as well as its broader responsibilities to the citizens of this province. It will keep before the public the nature of the Hydro enterprise — an efficient, up-to-date, and service-minded organization of highly skilled people dedicated to the interests of its customers.”