Open a National Giro account : publicity leaflet : National Giro : 1969 : logo designed by Henrion : first fold
One of the cleanest and cleverist of symbols and corporate identities is still, to my mind, that for the National Giro bank and the "G" symbol. It was designed for the launch of the banking service in 1966 by Henri Kay Henrion RDI CBE and is seen here to great effect in a March 1969 publicity leaflet that shows the range of services available from this new State owned bank that was formally part of the Post Office.
The bank had been set up by the new Wilson Labour Government in 1966 as an alternative to the existing commercial banks and offered services via the Post Office branch network and by post. In time it was one of the earliest users of telephone banking. The bank's head office was based in Bootle on Merseyside, an area that was one ofthe various regional development areas as designated by Central Government. In later years it was one of the largest retail banks in the UK but it was 'privatised' in 1990 to the Alliance & Leicester who, demutalised in 1997, eventually fell prey to one of the multi-national banking giants and the brand, of course, vanished.
Henrion (1914 - 1990) was born in Germany but came to the UK in 1936 when fleeing the Nazis. He rose to be one great industrial designers with a great many commissions to his name and was responsible for a great number of exhibition designs, posters and corporate identities. He was made a Royal Designer to Industry in 1959.
Open a National Giro account : publicity leaflet : National Giro : 1969 : logo designed by Henrion : first fold
One of the cleanest and cleverist of symbols and corporate identities is still, to my mind, that for the National Giro bank and the "G" symbol. It was designed for the launch of the banking service in 1966 by Henri Kay Henrion RDI CBE and is seen here to great effect in a March 1969 publicity leaflet that shows the range of services available from this new State owned bank that was formally part of the Post Office.
The bank had been set up by the new Wilson Labour Government in 1966 as an alternative to the existing commercial banks and offered services via the Post Office branch network and by post. In time it was one of the earliest users of telephone banking. The bank's head office was based in Bootle on Merseyside, an area that was one ofthe various regional development areas as designated by Central Government. In later years it was one of the largest retail banks in the UK but it was 'privatised' in 1990 to the Alliance & Leicester who, demutalised in 1997, eventually fell prey to one of the multi-national banking giants and the brand, of course, vanished.
Henrion (1914 - 1990) was born in Germany but came to the UK in 1936 when fleeing the Nazis. He rose to be one great industrial designers with a great many commissions to his name and was responsible for a great number of exhibition designs, posters and corporate identities. He was made a Royal Designer to Industry in 1959.