Trivia: 03/11/12 It's All In The Design.

TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE

QUOTE: "Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated." HINT: (1914-1996), American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs.

RANDOM TIDBITS

According to Catherine Durant, her husband saw the inspiration for the Chevrolet "bow tie" logo not on some French wallpaper (as legend has it) but in a newspaper ad while they were vacationing in Hot Springs, Virginia. Researchers believe the company responsible was an Atlanta-based coal supplier known as Coalettes.

The familiar Mercedes-Benz logo is a three-pointed star designed by Gottlieb Daimler to represent the dominance of his company's motors across land, on sea, and in the air.

Prior to 1933, the distinctive intertwined "RR" grille logo of Rolls-Royce was red. Upon the passing of founder Sir Henry Royce, the logo's color was permanently changed to black as a symbol of mourning.

What consumers call "hood ornaments," those in the automobile business refer to as "mascots." These were originally designed as decorative alternatives to the traditional exposed radiator caps that stuck out in front of the hood. Among logos displayed in this fashion is the "Ram" icon of Dodge Trucks.

Franz Reimspiess was the engineer at Volkswagen who submitted the classic "VW" logo design in a 1930s company-wide competition. Reimspiess's winning entry earned him about 35 dollars.

Cadillac redesigned its emblem in 1998, omitting the six ducks that had appeared in it since the company's inception. The merlettes had "come to life" in an advertising campaign for the automaker's ill-fated Catera, and the company wanted to distance itself from that failure.

QUOTE: "Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated."

ANSWER: Paul Rand.