Although the focus is on Cruz Novillo’s logos, he found recognition in a varied career as an artist, sculptor, graphic designer, publisher, and illustrator. Born José María Cruz Novillo in Cuenca, central Spain, in 1936, Cruz Novillo first studied law before, in 1957, beginning a career as a cartoonist at Clarín Advertising in Madrid.

Shortly after, he would begin to work in the field of industrial design at SEDI, years later promoting one of the first Spanish magazines that specialised in design, ‘Temas de Diseño’, whose editor was the architect Miguel Durán Lóriga. In 1963 he was selected to form part of the team of artists for the Pavilion of Spain at the world fair in New York. By 1965 he had reached the level of creative director and abandoned Clarín, opening his own design studio, where he created the corporate identities of many of Spain’s national institutions and companies.

His work is now so ubiquitous that it has become part of the fabric of visual culture in his native Spain. He was responsible for the identities of many public services including the post office (Correos), national police (Cuerpo Nacional de Policia), railway system (Renfe), and even the Peseta banknotes.

Cruz Novillo logo book
Quinto Centenario logo, to mark 500 years since exploring America, 1981.
Cruz Novillo logo book
Identity for TV channel TVE 1, 1981.
Cruz Novillo logo book
Icons for Madrid bar Font Romeu (left) and restaurant Ruperto de Nola (right), 1971.
Cruz Novillo logo book
Shield for Spain’s national police service, 1986.
Cruz Novillo logo book
Logos for Cines Luna, a cinema group in Madrid.
Cruz Novillo logo book
Logo for the Spanish Socialist Party, 1977.

Cruz Novillo: Logos is published by Counter-Print. Copies are available for £19.50.

Designed by: Leterme Dowling
Size: 205 x 210mm
Pages: 368
Publication: 2017
Binding: Softbound book with belly band

Comments

Hey, great post! I’m from Spain and I’m very curious about what “central Spain” is :)

Anyway Cruz Novillo is one of the best Spanish designers, if you like his work you definitely should check the work of Alberto Corazón (www.albertocorazon.com) and specially Manuel Estrada (www.manuelestrada.com). The three of them are responsible of pretty much every public service logo you might find in Spain.

You are welcome! Actually I should be the one thanking you for your blog, I’ve been a long time lurker here and find your articles and logo highlights really interesting.

Great to know! Thanks for the continued visits, and if you happen to be looking, please excuse the archives — bit of a mess after switching to a new site design.

Wow, what a career this guy’s had. Can definitely see the illustration and cartoon influence in his graphic design.

Hi David, thank you for sharing this. I was finally was able to get the book here in Mexico, and know more about Cruz Novillo. It’s a nice book, beautifully printed and with Novillo work is good but not great. The book falls short — it needed more context for Novillo’s work. It reminded me of the “Symbol” book by Angus Hyland & Steven Bateman. But Novillo’s work is a great reference to study and have in mind. Thank you for sharing this and other many useful and interesting things!

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