{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O241993"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O241993/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O241993","accessionNumber":"E.1113-1997","objectType":"Design","titles":[{"title":"Design for British Telecom corporate identity","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"BT is the world’s oldest communications company with a history dating back to The Electric Telegraph Company in 1846. \r\n\r\nIn 1984, British Telecom was privatised, bringing an end to its monopoly. As the organisation expanded its international operations in the context of rapid technological advancements, it recognised the need for a new visual identity and sought to redefine its role, not just as a British telephone provider, but as a global leader in communications in its broadest sense. In the UK, it was also essential to shift public perception of the organisation from a state-run, bureaucratic utility to a customer-focused, global communications company.\r\n\r\nIn 1989 BT commissioned London-based visual identity specialists, Wolff Olins, to design their new visual identity.  The brief was to create a memorable identity that communicated humanity, approachability and modernity. Aligned with BT’s positioning of ‘reciprocated confidences’, the design also needed to express a sense of duality, conveying an equal partnership and open dialogue between the organisation and its customers.\n\r\nBT had already committed to orders of blue uniforms and carpets, making it essential that the design had blue as its primary colour. The design also needed to work across every customer touchpoint: vehicles, phone boxes, retail, signage, uniforms, stationery and publications. The multiple formats had to be reproducible in just two colours for cost efficiency and implemented across all formats in time for its launch date. Consistency of implementation was achieved through the the circulation of printed design manuals containing detailed specificiations. Today, such design guidelines are made available digitally.\r\n\r\nWolff Olins began with a competitive analysis and carried out extensive interviews with members of staff across the organisation. Seeking to avoid the roundels and ‘T\" symbols that were commonly used in the telecommunications sector, the strategy shifted focusing on communication as a human experience. The solution was to the creation of ‘the piper’, a figurative, expressive symbol with its roots in storytelling and visual culture. Inspiration was drawn from artists such as Matisse and Picasso, evident in the fluid brushstroke quality of the design. The name BT was chosen to distance the organisation from its past as a British state-owned monopoly. \n\r\nBT’s yellow vans, strongly associated with poor service, were replaced with light grey vehicles featuring large reflective symbols. Extensive visibility testing was done to meet safety standards and secure union approval. The redesign of telephone boxes was another high-visibility project. These became brighter, safer, and more user-friendly. The phone book, found in nearly every home, was redesigned to be approachable in both layout and language.\n\r\nBT’s tone of voice shifted from formal and institutional to human and easy to understand. Retail stores, redesigned by Fitch & Co, reflected this transformation with bright, less formal and welcoming environments.\n\r\nThe new identity was bold, expressive, and deliberately distinctive, remaining in use until 2003. Although not universally liked, it marked a turning point in BT’s evolution and was one of the largest UK based visual identity programmes implemented in the 1990s.","physicalDescription":"12 small designs for BT pipe (double headed) player in yellow, blue, black, red, green and purple, on white paper mounted on black card. In a plastic wallet. ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"anonymous","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Employee of Wolff Olins"}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Wolff Olins","id":"A23025"},"association":{"text":"designers","id":"AAT25190"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"},{"text":"card","id":"x30344"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printed","id":"x46159"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Ink printed on paper, paper glued to card. In a plastic wallet. ","categories":[{"text":"Advertising","id":"THES49001"},{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Telecommunication","id":"THES49028"}],"styles":[{"text":"20th century","id":"x36076"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"LVLD","id":"THES49658"},"free":"","case":"MD","shelf":"36","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"designs","id":"AAT102051"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Wolff Olins is based in London"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1991","earliest":"1991-01-01","latest":"1991-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"50","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"34.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Design for British Telecom corporate identity by Wolff Olins, 1991","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Design","id":"THES48872"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[{"text":"British Telecom","id":"A13096"}],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"figurative art","id":"AAT56499"},{"text":"conceptual drawings","id":"AAT79783"},{"text":"corporate image","id":"AAT195663"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["E.1113-1997"],"accessionNumberNum":"1113","accessionNumberPrefix":"E","accessionYear":1997,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-09-19","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-08","availableToBook":false}}