Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Branding, Graphic design |
| Predecessor | Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Founder | Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, Robert Brownjohn |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Tom Geismar (partner), Sagi Haviv (partner), Mackey Saturday (principal designer) |
| Products | Brand identities, Corporate identity design, Logo design, Exhibition design, Environmental installations |
| Website | www |
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv is a branding and graphic design agency headquartered in New York City, currently led by partners Tom Geismar and Sagi Haviv.
Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar
Established in 1957 by Yale alumni Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, alongside the experienced designer Robert Brownjohn, the firm rapidly earned a reputation for its corporate identity expertise. Brownjohn, who trained under Bauhaus pioneer László Moholy-Nagy and industrial designer Serge Chermayeff, exited the partnership in 1959 to take on the role of creative director at J. Walter Thompson’s London office due to personal reasons. This initial leadership team laid the groundwork for the company's longstanding influence and strategic positioning within the branding sector.
Chermayeff & Geismar
After Brownjohn's departure, Chermayeff and Geismar operated as Chermayeff & Geismar Associates, focusing primarily on corporate identity design. They created iconic logos for prominent organizations such as Pan Am, Mobil Oil, PBS, Chase Bank, Barneys New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Xerox, Smithsonian Institution, NBC, Cornell University, and National Geographic. Their contributions during this era are regarded as transformative within the branding discipline.
During the 1970s, the firm expanded its scope by incorporating Swiss graphic designer Steff Geissbuhler and architect John Grady as partners. This expansion enabled them to offer interpretive exhibition design and environmental installations. Significant projects included the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, Statue of Liberty Museum, exhibitions at the New York Public Library, U.S. pavilions at the 1967 and 1970 World’s Fairs, the Star-Spangled Banner display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the distinctive red number 9 sculpture located at 9 West 57th Street in Manhattan.
Founders Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar were honored with the AIGA Medal in 1979 for their enduring impact on visual communication. Their visionary leadership reinforced the firm's competitive edge and expanded its influence on a global scale.
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
In 2005, the company realigned its focus back to logo and brand identity design, returning to its core expertise. Designer Sagi Haviv joined as a partner in 2006, and by 2013 the firm adopted the name Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv to acknowledge his strategic contributions. In 2016, designer Mackey Saturday was appointed principal designer, enhancing the leadership team.
The firm has crafted brand identities for a diverse range of high-profile clients including America250, Warner Bros. Discovery, New York City Marathon, Bechtel, Discovery+ streaming platform, United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, US Open tennis tournament, Culinary Institute of America, tech company Togg, fintech enterprise Network Capital, esports organization Panda Global, Wolf Entertainment, Animal Planet, Impossible Aerospace, Hearst Corporation, Southern Poverty Law Center, MacArthur Foundation, Conservation International, Women's Tennis Association, Harvard University Press, State Farm Insurance, Grupo Imagen (Mexico), Hitco Entertainment, ClearMotion, Nanotronics Technologies, and Flatiron Health.
Among other notable accomplishments are designing the Kennedy Center Honors medal and creating motion graphics for acclaimed PBS documentaries as well as Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive Foundation events.
In October 2014, founders Tom Geismar and Ivan Chermayeff were awarded the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Ivan Chermayeff passed away in December 2017 at age 85.
This overview underscores the firm’s consistent growth driven by strategic partnerships and dedication to impactful branding projects that have secured its leadership position and recognition worldwide.
Published works
In 2018, Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, and Sagi Haviv collaboratively authored Identity: Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, which was released by Standards Manual ().
Earlier, in 2011, the same group produced Identify: Basic Principles of Identity Design in the Iconic Trademarks of Chermayeff & Geismar, published under Print magazine's book imprint ().