Walter Landor

Walter Joseph Landor (born Walter Landauer, July 9, 1913 – June 9, 1995) was a brand designer and the founder of Landor. He was a proponent of branding and consumer research techniques widely used to this day. Landor, the company he founded as Landor Associates in 1941, has offices around the world.

Early years Landor was born to Fritz and Elsie Landauer, a Jewish family, in Munich in 1913. Fritz Landauer was a prominent architect, In early life Landor's aesthetic sense was influenced by the Bauhaus and Werkbund design movements.

In 1939 Landor traveled to the United States as part of the design team for the British Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. After the Fair, he continued west to San Francisco and quickly decided to settle there.

Landor became associate professor of industrial design and interior architecture at the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1940. In June, Landor married the former Josephine Martinelli.

Landor Walter Landor working on the deck of the Klamath docked in San Francisco Bay (1960s). In 1941, Landor and his wife, Josephine, launched a design firm in their small flat, working from the living room table. Passionate about his work, he succeeded in attracting clients from a wide variety of fields, adding staff and relocating to larger offices as the need grew. and converted it into his company's corporate headquarters; she had operated from 1924 to 1956, retiring after the opening of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge. Space on Klamath was rented to six other companies. The firm moved from Klamath to their present headquarters at 1001 Front Street in the late 1980s, but retains the Klamath as their corporate symbol,

His work included brands like Del Monte (1965), Levi Strauss & Co. (1968), Virginia Slims, (1968), Cotton Incorporated (1973), Marlboro (1977), Dole Foods (1984), Coca-Cola (1985), Fujifilm (1987), and Bank of America.

GM New Look bus and PCC streetcar (No. 1122) in San Francisco, wearing "Landor livery" in 1982. Landor received a commission for branding San Francisco Muni, resulting in the "worm" logo and orange-and-yellow "sunset" livery for vehicles; the designs were unveiled on January 27, 1975. Although the Landor color scheme was phased out gradually starting in 1995 with the introduction of the gray-and-red Breda LRV2 light rail cars, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which took over operation from Muni in 1999, retained the "worm" Muni logo for vehicles,

In 1985, Walter Landor gave the commencement address at ArtCenter College of Design (Pasadena, California), where he shared his five secrets for a successful design career; he was also presented with an honorary degree.

Landor retired in 1989. Landor died in 1995 at the age of 81.

Awards and legacy Landor was awarded the 2004 AIGA Medal for his contributions to the industry.