Quad

Quad’s brand has always been a mix of dynamic leadership, employee empowerment, and excellence in commercial printing. Over five decades, the company has incrementally updated, but never changed the recipe.

Quad called on Champions Design to develop their first visual design system, growing the brand along with the company’s expansion from a Midwest commercial printer to international marketing experience company.

Identity, Motion

Quad’s new design system uses three key components derived from the Quad Bug: Fractiles, Kaleidoscopes, and Typography.

The Quad Bug is a heritage mark created at founding in 1971 by Harry Quadracci to serve as a shorthand for the company name and also a visual reminder of its commercial print offerings.

Strategic updates to naming track with the company’s expansion of offerings over time. The bug endures, unchanged to this day.

[Transcript] June 27, 1975

This time capsule is being buried in a concrete pad which is the base for a high speed web printing press. The cavity in which this is found was made to allow for the possible cross drive of the original press to a new press at some future date.

As this is only a possibility, it is probable that this will remain in the pad for many years to come. We have enclosed material which outlines the background of our company, the people involved, etc.

Installing this new press is a big step and a huge risk for us. Whether this letter is found by future generations of Quad/Graphics employees or by complete strangers will indicate whether we were successful or not.

Author: Harry Quadracci

Reimagined as fractiles, the Quad Bug makes up the DNA of the kaleidoscope system. Previously ever-present as a stamp, it now finds more abstract and expressive forms to support messaging and tell the Quad story.

The Quad Kaleidoscope is the most “extraordinary” manifestation of Quad’s brand and a full display of its heart.

Quad Signet is an update to Arthur Baker’s Baker Signet (1965) by Commercial Type.

The new Q tail replaces the calligraphic swash with the geometries of the Quad Bug, then that new spirit of futurism is carried through the rest of the lettering and font.

In the end, it’s really all about giving the type a haircut – clipping the ponytail of the original Q – and introducing a double-story “g” for improved readability.

The symbols font, created in partnership with Dresser Johnson, is crafted with inspiration from Quad Signet and is built to be a functional complement to the larger graphic system.

The icons feature details that tie them closely to the Quad Signet letterforms: subtle tapers, flared serifs, ball terminals, and an interplay of thick and thin strokes.

Set up as a font file, Quad Icons is easier to control and implement in application than a vector set. Just like any font, Quad Icons can be periodically updated, allows for easy color swaps, and enables proportional scaling with Quad Signet.

The supporting typefaces take all the same Bug-inspiration as Quad Signet and apply it to more industrial fonts.

Quad Graphik Condensed and Quad Graphik Bold adopt the iconic Q tail. They also introduce a double-story “g” for improved readability and rounded punctuation to sync with the Quad Bug.

TeamPartner: Jennifer Kinon
Design Director: Michael McCaughley
Designers: Michael Penda, Amira Lin, Taylor Hale
Strategists: Justine Olivia Marks, Carina Sandoval
Producer: Haley Kattner Allen
Type Design: Commercial Type
Symbols Design: Dresser Johnson
In-house Team: Quad Brand Marketing