So in the course of AT&T's involvement with UNIX, a number of different images
and motifs have graced advertisements and covers of literature, among them:
- Letter Blocks (V7 HRW manuals, Release 4.0 Starter Packages)
- Criss-crossing grid lines on a black background (Release 5.0/SVR1)
- Variations on an image of earth with UNIX superimposed (SVR3/SVR4)
- Covers mirroring publication motifs of other AT&T products and literature
(SVR2/SVR3)
Did the folks actually involved in the production of UNIX have any influence on the choice
of design motifs for such materials, or would those sorts of decisions have been largely
in the hands of marketing folks several layers removed from the Labs?
My understanding is that this sort of visual branding started in the early 80s, with the
earliest example of a printed piece of UNIX literature outside of generic Bell
Laboratories covers I'm aware of being the "Starter Package" documents
featuring UNIX spelled out on four letter blocks in primary colors. Everything I've
seen branded predating these 1981 publications is either 8.5/11 pages in a Bell Labs or
Western Electric report cover or the form factor of the Release 3.0 manual using generic
Bell Labs covers. I'm certainly intrigued if anyone has any recollection of any sort
of visual motifs in play prior to 1981.
- Matt G.
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