Tirol Logo

The nowadays world-famous Tirol logo was a result of a mere coincidence. As Arthur Zelger was receiving plenty of assignments from the tourism branch, he had to apply the “Tirol” lettering more than once. In a series of small advertisements, the lack of space forced him to make it look especially bold and striking. According to lore, his unique approach attracted the attention of a tinsmith from Seefeld who liked it so much that he asked for permission to manufacture a copy made from metal as he wanted to place it on his car. This set in motion a process similar to modern-day viral marketing. All of a sudden, everybody wished to adorn their car with logo in order to let all world know where they were from. Hence the “Tirol” logo was born.

As the management of the Tirol tourism marketing began to navigate their corporate design towards international standards, Arthur Zelger was approached to produce a standardised version. Later on, a marketing agency was asked to create guidelines for the proper usage of the logo, a so-called corporate design manual. It was decided to place the lettering within a red square box. This was done without consulting Zelger who never appreciated this step. According to him, the logo was much more effective all by itself. Today, however, the framed logo is a registered trademark.