The designer José María Cruz Novillo, responsible for some of the most emblematic logos of our country, died on Saturday, May 2 at the age of 89. Author of the visual identities of brands such as Correos, Repsol, the National Police, The World or Cope, is considered the most important graphic designer in the history of Spain and his work is part of the collective imagination of several generations.
His work has been characterized, among other things, by its formal economy, its capacity for synthesis, and its commitment to geometry and the use of positive and negative spaces. His proposal was key in a time of political and institutional change, and helped shape a new era of visual communication in a country that was opening up after Franco’s regime. His vision was to make reality recognizable, which is why many of his works remain active decades later.
Cruz Novillo has designed logos that remain in the imagination of several generations
“It is no coincidence that his work endures, because he has always said that a designer infuses things with soul. And the body ages, but the soul does not die“, expressed his son, Pepe Cruz Novillo Jr, designer and architect at the Cruz más Cruz studio, founded in 2007, in a farewell letter published in The World.
Cruz Novillo was born in Cuenca in 1936, and after starting a law degree, in 1957 he began working as a draftsman at the Publicidad Clarín agency, and collaborated as an industrial designer at the Society of Industrial Design Studies (SEDI), promoting Design Themesone of the first specialized magazines in the sector. After serving as Creative Director, in 1965 he left Clarín and created his own design studio, in which he created some of the corporate images and visual identities of some of the most prominent institutions and companies in our country.
Among others, Cruz Novillo designed the logos of Correos, Renfe, Repsol, Visionlab, Banco Pastor, Tesoro Público, the shield and flag of the Community of Madrid, the PSOE, COPE, Grupo Prisa, Diario 16, El Mundo, El EconomistaAntena 3 Radio or Endesa. He also worked on the image of the Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of America, or some banknotes of the Bank of Spain.
In addition to visual identities for brands and companies, Cruz Novillo also designed posters for Spanish films, such as “El Espíritu de la Colmena” (1973) and “El Sur” (1983), both by Víctor Erice; “The National Shotgun” (1978), by Luis García Berlanga; “Hurry, hurry” (1981), by Carlos Saura; or “Barrio” (1998) and “Mondays in the Sun” (2002), by Fernando León de Aranoa. He was also a painter, sculptor, printmaker and artist, carrying out works that explored color, sound and time.
His contribution to design and his career have been recognized on multiple occasions at a national and international level. He was awarded the National Design Award in 1997; with the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts in 2012; Honorary Mailman of the Post Office in 2019 and Laus de Honor in 2023. He was also an academic at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando; and President and Honorary Member of the Spanish Association of Design Professionals (AEPD).
In addition, he participated as a jury in dozens of awards, including the National Design Award, National Architecture Award, National Comic Award and the Goya Award. He also combined his work as a designer with his teaching role, as he was a visiting professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University, Menéndez Pelayo International University and at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
His work was collected in the documentary film “The Man Who Designed Spain”, directed by Andrea G. Bermejo and Miguel Larraya, and released in 2019. It reviewed his entire career, and he was referred to as the most important graphic designer of the second half of the 20th century in Spain.
He has been president of the Spanish Association of Design Professionals (AEPD), of which he is an Honorary Member, as well as the Madrid association di_mad. He participates as a jury in dozens of awards, including the National Design Award, National Architecture Award, National Comic Award and the Goya Award. He is a visiting professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University, Menéndez Pelayo International University and at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
