- Considered the father of the modern logo, the commercial artist and architect Wilhelm Deffke (1887-1950), established the first modern advertising agency in Germany in 1915. Together with his business partner he published an influential book on trademarks and makers' marks, in which they promoted the logo as a basis for all the company's advertising materials. Before his death in 1950, Deffke created more than 10,000 logos that were untypically functional and abstract for their time. Considered one of the pioneers of modern corporate design, he is known as the Father of the Modern Logo among design professionals internationally; yet only a fraction of his designs have ever been shown in public. This richly illustrated and comprehensive monograph is the first book to be published about his work as commercial artist, architect, poster and book designer. Fourteen essays present the wide-ranging aspects of Deffke's work in context with 20th-century European design history. More than 500 images, many of them previously unpublished, illustrate his achievements in poster and commercial art. This collection is a long overdue commentary and re-discovery, of an exceptional artistic personality. Contents : Introduction. From the logo to digital communication design / Torsten Bröhan -- From book to poster. The search for a modern form of surface design : Wilhelm Deffke's training in Wuppertal / Gerda Breuer -- Developing talents : Wilhelm Deffke's early years in Berlin (1909-1914) / Susanne Engelhard -- Deffke and the Werkbund / Christopher Oestereich -- Wilhelm Deffke's posters / René Grohnert -- From logo to corporate design. From Wilhelmwerk (1915-1920) to Internatio (1920-1933) : The Wilhelm Deffke and Carl Ernst Hinkefuss Advertising Studios / Roland Jaeger -- The book Handelsmarken und Fabrikzeichen / Ute Brüning -- Avant garde vs. avant garde : questioning historiography on the basis of Wilhelm Deffke's designs for the Wuppertal coat of arms / Julia Meer -- Why a Deffke trademark? : Deffke's logos 1934-1950 / Christoph Janik -- From advertising to architecture. The anonymous creator of a famous company logo : Deffke's signet for the cigarette manufacturer Reemtsma / Roland Jaeger, Peter Nils Dorén -- Deffke and Manoli / Susanne Engelhard, Christoph Janik -- The total work of advertising Rückforth : from signet to trade fair stand : Wilhelm Deffke and the Rückforth AG 1921-1924 / Susanne Engelhard, Christoph Janik -- From architecture to teaching. Wilhelm Deffke's glass trade fair stand for the Tesma Cigarette Factory, Berlin / Susanne Engelhard, Christoph Janik -- Wilhelm Deffke as an Architekt / Karin Lelonek -- The utopian Project M : Wilhelm Deffke and Magdeburg / Norbert Eisold -- Biography and appendix. Wilhelm Deffke : biography / Christoph Janik -- Catalogue of illustrations -- Deffke client directory -- Deffke bibliography / Burkhard Sülzen -- Selected bibliography.