In 1951, Dr Ottomar Domnick, one of the very first avowed Porsche fans, took the initiative and launched The Porsche Prize competition to develop a logo for the brand, but none of the entries were acceptable.
Max Hoffman spoke with Ferry Porsche at a business dinner in New York at the end of 1951 and revived the idea of designing a logo.
Porsche sales managers and the dealer organization where not fans of the Porsche Crest logo designed by draughtsman Franz Xaver Reimspieß in 1952, which was addressed by writing to Porsche and its head of advertising, Hermann Lapper in 1961: “The different colors and many details as a whole do not amount to a compact, coherent visual effect in road traffic.”
Color printing was still very expensive and rather complicated in the 1950s. Not every printer had suitable machines, nor was it easy to create printing plates, or to set registration marks with precision so that all the print forms were positioned exactly on top of each other.
The Mercedes star and the VW logo (also designed by ReimspieĂź) were presented as examples of good design.
Thanks to Porsche secretary and chronicler Ghislain Kaes that we even have knowledge of these plans for an optional logo to the crest we know today. (source: Porsche)
