Fallingwater Rebrands with a New Wordmark

Wordmark Honors History and Future Vision

The new wordmark replaces a previous logo designed in 2006, and is adapted from a font customized by Edgar Kaufmann jr. (1910-1989) for his 1986 book “Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House.” Wright designed Fallingwater in 1935 for Kaufmann jr.’s family, the owners of Pittsburgh’s largest department store, who were tastemakers and lovers of design and the outdoors.

This short documentary, produced by Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Michael Savisky of Make Roots, explains how the wordmark was adapted from the book cover. On the cover, Kaufmann jr. customized the Aldus Roman font through subtle adjustments to each letter of “FALLINGWATER,” such as stretching the ‘G’ to create a strong horizontal character, and to suggest flowing water, tilting the ‘W’ and adding flowing curves to the tails of the ‘Ls.’

Reflects a Unique Visual Identity
By expressing the qualities of the architecture, the treatment of the font's letters by Kaufmann jr. created a wordmark that embodied the house’s architectural character.

“We are proud that this new wordmark, which reflects a unique visual identity, provides a timeless yet modern, simplistic design to help guide us into our future,” says Justin Gunther, director of Fallingwater and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy vice president.

“By embracing Kaufmann jr.’s vision, honoring our legacy, and adopting this wordmark as Fallingwater’s brand identity, we now have a signature that stands well with or without the Iconic View. When shown together with the house, it serves to reinforce the qualities of the design. And when alone, it serves to evoke that image in our minds,” adds Gunther.

Design Team:  “Fallingwater is ‘un-logoable.’”

Led by Amy Blackman of the LA-based design firm Fruition Co., the yearlong rebranding process looked back at Fallingwater’s legacy to discover how best to honor the past and plan for the future.

The study revealed that no graphic element or symbol could rival the iconic photographic image of Fallingwater.

The universal recognition of the house floating over a waterfall is one of the world’s most recognized and celebrated architectural views. Known as the Iconic View, this seemingly timeless image remains the strongest visual identifier of Fallingwater.

“After analyzing over 30 years of previous logos, we made a fascinating discovery: Fallingwater is 'un-logoable.' A logo's purpose is to provide a cognitive shortcut to brand essence — but Fallingwater's iconic elements, the cantilevered house and its landscape, are too rich to compress graphically, yet too essential to abstract. The result confuses rather than connects. Fallingwater doesn't need a logo — it is one,” says Blackman.

Rebrand Includes Visual Depth

In addition to the new wordmark, the rebrand includes updated fonts and an expanded neutral color palette inspired by the intrinsic qualities of the natural materials used in the design and the surrounding woodland landscape of Fallingwater.

The new visual identity, which is "soft launching" at the start of our 63rd tour season, will be reflected in ads, social media content, website assets and other marketing materials and information, including some signage around the site. While the new wordmark is a visual connection to Fallingwater, a deeper physical and emotional connection to and understanding of this architecture is best gained through a visit. Plan your visit today to Fallingwater to experience art and nature in harmony.