|
What is it?
The figure inside the circles is an icosahedron, a three-dimensional form bounded by twenty regular triangles.
Why was it chosen?
One hundred years before Euclid, the Greek mathematician, teacher, and philosopher Plato studied polyhedra - which are solids with plane surfaces. The five regular polyhedra still bear his name, the Platonic solids, and the icosahedron is the most sophisticated of the five. In 387 BC, Plato also founded the first Academy, near Athens, which preserved the tradition of classical thought for over eight centuries. It was the most influential school of the ancient world and the western world's first center of higher learning.
Why the circles?
The circles serve two purposes: From a graphical point of view, their smooth lines give contrast and balance to the edges of the icosahedron. And, as the Greeks thought of circles as spheres of knowledge, they convey an expanding involvement of the Academy in technical issues important to IBM.
The logo thus has its antecedents in the first academy, a mathematician,
a teacher, and a philosopher - and portrays the IBM Academy as spheres
of increasing knowledge and engagement.
|
