On 2 May, we lost one of the designers who shaped the image of modern Spain. José María Cruz Novillo was one of those figures who, although they may not always make the headlines, have left a deep imprint on the daily lives of millions of Spaniards. You may not realise it, but I’m convinced you’ve come across his work without even knowing it. And not just once, but many times.
His designs have been part of everyday life and the everyday visual landscape of Spain for decades. He is one of those designers whose work becomes so ubiquitous that it ends up being invisible: it is everywhere, but hardly anyone stops to think about who created it.
In this post, I would like to pay a brief tribute to José María Cruz Novillo. I will briefly review the life and most important works of an artist who has played a significant role in the history of graphic design in this country. Indeed, he could be regarded as the designer of democratic Spain.
The beginnings
José María Cruz Novillo was born in Cuenca in 1936, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. He grew up against the backdrop of the difficult post-war period, but from a young age he showed an interest in the arts, particularly painting, drawing and the visual arts.
In the 1950s, his career took an interesting turn when he moved to Madrid, where he began working as a commercial artist. That period was crucial to his development, as the world of advertising enabled him to understand the importance of clear, direct and effective visual communication. He learnt something that would shape his entire career: design is not just about aesthetics, but also about communication.
During this period, he worked with agencies and studios where he became familiar with graphic design as applied to commercial communication. Gradually, he developed his own style based on visual synthesis, formal clarity and symbolic power.
In the 1960s, Spain was undergoing a period of social and economic transformation, accompanied by a need for more modern visual communication. Against this backdrop, Cruz Novillo found his niche and founded one of the first professional graphic design studios in Spain. At that time, graphic design was a discipline that was not yet fully recognised, but this studio helped to professionalise the sector and introduce a new way of understanding corporate visual identity.
Later, in 2007, the studio was renamed Cruz más Cruz, a partnership with his son, the architect Pepe Cruz, where he continued to work on corporate identities.
The birth of a modern visual language
What sets Cruz Novillo apart from many designers of his time is his ability to combine art and functionality. His logos are not merely trademarks. They are carefully thought-out visual systems that convey identity, values and personality.
His ability to distil complex concepts into simple, memorable and enduring images was his hallmark. An artist whose style was characterised by highly recognisable features:
- Use of simple geometric shapes
- Great economy of elements
- Solid, contrasting colours
- Extreme visual synthesis
- Conceptual clarity
In other words: he said a great deal with very little.
This approach was very much in line with international trends in modern design, such as the Bauhaus, and with the Swiss design tradition. However, Cruz Novillo was able to adapt it to the Spanish cultural context, creating a visual language of his own.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Spain underwent a profound political, social and economic transformation. With the advent of democracy, many institutions and companies needed to redefine their visual identity both nationally and internationally. It was then that Cruz Novillo became one of the most sought-after designers in the country.
Awards and accolades
Throughout his career, Cruz Novillo has won numerous awards, including:
- LAUS Award – 1978
- AEPD Award – 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2001
- National Design Award – 1997
- FAD Medal – 2006
- Castilla-La Mancha Design Award – 2008
- Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts – 2012
- Honorary Paraugas Award – 2019
- Honorary Postman – 2019
- LAUS Award of Honour – 2023
- Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando
The designer who shaped everyday life
One of the reasons Cruz Novillo is so important is the vast number of iconic visual identities he created. Many of them are still in use today, which is clear proof of their quality and his ability to design enduring symbols.
Among his most famous works are logos that have become part of the Spanish collective imagination:
1.- Correos
One of his most iconic works is the visual identity for Correos. The logo combines two historic elements of the postal service: the royal crown and the post horn.
Cruz Novillo succeeded in blending both symbols into a modern, clean and perfectly balanced design. The result is a logo that respects institutional tradition whilst conveying a sense of modernity and clarity.
For decades, it has been one of the country’s most recognisable institutional symbols.
2.- Repsol
The Repsol logo is another example of the firm’s ability to create enduring corporate identities. The symbol, based on curved shapes and warm colours, conveys dynamism, energy and movement.
In 1996, Cruz Novillo restyled the original Wolf Ollins brand by simplifying and harmonising its form, giving the logo a sense of balance and greater practical and commercial adaptability.
This work demonstrates another of Cruz Novillo’s strengths: devising visual systems capable of evolving without losing their essence.
3.- PSOE logo
One of his best-known works is the redesign of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party’s identity. The famous symbol of a clenched fist holding a rose became an instantly recognisable political icon.
This design combines symbolic power with graphic simplicity. The clenched fist represents struggle and protest, whilst the rose conveys European social democratic tradition and hope. The composition is clear, powerful and easy to reproduce, which explains its communicative success.
Beyond politics, the symbol became one of the most recognisable visual icons of democratic Spain.
4.- Renfe
He also made his mark in the transport sector. He designed the corporate identity for Renfe, Spain’s state-owned rail transport company, opting for a clean typographic solution that conveys modernity and dynamism.
The symbol is based on a geometric logic with a modular structure, characterised by its formal simplicity, clever use of curves to represent movement, and great visual clarity—hallmarks of Cruz Novillo’s work in corporate identity.
In addition to these, he also designed many others, including El Mundo, Antena3, the National Police, the flag of the Community of Madrid, Endesa, Cadena COPE, Banco Pastor, Visionlab, Inves, Portland Valderrivas, Grupo Prisa, the Treasury and the ONCE Foundation, to name but a few.
Much more than just logos
Although his fame stems primarily from his work as a graphic designer, Cruz Novillo always considered himself an artist. In fact, his work spans a wide range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, film posters and even musical composition.
During the 1960s and 1970s, he designed numerous posters for Spanish films. These posters are notable for their ability to capture the narrative essence of the film using minimal visual elements.
But perhaps the most experimental aspect of his artistic work lies in his exploration of the relationship between art and time. One of his best-known works in this field is a project entitled “Dodecaphonic Diaphragm 8,916,100,448,256”, a conceptual piece that combines music, colour and mathematical structure in a system which, in theory, would take thousands of years to repeat itself.
Projects of this kind demonstrate the depth of his work and his interest in exploring design beyond commercial communication.
The importance of synthesis
One of the key lessons to be learnt from Cruz Novillo’s work is the importance of visual synthesis. His designs work so well because they eliminate everything that is unnecessary.
In graphic design, simplification does not mean impoverishment, but rather a concentration of meaning. When a logo works with just a few elements, it is easier to remember, reproduce and recognise. This principle is particularly important in corporate identities, which must work across different platforms and media such as print, signage, television, the web, mobile apps, etc.
Cruz Novillo understood this long before the digital age. His logos work just as well on a building façade, on a letter or on a mobile screen.
His influence on subsequent generations
Cruz Novillo has had a profound impact on Spanish design. Not only because of his work, but also because of his approach to the profession.
Before his generation, graphic design in Spain was closely linked to advertising and illustration. He helped to establish the idea of the designer as a visual strategist: someone who analyses, conceptualises and constructs communication systems.
Many subsequent studios and designers have drawn inspiration from his approach, based on synthesis, rigour and formal clarity. His work demonstrated that graphic design can have an enormous cultural influence. The symbols he created form part of the collective memory of several generations of Spaniards.
Conclusion
José María Cruz Novillo is not merely a prominent designer. He is a key figure in understanding how graphic design became a professional and strategic discipline in Spain.
His ability to distil complex ideas into simple, clear and timeless symbols made him a role model for future generations of designers.
His work reminds us that often the best design is the one that goes unnoticed, and that it does not need to shout to be heard or reinvent itself to remain relevant. But in this case, we are talking about someone who helped shape the visual identity of an entire country.
Hi, I’m Roberto Vidiella.
I am the founder and Creative Director of VIDI. I am passionate about graphic design, and through this blog, I aim to expand my knowledge and share what I have learnt throughout my career. If you leave me a comment, you’ll help me to keep learning and improving – and it really makes my day!