Printed circuit boards manufactured by Sphere Corporation of Utah, circa 1975. The condensed sans is Alternate Gothic.
Sphere Corporation was a short-lived manufacturer of early microcomputers outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, operating from 1975 to 1977. Sphere computers were available in kit or assembled form, and were among the earliest all-in-one microcomputer systems, using an integral keyboard and screen. Sphere’s logo and wordmark consisted of the name “SPHERE” set in Tuxedo (a.k.a. Program) and “CORPORATION” in a close-tracked Microgramma.
This branding did not appear on the exterior of the computer itself, but could be seen etched in tiny form on some individual circuit boards (shown above). It was used in large format on documentation and in the company’s marketing.
Notably and curiously, Sphere’s use of Tuxedo in their wordmark followed competitor MITS, which used Tuxedo prominently on their earlier Altair computers. This was probably a coincidence, but nevertheless appears as a strange homage to a key competitor in what was a very small industry at that time.
Binder of documentation for a Sphere computer (c. 1975)
Full-page advertisement in Byte magazine (January 1976). Other fonts used for the ad include Gill Kayo, Alternate Gothic, Times New Roman, Optima and Univers.
The logo in another full-page advert in Byte magazine (Nov. 1975), with the address in Optima
2 Comments on “Sphere Corporation logo”
Thanks for extending our record of Tuxedo in use, Ben!
This makes me wonder whether the typeface’s original name was Program (as used by Formatt), and not Tuxedo. If that’s the case, then the choice of the typeface by both Sphere and MITS could be characterized as a mild case of LTypI.
Our decision to use Tuxedo as the name is a little random, and mostly because Formatt (who showed the design under the name Program in 1974) has a record of adapting third-party designs under aliases. Then again, the same can be said about Solotype, who used the name Tuxedo (and only in 1982). Who knows, maybe Program represents the rare case of a Formatt original? Or it was copied from a yet unidentified source?
You also raised this point:
A sample size of three is too small to draw any definitive conclusions. It does suggest that the design originated in the United States: Formatt was located in Illinois, but their transfer lettering products were available across the country. Solotype (as well as Lettergraphics) was based in California, but like most phototypesetting services, they offered mail order.
The earliest known showing so far is the Formatt catalog from 1974. Such novelty display faces typically had a short lifespan, and unless they became a huge hit, you’ll often find that most of the Uses happen in the first few years. Our current record for Santana is a good example for that phenomenon.
Thanks Florian.
If you (or anyone!) is interested in a more detailed analysis of Sphere Corporation’s typography and visual language, I have a whole post about it, here:
news.sphere.computer/archiv…
And I concur that unless we find evidence that Dan Solo offered it earlier, “Program” is probably the original name. (That’s also supported by its 1981 appearance in the Castcraft as “Program Gothic”). I really like the LTypl angle on that, too.
Ben Z.