The UAE has announced it is leaving Opec, and while changes are afoot at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, one thing that is unlikely to alter is its logo.
The little blue logo that now stands as a symbol of power and influence around the world has an interesting history.
For almost a decade, Opec didn't have a logo, but in 1969 Opec held a competition in Vienna, Austria, where its headquarters had been located since 1965. An Austrian graphic designer, Gertrude Svoboda, entered the competition at the request of someone at Opec.
"My name was probably mentioned because I had done earlier work for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was doing designs for stamps," she said in an interview with Opec in 2005 for a bulletin marking its 40th anniversary in Vienna.
Although Opec's logo is often presented in blue, Ms Svoboda didn't intend for that colour to be used in 1969.
"My submitted designs were in black, to bring out the contrast, although I also tried some different colours," she said. She that she had used the prize money from the design competition to take her children on a trip to Salzburg.
Ms Svoboda said that few people outside of her friends and family know that she designed the recognisable logo, and that she never had much of an affinity for the energy industry.
"I don’t have much to do with oil, particularly because I don’t own a car," she explained. "But I am always happy to see the logo."
During the interview, Ms Svoboda, who was 78 at the time, said that she still did graphic design work for the Austrian government. Ms Svoboda said Opec's logo incorporates the organisation's acronym, albeit with the letters slightly modified to retain the round shape.
"The beauty of the script is that it is not too tied to a conventional type and therefore makes a greater impression, especially to people not familiar with our writing style, such as readers of Arabic," she explained, adding that she wanted something that had depth without sacrificing the required simplicity. "I wanted one that could be used in many different types of situation, from trams, to barrels, and so on."
It wasn't until 1994 that the blue logo was actually placed on the organisation's headquarters in Vienna. Fast forward to today, with Opec now 66, and Ms Svoboda's design is still unchanged and used in more places than ever.
"It is a bit like seeing your children grow up," she told Opec.
