I work at AT&T Labs and I always get a charge out of seeing that iconic logo. I'm a bit of geek about AT&T history and often annoy my friends by pointing out the Bell symbol on manhole covers, which can be found almost anywhere in the US (and also Canada through Bell Canada).
I read a proposal by an ad agency, from a few years before this, for a makeover of AT&T's corporate look (it might have been this publication's direct ancestor). It included uniforms, vehicles, building logos, etc. I found amusing how the agency used a fictional regional Bell company as the example; I suppose there were so many that it made no sense to make one seem "preeminent" over others.
Very much reminiscent of the British Rail Corporate Identity Manual, which includes such details as train crew uniforms and even clock faces.<p><a href="http://www.doublearrow.co.uk/manual.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.doublearrow.co.uk/manual.htm</a>
Interestingly enough: on Page 27 the title is 'Chevy and GMC', on all following pages (and the index page) it's 'Chevrolet and GMC'.<p>Looks like someone accidentally used some slang, and nobody caught it. I guess 'chevy' is so common in the US that nobody noticed.
See also Telstar Logistics: <a href="https://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2006/09/what_is_telstar.html" rel="nofollow">https://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2006/0...</a>
What's interesting is - he basic body silhouettes of the Ford Econoline (75 on), Dodge B series van (71 on - with a minor redesign in 79), and Chevrolet/GMC Van were largely unchanged from this publication to their discontinuance.
These really are the precursor to design systems of today. It's not just a brand guideline, but it's an implementation guide to be used across various platforms (Dodge, GM, Ram, etc) to create a unified visual experience.
If you love graphics manuals, this indie publishing house reprints classic manuals:<p><a href="https://standardsmanual.com/pages/titles" rel="nofollow">https://standardsmanual.com/pages/titles</a>