The shining ink black exterior, space age lines and massive size of Harbour City Funeral Home's painstakingly restored 1959 Cadillac hearse creates a memorable impression where ever it goes. Photo: Supplied by Harbour City Funeral Home
An unsung design hero has his legacy honoured in an unlikely way after a Wellington funeral home named their flagship hearse in his honour.
Harbour City Funeral Home's 1959 Cadillac hearse 'Colin' is possibly the most stylish way to depart this earth.
The car's shining ink black exterior, space age lines and massive size create a memorable impression where ever it goes.
"It's hard to say 'smile' when you're at someone's funeral, but the camera's come out and everyone wants a photo next to the hearse. It's a focal point of our funeral homes and people will often say to their families 'when it's my turn, I want to go out in that' because it's so spectacular," funeral director Simon Manning said.
"If you imagine the batmobile and you look at the rear of a '59 Cadillac it's got these futuristic rocket style indicator lights. It's so attractive, you just wonder in 1959 how they designed something like this."
The car is named in honour of Wellington designer and graphic artist Colin Simon. Manning said he was inspired to christen the car after overseeing Simon's funeral in 2021.
He said the car's bold aesthetic was the perfect match for a man whose life's work pervaded nearly every corner of New Zealand.
Some of the logos designed by Colin Simon, from top left clockwise, logos for the 1974 Commonwealth Games, Telecom, the National Party and Playcentre. Photo: Supplied
Colin Simon designed a slew of instantly recognisable logos many of which still adorn businesses and organisations today.
He created branding for Civil Aviation, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Griffin's, Telecom, Downer Construction, PSIS, the National Party, the MTA, Paper Plus and the BNZ among many others.
"Sitting at Colin's funeral it was like 'how is it that we didn't know this man's name?'. I had never heard of him before the day of his funeral [when I] learnt about what he was responsible for and went home and looked in my own cupboard and saw the Watties label and thought 'there's a little bit of Colin Simon in my pantry, how incredible'," Manning said.
Simon's close friend Mike Meachen said his work for the 1974 Commonwealth Games was probably the "visual highlight of his life".
The logo is a masterclass of design which incorporated NZ, seventy four, a Union Jack and the Roman numeral X, for the tenth iteration of the games, all in a simple symbol that could be understood from any angle.
"He was painstakingly careful about the way that he designed things and there was often layers of meaning in the things that he designed. He would understand the company and reflect meanings of the company's background that might've come from way back in the origins of the company," Meachen said.
"He was meticulous and deep in his application to every job. It wouldn't matter if it was a local restaurant or the biggest company in New Zealand."
The logo featured on a huge array of promotional devices from stamps, posters, bags, t-shirts and scarves to drink caps, balls, money boxes and the medals themselves. To this day it still adorns countless New Zealand themed tourism and souvenir items.
A montage of logos designed by Colin Simon. Photo: Supplied by Mike Meachen
Meachen said Simon would occasionally grumble about the work which was a winning entry in a competition whose prize money was considerably less than his fee if the job had been commissioned.
To add insult to injury Meachen said Simon's role in the design was downplayed to avoid criticism of advertising agency owner and Olympic Committee member Jack Ilott for whom Simon had worked in the late 60s and early 70s.
"It's an iconic logo and in the end they ended up getting a fantastic deal out of it. He would have put hundreds of hours into it," Meachen said.
The restoration of the Harbour City Funeral home's namesake hearse was a similar labour in effort and dedication.
The hearse which is a 1959 black Cadillac is named Colin in honour of Wellington designer and graphic artist Colin Simon. Photo: Supplied / Harbour City Funeral Home
David Wilkens said it took nearly eight years for his team at Bristol Automotive Specialists to return the car to its former glory after it was shipped to New Zealand in a dilapidated state in 2013.
He said nearly 70 percent of the vehicle's body work was rebuilt and a brand new Corvette Power Plant installed.
"It's a lovely car. It's very smooth and it just drives and handles beautifully. [Driving it] you get lots of looks and lots of smiles," Wilkens said.
Meachen said he and the Simon family were thrilled at the hearse's nomenclature.
"Colin was a brilliant artist and he had that value of artistic expression. He would have been honoured to have a vehicle like that unique design, he would have loved it. He would have considered the design of that vehicle an art form."
