A Look Into 5 Iconic Companies And Their Logo Changes

Every company has its own logo design, each with different mascots, colors, and aesthetics in mind. Both big brands and smaller brands would want to make themselves stand out from one another, all without either feeling left in the dust during the competition or becoming too similar to another company. Many companies and brands have changed the way they look as time went on, either to reflect on the current weather of corporations or making their brands look sleeker than before. Here are 5 companies that were able to change their logos over the years:

Hasbro

The big toy company has been known for brands such as Transformers, My Little Pony, Nerf, Play-Doh, Playskool, G.I.Joe, and Mr. Potato Head and partner brands such as Marvel, Star Wars, and the recently acquired Power Rangers. Its first logo simply had "HB" and the name "Hasbro" under the letters in a vertical oval. Then it had a simple title before going to using a kid named after the company for the old commercials. Since 1978, Hasbro used a logo with two kids in a house, before using a basic logo in 1993. Then it was switched to a stylized font in a tilted square with a smile under "asb", which was the Hasbro logo from 1998 to 2009, where it was altered to the current bluish design.

Walmart

Walmart, compared to other retailers, had its logos altered the least. Its first logo began with a simple font used for the title in 1962 before it had a more stylized fonts in 1964. 4 years later, it had a different design using "Discount City" to refer to its lower prices. In 1981, its logo was altered to have the more bold font the store is known for, albeit in brown and with a dash, naming the store as "Wal-Mart". In 1992, the store font was now blue and instead of a dash, a star was used. The logo was then updated in 2008, where every letter after the W was lowercase, the text was in a lighter blue, and the star was drawn differently than it was before.

McDonald's

The restaurant is known to serve billions has changed not just the way its logos are because the McDonald's mascots were also shown to be changed as time went on. In its early years, it was called "McDonald's Famous Barbecue", "McDonald's Hamburgers", and "McDonald's: Coast to Coast." Their logo design was then remade to become closer to what people recognize it as today. From the two golden arches having a dash across them to different backgrounds to a sign most McDonald's use today, the Smiling M more commonly seen on the Happy Meal boxes, and a version of the M with a shadow and the motto "I'm Lovin' It" under the M, to the current simple M in a golden yellow shade.

Chicago Transit Authority

One of the most prominent public transport companies in the United States, the company began to serve Chicagoans back in the late 1940s. The first logo it had was red, then green, with a much thinner font that was capitalized, and later on included on it was "Metropolitan Transit". The 1960s had a simple logo in the form of "cta"; black, lowercase text, and is still used to this day in some areas. The 1980s had a "speedlines" design before it had the 1990s "Take it!" slogan. The current logo has a blue circle, a red rim around it, and a white CTA logo in lowercase.

Volkswagen

The motor company behind several vehicles such as the Jetta, Beetle, and Tiguan has its simple logo with subtle changes over the years. While the V stands over the W in a circle, the earliest version had a flower design in 1939. In 1948, the logo was inside a square, and the only time it was ever done. The box was ditched in 1960 and turned blue in 1967. The colors of the logo were inverted and an additional circle was added in 1978. The logo had a darker shade of blue, and the white circle, as well as the V and W, were slightly raised. The logo was now 3-dimensional and matte in 2000 before it was done in a metallic finish in 2012.

Many companies have changed the way they represent their brands in the past, but it is interesting to see either what they once sold or worked on as well as seeing what their logos were like before what they use today. Many logos are iconic to those that see them in their everyday lives, but it is nice to see them for what they do rather than to delve into the cynical sneering towards capitalism.