Did you know, every big brand that you see around, had a different logo when they were first launched? The logo back then is so different than the current one, that you’d be surprised. Its amazing how the Amazon logo has evolved throughout the time and how the company didn’t fail to have a modern design to make it known globally.
Amazon is the 2nd largest company in the world, holding a position in the Fortune 500 list. It is also considered one of the Big Five American technology companies. The company specializes in e-commerce business, (AI) artificial intelligence called “Alexa”, along with online-cloud services.
“Amazon” was founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5th, 1994, from his garage in Bellevue, Washington. At first Amazon was only an online book store, but gradually it became “The Everything Store”.
So lets dive into the journey of Amazon logo history!
Table of contents
1995-1997(The Beginning of Amazon Logo)
The first Amazon logo was created in 1995 by Turner Duckworth. A very simple yet creative design. The main concept of the logo was an “A” shaped design in black, with a vertical white line in the middle which resonated the amazon forest river. There was also written under the logo “Amazon.com” in black color as the wordmark.
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1997-1998 (The Zebra Pattern)
The logo was redesigned in 1997, adding horizontal lines in the logo with a zebra-like pattern. To make it look like not only a river in between but also trees surrounding it. The idea of the logo was truly extraordinary, even though the color used was still monochrome.
Even after the logo slightly changed, the wordmark below the logo was still kept as “Amazon.com”
1998-2000 (Major Transformation)
In 1998, the Amazon Logo took a significant turn in the logo design to somewhat we see today. In one year, three logos were created.
The first logo in 1998 was a simple wordmark “Amazon.com” in a clean serif typography, with a tagline “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” in capitals and sans-serif typeface, also both were in bold. It was very simple and boring logo for Amazon, so they thought of changing it. But not long enough after, this simple wordmark logo changed into an entirely new design.
Soon the new logo was created. It was completely different from the earlier one, adding more creativity and color to it. The next logo “Amazon.com” was in capital letters in black color except the “O”, it was changed into solid yellow color and was enlarged in size comparing to the whole logo. The tagline “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” was also removed,
After several months, the Amazon logo changed again into a more modern way. The “Amazon.com” was changed to lower-case in black color. The typeface of this wordmark was written in Officina Sans, while the “amazon” was kept normal, the “.com” was changed to a more bold font. A vibrant solid yellow color was given under the logo of the famous “swish” design, the yellow stroke was slight arched to give it a look of a bridge. It was to feature the past to future.
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2000- Till Date (From A to Z)
The breakthrough of Amazon logo was in 2000 by a design agency Turner Duckworth. In this logo, you can see all the previous logos coming together. The typeface remains Officina sans bold, and the “.com” has been removed from its logo.
The orange curved line remains the same, except now it resembles a “smile” which symbolizes positivity and technological progress.
Turner Duckworth also suggested to use the “smile” on the delivery packages, which made it a big marketing tool. It was to say when customers receive their packages, they receive it with a big smile. It gave a good impression about the company, improving the brand recognition and value. This is considered the most significant logo in the Amazon logo history.
The Meaning of Amazon Logo
The current Amazon logo is one of the best Amazon logo that has been created since 1995. Its simple, creative, widely recognizable, and the concept is brilliant.
All the making of Amazon logos in the past has given the result of present logo. Playing with the shape, concept of themes, color and font, trying all these gave a result of what today’s Amazon logo looks like. The arrow shaped “smile” extending from “A” to “Z” while curving, represents customer’s satisfaction, unlimited product selection and great service.
Throughout the logo designing from 1995, Amazon eventually moved its focus from river and forest team to a more specific logo that could represent its extend its product range and delivery places.
As the design, the Amazon turned its logo from a complex design to a more simplified design. The company’s growth into an e-commerce global company is based on customer experiences and satisfaction.
Click here to find how you can create your own business logo.
Want to learn more about the Amazon company? Here are some further resources:
- The Dynamic Evolution Of Homepage Of Amazon
- Amazon Logo Meaning : History & Significance
- Amazon Brand Colors – Color Codes For Major Amazon Logos
- Top Amazon Storefront Examples With Stunning Designs
- How To Change Amazon Kindle Font Size
- Amazon Storefront Banner Size – Detailed Guidelines
- How To Create An Amazon Storefront
- Amazon Font Exploration: A Designer’s Guide to Versatility
Conclusion
The journey of Amazon logo history has been both a lesson and an inspiration for all the designers. There’s a lot to learn from Amazon’s journey since 1995, from the power of the name to the importance of thoughtfully designed logo.
