11 Sep History of the Amazon Logo: From the Amazon to the Smile
It is difficult, nowadays, to meet someone who does not know what Amazon is or who has not used it at some point to make some kind of online purchase, because the platform has grown exponentially in recent years and has managed, through its marketing strategies, to make a place for itself in the collective imagination that is difficult to replace.
Next, we will take a brief tour of the history of the online buying and selling giant, focusing on its most recognizable factor, its image.
1995: First logo
In its beginnings, the company founded by Jeff Bezos was a bookselling platform and its corporate image was very different from what we know today. The logo at that time was created in 1995 by the Turner Duckworth agency and is made up of a capital letter interrupted by a central line that evoked the image of the Amazon River.
Small changes in 1997
Later, in 1997, in its redesign, texture was added and it became an image that, although similar to the first one, had much more depth and evoked more complex sensations, acquiring personality and a more constructed presence.
The Three Changes of 1998
A short time later, in 1998, Amazon changed its visual identity up to three times, first changing the typography and eliminating the capital letter, keeping the full name of the company and adding the slogan “Earth’s biggest bookstore”.
The next version of the same year, although it maintains the initial structure, eliminates the motto, opts for the use of capital letters again and includes a touch of color in the font or playing with the sizes.
And the third change in 1998 gives rise to Amazon’s most recognizable and universal logo. In this case, the domain amazon.com is presented in lowercase letters and in black, playing with ordinary and bold letters. In addition, it includes an arched line in gold that underlines the name.
Year 2000: The “smile” appears in the logo
Finally, in 2000 the .com domain was eliminated and the underline line was transformed into a concave-shaped arched arrow representing the well-known Amazon smile.
The creator of this current logo, Anthony Biles, was inspired by the work of his father, who was a watchmaker. The designer explained that watches are sold with the time marked at ten minutes to two, with the hands forming a smile and he wanted to do the same with the logo, place a smile. On the other hand, this arrow goes from the letter a to z, a visual game that tries to indicate that Amazon had evolved from selling books exclusively to marketing all kinds of products, which can be named with all the letters of the alphabet.
Since the year 2000, the Amazon logo has remained the same and far from stagnation, this image has accompanied each and every one of its evolutions and stages of growth, demonstrating something that works soon, always works.