Assassin’s Creed logo history: A symbol of adventure and mystery
If you’re a fan of video games with a strong focus on adventure, emotional narratives, and mystery, then you may be familiar with the Assassin’s Creed logo. The Assassin’s Creed franchise is one of the most popular series in today’s open-world action-adventure game niche.
Assassin’s Creed combines facets of the real world with a fantasy landscape created by the producers, providing a unique insight into some meaningful moments throughout history.
There have been numerous main characters and environments to discover throughout the comprehensive game series. Some of the titles have even achieved critical acclaim.
Thanks to the franchise’s success, the Assassin’s Creed logo has become a well-known emblem among video game lovers. However, few people know where the symbol began, what it was inspired by, or even what it’s supposed to mean.
Here’s everything you need to know about Assassin’s Creed logo history.
The Assassin’s Creed symbol: Introducing Assassin’s Creed
Developed by Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed first made its debut in 2007. Since then, numerous storylines have been produced for the title. Today, there are 12 “main games” for Assassin’s Creed, as well as a number of side games and accompanying assets to explore.
Assassin’s Creed is unique to other action-adventure video games, as many games in the series often revolve around major historical events or specific cultures.
The games are often set in an open-world environment, and gameplay involves a combination of stealth, exploration, and combat, with both side missions and main missions to discover. Some titles even include their own cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes.
Throughout the years, Assassin’s Creed titles have given gamers the opportunity to explore both historical and present-day environments. Locations covered by the game have ranged from Classical Greece to Norway and Scandinavia.
There have also been a number of “main characters” or protagonists in the game, starting with Desmond Miles, the descendent of various assassins throughout history who has the opportunity to essentially “travel back in time” to uncover secrets.
What does the Assassin’s Creed motto mean?
Part of what makes Assassin’s Creed so compelling to fans is its rich and comprehensive narrative. The game series has often received positive reviews for its storytelling abilities, as well as design components and visuals.
Alongside a compelling logo and visual identity, the creators of Assassin’s Creed have also produced mottos and slogans often found within the games.
One of the most common mottos associated with the franchise is “Nothing is true; everything is permitted.” This basically means the foundations of society are fragile and changeable and that we, as people, must shape our own reality.
Assassin’s Creed logo history: Evolving through the years
Although Assassin’s Creed has produced numerous game covers for its various titles over the years, the primary Assassin’s Creed logo has remained relatively untouched.
When Assassin’s Creed logo history began in 2007, it introduced the primary emblem of the series, as well as the font choice, which would continue to appear throughout the rest of the franchise’s life.
2007
The debut version of the Assassin’s Creed logo positioned the name of the game on two levels. The top line is depicted in black, while the “Creed” section appears in red. The bold, serif-style font is consistent throughout both words.
However, the letters at the front and end of the word “Assassin’s” have been enlarged to make it look as though they’re framing the rest of the title.
In this version of the logo, the Assassin’s Creed emblem, a shape that appears frequently throughout the games, is presented in a grey shadow behind the wordmark.
2010
The next version of the Assassin’s Creed logo was a simplified design, which removed the red coloring from the “Creed” portion of the wordmark. Despite this change, the style of the typography and its positioning remained almost exactly the same.
In this design, the emblem for the Assassin’s Creed franchise has also been removed, allowing for a cleaner, more straightforward banner overall.
2012
2012 marked the return of the red coloring in the Assassin’s Creed wordmark. However, this time the shade was slightly darker than its predecessor. The grey lines on either side of the word “Creed” in the original logo have also been updated to red.
Today, this logo is used alongside a black-and-white version in the same design. This image is very similar to the logo created in 2010. However, the letters of “Creed” are placed slightly closer together to allow for a better level of visual balance.
Notably, each version of the Assassin’s Creed logo has been accompanied by another wordmark outlining the name of the title in question.
The Assassin’s Creed Valhalla logo shows the word “Valhalla” underneath the main emblem in a thicker version of the primary serif font. This typeface can sometimes appear in either a green shade or black to match the rest of the design.
The emblem: What does the Assassin’s Creed logo mean?
Although the Assassin’s Creed emblem doesn’t always appear in every variation of the logo, it’s a common visual asset associated with the brand. The insignia was created by the designers of the video game and has no connection with any real-world history.
The developers created an entire legend about where this symbol came from. According to them, it was inspired by the shape of a necklace dropped by a character in the series known as Bayek of Sira.
Notably, the Assassin’s Creed emblem often varies slightly from one game to the next, implementing imagery from the time period or theme associated with the game.
The recent Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, for instance, uses Celtic knots and axe shapes in its emblem to symbolize the Scandinavian culture.
While the exact design changes from one game to the next, the overall shape of the logo remains consistent. It’s intended to be the same shape as an eagle’s head. Each faction of the Assassin’s order has taken on its own variation of the symbol over the years, according to Assassin’s Creed legend.
The symbol has a lot in common with Illuminati symbolism, which often involves triangles and circles. It’s also similar to the shape of an arrow, which connects to the theme of travel common within the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
The Assassin’s Creed emblem: Colors and fonts
The Assassin’s Creed logo and emblem have helped to separate the video game franchise from countless other competing action and adventure games over the years. Although the wordmark for the game is relatively simple, it helps to highlight the unique and mysterious nature of the game.
The typeface is elegant and sophisticated, which makes it a good choice for a game about a stealthy syndicate of assassins throughout the decades.
The Assassin’s Creed emblem only adds to the impact of the logo by drawing attention to the fantastic legend and narrative built behind the franchise.
You can find some helpful resources connected to the Assassin’s Creed logo here:
What color is the Assassin’s Creed logo?
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has used different color schemes for its title logos depending on the game. However, the official logo of the series has a consistent color palette. The Assassin’s Creed logo colors used to be a mix of black, grey, and red, but this has changed in recent years.
Now, the official Assassin’s Creed logo color is just black on a white background. However, each game may have its own colors to match its theme or style.
What font does the Assassin’s Creed logo use?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Assassin’s Creed logo font is specific to the brand. It was developed by Alphabet & Type and is known as the Assassin Font. The custom typeface is a simple but elegant serif typeface with sharp edges.
In the wordmark, the “A” at the beginning of the word “Assassin’s” and the “S” at the very end have been enlarged, making them look as though they’re bordering the rest of the title.
The unforgettable Assassin’s Creed logo
Despite various changes to the title cards and covers used for Assassin’s Creed games, the official franchise logo has remained relatively unchanged. Since it was first introduced in 2007, the Assassin’s Creed wordmark has used almost the same font and design.
Only slight aspects have been changed, such as the spacing between letters and the color palette.
Today, the Assassin’s Creed logo and the accompanying emblem offer useful insight into the adventure and intrigue that awaits gamers within the franchise. Together, they create a sense of mystery, sure to capture the attention of any avid gaming fan.
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
As Fabrik’s creative director, Stephen oversees complex branding programmes. He advises our clients on their tone of voice, creates logos and visual identities and crafts names for companies, products and services. Writing for Brand Fabrik Stephen reflects his love for logo design and visual identity.
