The Qobuz logo history, evolution and meaning
While the Qobuz logo may not be as well-known as some of the other iconic emblems in the music streaming space today, it has still helped to shape the visual presence of the audio landscape. Looking back through Qobuz logo history, we can see how a strong image can grow and evolve with a brand.
Unlike many audio streaming and music companies, the Qobuz brand hasn’t made any significant changes to its visual presence throughout the years.
Though various versions of the brand’s emblem have been introduced in marketing and branding assets, they all share the same personality thanks to a carefully selected typeface.
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the Qobuz brand, or you’re interested in taking a closer look at the company’s logo, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re going to provide a behind-the-scenes insight into the Qobuz company, and its compelling visual identity.
What is Qobuz known for? Introducing Qobuz
Before we examine Qobuz logo history, let’s introduce the brand itself. The Qobuz company, first launched in 2007, is a French commercial music purchasing and rental service.
Created by Yves Riesel, the organization serves customers throughout France, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Germany. The company also launched its services in the United States during 2019.
The name Qobuz comes from a musical instrument, known as a Kobyz, or Qobyz. This instrument is unlikely to be something most consumers are familiar with today, but it was once considered a relatively sacred object, used by shamans and spiritualists.
People believed the music of the instrument could banish evil spirits, and protect users against sickness.
After launching in 2007, Qobuz grew relatively slowly, attracting the attention of a niche audience within France. In 2013, the business earned the “Hi-Res Audio certification”, from the Japan Audio Society. The certification guaranteed the music delivered by Qobuz adhered to high standards.
Following a period of financial uncertainty, Qobuz captured the attention of a new investor in 2015, which allowed it to avoid bankruptcy and continue delivering music to listeners to this day.
Interestingly, during the early months of the pandemic in 2020, Qobuz demonstrated its commitment to supporting artists, by giving 100% of the revenue generated by each subscriber during their first month back to the music rights holders.
Qobuz logo history: The Qobuz emblem
As mentioned above, Qobuz hasn’t made any changes to its visual identity since first launching in 2007. However, if we examine Qobuz logo history, we can see various versions of the company’s emblem have been produced for different marketing purposes.
The official Qobuz logo is a simple combination mark, made up of two parts. On the left-hand side of the emblem, we see a circular icon. The icon is intended to look simultaneously like a capital “Q”, representing the name of the company, and a vinyl record.
The diagonal line in the “Q” looks a little like the tone arm from a traditional record player. The icon is presented in monochrome shades of black and white, with a slight grey gradient on the top portion of the inner black ring, intended to give the image a sense of dimension and shine.
To the right of this image, we see the Qobuz wordmark, which is sometimes used as a standalone logo.
The wordmark features a simple sans-serif font, with some interesting stylistic elements. The curved lines on the “Q” and the “B” are separated from the straight sections by a small white gap. They appear almost like reflections of each other, giving the emblem a sense of balance.
Like the icon on the left of the logo, the wordmark is usually presented in black on a white background. However, variations of the Qobuz logo have emerged over the years which use a color palette of white and blue, highlighting reliability, transparency, and tranquility.
The Qobuz logo: Fonts and colors
Similar to many music streaming services, Qobuz has built its visual identity with a focus on simplicity. The minimalistic design lends itself to a variety of different settings, ensuring Qobuz can present a consistent image across multiple digital and offline channels.
In some cases, the Qobuz wordmark appears as a standalone design, usually presented either in black on a white background, or white on a blue background.
The Qobuz icon also occasionally appears as a standalone design, utilized as a favicon for the company’s mobile streaming app, as well as its online website. The simplicity of the Qobuz logo has been somewhat beneficial to the company, evolving with the business over the years.
If you want to take a closer look at the Qobuz emblem, you can find some useful resources here:
What color is the Qobuz logo?
Unlike many brands and music streaming services, Qobuz appears to have two separate color palettes, used for various purposes. The primary Qobuz logo colors are black and white. For the most part, the company uses a black font on a white background, with a matching monochrome icon.
However, there are instances wherein the Qobuz logo color palette may be inverted, showing white font on a black background.
Similarly, versions of the Qobuz logo also exist which place a white font on a soft blue background, highlighting concepts of tranquility, reliability, and trust.
What font does the Qobuz logo use?
The Qobuz logo font is perhaps the most interesting part of the emblem. This custom typography, designed by the brand, is a sans-serif typeface, with compelling stylized elements.
As mentioned above, the “Q” and “B” in the wordmark are designed to look like reflections of each other, giving the inscription a fantastic sense of balance and consistency.
The decision to use all lowercase letters was also an important choice for the company. Typically, lowercase letters in a logo help to convey ideas of modernity, approachability, and youthfulness. The eye-catching wordmark presents Qobuz as a contemporary, forward-thinking brand.
Exploring the Qobuz logo: Past and present
Throughout Qobuz logo history, the music streaming brand has retained a strong and consistent presence, capable of effectively conveying a strong, reliable personality.
Though the Qobuz emblem may seem somewhat simple at a glance, it has assisted in differentiating the brand from its competitors, and capturing the attention of a growing target audience.
By selecting a relatively minimalistic, yet meaningful design, the Qobuz brand has ensured its visual identity can continue to connect with new customers and fans from around the globe.
What’s more, the combination mark can be split into various separate pieces, allowing the Qobuz visual identity to spread across different channels and mediums with ease.
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.
