Samsung logo history, symbol, meaning and evolution
Are you familiar with Samsung logo history? While most people recognize Samsung’s logo today, the brand identity of the electronics company has transformed a few times over the years. As the company has evolved, its visual assets have grown more sophisticated and refined.
Like many famous technology companies, Samsung uses a relatively simple brand mark today. There are no extra artistic elements or graphics. Samsung simply uses a straightforward wordmark to convey ideas of stability, reliability, and strength.
However, throughout the company’s history, we can see plenty of evidence of exploration and experimentation with logo design. Today, we’re going to be taking a closer look at the components and meaning of the Samsung logo, throughout the years.
The Samsung emblem: Introducing Samsung
As one of the world’s biggest technology companies and conglomerates, Samsung is one of the better-known brands in the world today. Samsung products, including everything from televisions to smartphones, are sold in regions all over the world.
The South Korean company is also responsible for a variety of affiliated businesses, such as the South Korean brand, Chaebol. As of 2020, Samsung is the eighth largest company in the world in terms of brand value, but it started like many other organizations, as a much smaller entity.
Founded by Lee Byung-Chul in 1938, Samsung was originally a trading company. In the decades ahead, it diversified into different areas, experimenting with food processing, insurance, retail, textiles, and securities. It wasn’t until the 1960s when Samsung entered the world of technology.
According to the founder of the organization, the company’s name has a specific meaning. The Korean Hanja, “Samsung” chosen for the brand name means “three stars”. Samsung says the word “three” stands for power and community, while the stars are meant to convey something “eternal”.
The original Samsung logo: The logo Samsung logo
At the beginning of Samsung logo history, the company introduced a relatively complicated design. The old Samsung logo, created in 1938, first appeared on a packet of rice noodles, and didn’t include the company’s name in English.
Like many older logos used by big brands, this symbol was intended to differentiate the company’s products in various retail locations. Eventually, it was used to mark products like vodka, wine, dried fish, and even rice. The trademark was presented in a black rectangle, with white elements.
Korean characters were included throughout the emblem, and at the center of the rectangle, was an oval featuring rice, three lines, and three stars. The three stars were a reference to the company’s name and its meaning, as mentioned above.
Various theories have emerged about the reason for the brand’s unique name over the years. Some people say the Samsung brand was intended to be passed over to the founder’s three sons.
However, the company itself says the name is all about symbolism, conveying power and eternity.
Samsung logo history: The Samsung logo evolution
In the years following the introduction of the first Samsung logo, the company experimented with a variety of new designs. The updated emblems were very different from Samsung’s first logo, as the company was moving into new industries and markets.
Let’s take a closer look at Samsung logo history.
1969
Unlike the old Samsung logo, which only included writing in the Korean language, the new logo introduced in 1969 featured the company’s name in English. At this time, the Samsung group were emerging in the insurance and real estate landscapes.
Designers removed all of the components of the earlier logo associated with the food industry. However, three four-pointed stars remained in the image, depicted in red on a white circular background. The white circle was also placed inside of a matching red square.
Alongside the Samsung icon, we see the name of the company, written in a simple sans-serif font, with all uppercase letters.
1979
1979 marked a period of experimentation for the Samsung brand. The company introduced a new icon, once again consisting of three four-pointed stars. However, the stars were placed within unique geometrical shapes, designed in red.
The manufacturer chose red to symbolize fortune and vitality, capturing the attention of customers who were previously used to seeing black and white brand emblems. The Samsung wordmark was only used occasionally alongside the emblem.
When it did appear, the wordmark featured a similar font choice to the one used in the previous design. It also maintained the same color scheme of black on a white background.
1993
In 1993, various elements of the current Samsung logo most people are familiar with today began to emerge. The company introduced the blue color to their emblem, creating an angled blue oval background to sit behind the Samsung wordmark.
Unlike in the previous logo, the Samsung wordmark now appeared in a white font, offering excellent contrast against the dark blue background. This new inscription also included a new modified “A” character, without the internal horizontal line.
The removal of the horizontal line transformed the “A” into the shape of an upward pointing arrow, symbolizing ambition and growth.
The new Samsung logo: Samsung logo meaning
In 2005, Samsung updated its logo for the final time, drawing from the design elements used in the previous emblem. The evolution of Samsung, into a global brand with a multitude of affiliate companies under its banner, launched the need for a more straightforward symbol.
The major electronics producer maintained the blue coloring from the former logo design. However the blue appeared in the font, and the blue oval was removed. The unique typeface chosen for the previous logo also appears again here.
The inscription primarily consists of simple, sans serif letters, common for a technology company. The letters are depicted in uppercase, to symbolize the strength of the business, and they feature bold lines, to demonstrate stability.
The unique A character, with its missing horizontal line, indicates Samsung’s focus on continued growth and development. Alternatively, the blue color palette aligns the brand’s corporate identity with concepts like reliability and trust.
The Samsung logo: Fonts and colors
At a glance, the Samsung logo doesn’t appear to be particularly unique or artistic. For several years now, the company has only used its brand name for its emblem. Throughout Samsung logo history, the company’s image has grown increasingly more simplistic, and refined.
However, Samsung’s straightforward design ensures the company’s image is recognizable throughout the entire world. The simple sans serif letters are easy to read in any format, and symbolize concepts of strength and stability, thanks to their bold lines.
The minimalistic logo also holds deeper meaning, demonstrating Samsung’s commitment to innovation and development, with the upward pointing arrow shape.
You can take a closer look at the Samsung logo with the following resources:
What is the Samsung logo font?
Ever since Samsung began displaying its company name in English on its logo, it has chosen a relatively simple typeface. The Samsung font has always featured sans-serif letters for the English name, as well as uppercase characters.
Today, the wordmark consists of a customized typeface, similar in some ways to the DTT Cond SemiBold or Helvetica Black font. The most memorable part of the company logo is the “A” character, which lacks the typical horizontal bar.
What is the Samsung color palette?
Initially, Samsung chose a relatively simple color palette for its logo, sticking to just black and white. This was common before the television market exploded with the introduction of new color TVs. As Samsung searched for its new emblem, it began experimenting with new colors.
The first color chosen by the company, other than black and white, was red, to symbolize passion and vitality. However, the owner of the company eventually chose to shift to a blue color palette, common in the tech industry.
The dark blue coloring symbolizes trust, credibility, and reliability. In some cases, the simple logo features inverted colors, with white letters on a blue background.
The unforgettable Samsung symbol
Looking at Samsung logo history, we can see the brand has moved through a number of significant changes over the years. Initially, the original logo was extremely complex. However, as the company expanded into a global market, it simplified its design.
The Samsung logo today shows us that a great logo doesn’t need to be complicated to make an impact. The basic wordmark demonstrates the strength of the Samsung brand, and its commitment to forward motion, thanks to the unique “A” character.
Though simplistic, the Samsung logo is recognizable throughout the whole world, instantly taking center stage in the electronics market and various other landscapes.
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.
