Evernote logo history: Exploring the Evernote elephant symbol
If you’ve ever struggled to keep track of your to-do list, you’re probably familiar with the Evernote logo. Designed to represent a company committed to task management and organization, the Evernote icon and logo are powerful symbols. But, how much do you know about Evernote logo history?
The Evernote logo hasn’t changed much since the company was first established in 2004. Since its inception, the company has always relied on an evocative mascot to highlight its values and purpose.
However, like many well-known technology companies, Evernote has refined its image over time, adapting its color palette, font choices, and other core elements to engage its audience.
If you’ve ever wondered where the Evernote emblem came from, or how it’s changed through the years, you’re in the right place. Here’s your guide to Evernote logo history.
The Evernote elephant: Introducing Evernote
Before we examine Evernote logo history, it’s worth taking a closer look at the company itself. The Evernote corporation is a privately owned technology company, known for its flagship product, Evernote; a note-taking app.
Evernote was initially founded by Russian American entrepreneur, Stepan Pachikov. Originally, the brand used the name “EverNote”, with a capital “N”, though this moniker was simplified at a later date. The company’s core product is a popular productivity tool.
Aside from allowing users to create and archive notes with photos, audio, and web content, Evernote also allows for collaboration, with notebooks that can be shared, annotated, and tagged. Over the years, Evernote has evolved to become increasingly more advanced and accessible.
The solution is available on Android, Windows, iOS, and Mac, as well as a web client. Plus, Evernote offers both free and paid plans to users. Since its launch, Evernote has consistently used the image of an elephant as part of its branding strategy.
Evernote logo history: The Evernote icon over time
Unlike other technology companies, Evernote hasn’t made a lot of significant changes to its visual identity over the years. Rather than attempting to completely rebrand, or transform its mascot, Evernote has retained a relatively consistent image. Even the color palette hasn’t changed much.
Evernote logo history shows us the right visual elements and components can help a business to create a powerful, timeless brand, capable of adapting to suit new generations.
Let’s take a closer look at the history of the Evernote logo.
2008
After officially launching in 2004, Evernote’s first official logo was introduced in 2008, with the rise of the Evernote productivity app.
The original logo isn’t too different from the image we know today. It included the large grey head of an elephant on the left-hand side, placed on a white background. Notably, the elephant’s ear is curved slightly on the top left corner, symbolizing a folded page in a notebook.
On the right-hand side of the logo, we see the original Evernote wordmark, depicted in all uppercase letters. Originally, the inscription featured a serif-style font, with blocky serifs and balanced spacing. The characters are colored a soft shade of muted neon green.
The original Evernote icon used for the note-taking app was based on this initial emblem, featuring a similar shade of green to the font in the background, and the grey elephant on top. In this icon, the green background shines through the eye of the elephant, and his curved ear.
2018
In celebration of its tenth anniversary, Evernote decided to update its logo, maintaining a lot of the original elements from the first design. The Elephant icon, still located on the left, has been refined slightly. The contours of the trunk are softer, and more rounded.
The folded section on the elephant’s ear has also been made bolder and more recognizable, pulling more attention to Evernote’s purpose as a note-taking app.
The position of the image is a little different too, balancing more effectively with the accompanying wordmark. Instead of the old font, Evernote switched their new inscription to a simple serif font, in sentence case.
The color palette in this logo was also inverted. The elephant became a bright shade of green, while the Evernote inscription appeared in black.
The accompanying icon for the Evernote app and corporation was also updated based on these changes. Again, the Elephant appears on a bright green square background, with fewer gradients and light sections. The color of the Elephant symbol has also switched from grey to black.
Why the logo of Evernote is an elephant
While there have been a few basic changes to the Evernote logo over the years, many aspects of the design have remained quite consistent. The color palette, though refined, hasn’t changed much.
Additionally, Evernote has stuck to using a serif-style inscription, to demonstrate sophistication and professionalism. Perhaps the most enduring part of the Evernote logo, however, is the Elephant mascot. The decision to use an Elephant wasn’t made lightly.
Throughout the world, Elephants are seen as symbols of memory and compassion. The purpose of the Evernote company was to create an application that would help people remember their crucial notes, and keep track of their tasks.
The elephant symbol highlights Evernote’s commitment to supporting customers with task and project management. It also helps to humanize the technology brand.
The Evernote logo: Fonts and colors
Sleek and evocative, the Evernote logo has always done a great job of connecting emotionally with its target audience. Like many animal themed logos, the Evernote elephant is powerful and meaningful. It immediately resonates with ideas of memory and strength.
Though Evernote did choose to update its logo for its tenth anniversary, the company didn’t make too many significant changes. After experimenting with various aspects of the logo design, the organization chose to retain a similar color palette, mascot, and font choice.
Today’s Evernote logo is simply a more refined version of the original banner, helping Evernote to retain its brand equity, while paving the way for future growth.
You can find some examples of the Evernote logo here:
What color is the Evernote logo?
As mentioned above, the Evernote logo color palette hasn’t changed too much throughout the company’s history. The initial logo featured a combination of soft green for the wordmark, and grey for the Elephant icon.
When Evernote updated its brand image, they simply made the green coloring much brighter, and switched the grey for black.
In most cases, the Evernote logo color palette only includes these two shades. However, there are versions of the Evernote logo which feature the elephant in white on a green background.
Green
Hex color: #00a82d
RGB: 0 168 45
CMYK: 100 0 73 34
Pantone: PMS 354 C
Black
Hex color: #000000
RGB: 0 0 0
CMYK: 0 0 0 100
Pantone: PMS Process Black C
What font does the Evernote logo use?
At a glance, it may seem like the Evernote logo font hasn’t changed much between the original logo and the emblem we know today. Both inscriptions are written in serif-style fonts. However, the debut logo is closer in style to Sanchez Niu Bold, a geometric and flat typeface with wider serifs.
When the company updated its logo ten years later, they choose a slightly more sophisticated, traditional typeface. The new inscription is similar to Utopia Std Bold, with smaller, sharper serifs.
The main difference between the two inscriptions is the decision to use lowercase in the secondary logo, while the first logo used all uppercase letters.
What does the Evernote logo mean?
Looking back at Evernote logo history, we can see the Evernote emblem has been effective for a few reasons. First, even the original design was simple and sophisticated, providing the versatility Evernote needed to grow and evolve in the digital market.
Secondly, the Evernote elephant acts as a kind of mascot for the brand. It doesn’t just make the app instantly recognizable; the elephant also demonstrates the core values and purpose of the company.
The minimalist elephant emblem makes us think of memory and organization. The curved section on the animal’s ear also draws attention to the concept of bookmarking or note-taking with traditional notebooks and texts.
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.
