Pixar Logo PNG
The logo of the California-based American computer animation film studio Pixar features the company’s mascot Luxo Jr.
Meaning and history
All three versions of the Pixar logo, created throughout its history, are completely different. The company started in 1979 as Graphics Group, and its red and black emblem with smooth lines got replaced by pure geometry and laconic palette in the 1980s when the company was renamed. As for today, the animation studios use a very minimalist and elegant logotype as its signifier, switching all the attention to the cartoons and movies they produce.
1979 – 1986
The logo of Graphics Group, which was a Lucasfilm subsidiary, was adopted in 1978 and comprised a horizontally oriented oval with another one in black and red inside. The two parts of the “pill” were connected by the white letter “C”, which was facing down. The tricolor wordmark in all capitals was placed above the emblem, with “The” in white, “Graphics” in red, and “Group” in black. Under the badge, a delicate capitalized slogan “The Art of Visual Communication” was written in black, with the “Art” red.
1986 – 1994
In 1986 Steve Jobs buys the Graphics Group and renamed it to Pixar, completely redesigning its logo. The new emblem was a stylized representation of the Apple BSD computer (the abbreviation stands for “Beveled Square with a Dent), drawing a gray square with white and black edges and a circular dent in the middle. The Pixar wordmark was placed under the emblem with its letters separated by small black dots. It was executed in an elegant serif typeface, Trajan Pro Bold.
1994 – Today
The iconic logo, designed by John Lassiter, was changed in 1994. The new logo was created by Pete Docyer, who was working for the company during those years. The new visual identity of the animation studios was composed of a single logotype, executed in a bold and stylish serif font, which is Charlemagne Bold. Its most recognizable detail is the bar of the “X”, which has its bottom right end pointed, as well as the tail of the “R”. The logo was first introduced during the Toy’s Story release and still stays with the company today.
Production emblem
In 1995, the company adopted a wordmark, in which the “I” was replaced by Luxo Jr., the character who actually looked like an “I”. The logo was designed in-house by Pete Docter and made its debut at the end of Toy Story.
Versions of the symbol
Some of the variations of the logo include the 20th and 25th anniversary versions, as well as a 3D version.
Font
The Pixar logo is based off the Charlemagne Std-Bold typeface. One of its distinctive features is the way the base serifs are arched. The font was created by Carol Twombly in 1989-2002 and published by Adobe. The Charlemagne font family was inspired by the highly refined versal capitals of the 10th century England.
Color
Some of the main colors include light blue for the background, black for the letters, and grey for the lamp.
What is the Pixar logo?
The primary Pixar logo is composed of two-leveled lettering in a fancy custom serif font with elegant and chic contours of the uppercase characters. However, the secondary badge, used by the company, is more popular and recognizable all over the globe. It is a capitalized logotype with the letter “I” replaced by a graphical symbol, a table lamp, which is the Pixar mascot, called Luxo Jr.
Why is the Pixar logo a lamp?
The lamp, which replaced the letter “I” in the Pixar logotype, is known as Luxo Jr. the company adopted it as its symbol in the very beginning, as the lamp was featured in the very first short movie released by Pixar. Since then, Luxo Jr. is present at the beginning of each film, made by the studio.
What is the letter I” in Pixar?
In the primary version of the Pixar logo, all letters are written in Latin and executed in a custom and chic serif font. However, there is a secondary version of the Pixar badge, where the capital letter “I” is replaced by a stylized table lamp, which is the company’s mascot, named Luxo Jr.
Where are Pixar Studios from?
Pixar Studios was founded in 1986 in Richmond, California, and today is still headquartered in this state, however, has moved to a different city — Emeryville.
