Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series created by Japanese video game designers Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami for Nintendo. Here, the player is a human who comes to a village where all sorts of anthropomorphized animals live.
The first release took place in 2001. In addition to the original release, the series also includes the following versions:
– Wild World (2005)
– City Folk (2008)
– New Leaf (2012)
– Plaza (2013)
– Happy Home Designer (2015)
– Amiibo Festival (2015)
– Pocket Camp (2017)
– New Horizons (2020)
The Animal Crossing logo showcases the name of the series “written” on something looking like a wooden board. It mimics a door sign. The lettering “welcome to” only reinforces this impression.
The authors of the logo have tried to make it inviting and friendly and to make you want to “enter” this door. The letters look casual and create a relaxed mood due to their position (they are not straightened). The serifs are somewhat irregular – they do not look like something that has been created with the use of the computer but rather something made with one’s own hands.
The clock, which of course isn’t a digital one, perfectly merges with the “home” feel. It also creates a link with the internal clock and calendar used within the game to simulate the real passage of time.
The logo was developed for Animal Crossing: the New Horizons for Nintendo Switch. It looks pretty much the same, with only tiny tweaks.
Most likely, the majority of viewers haven’t even noticed any alterations – they are visible only if you compare the two versions side-by-side. In this case, you may notice that the design has grown more vivid and more dimensional.
The authors of the logo have slightly shifted the palette opting for brighter tones. Also, they made the “wood” pattern of the “board” more visible (which also required the addition of darker elements).
Another important modification has taken place in the way the letters are drawn. The glyphs have deeper shades, due to which there is now more depth. The letters look as if they have been carved on a wooden board.
On the one hand, the writing looks different due to the change in the language. And yet, the designers have managed to reproduce the warmth and comfort of the original Animal Crossing logo. The name of the game is “carved” on several wooden plates and decorated by leaves. Below the writing in Japanese, you can see the name in English featuring a type similar to the primary logo.