ASML is the name of a semiconductor manufacturing company, which was established in 1984 in the Netherlands. Today the European company operates across the globe and is considered to be the world’s largest manufacturer of lithography machines. The main thing printed on the ASML machines is the microchip.
The company with the original name Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography was established in 1984 as the result of a merger of two other firms, Advanced Semiconductor Materials International and Philips. The current name became official in 1988 after the company became independent.
Today ASML is the only company in the world, able to manufacture extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography machines, which are used for the production of microchips. Microchips are essential parts of all cars, smartphones, video game consoles, data centers, and many more.
What is ASML?
ASML is the only company in the world, which produces EUV lithography machines, which are used for printing microchips. The company was established in the Netherlands in the middle of the 1980s, and today operates all over the globe, having over 30 thousand employees.
In terms of visual identity, ASML has always been loyal to its corporate dark blue color and heavy shapes of the letters, although after the redesign of 2012 the concept of the company’s badge design has been significantly changed.
The original ASML logo, designed in the middle of the 1980s, was composed of a graphical part and a logotype, set in one color, dark blue. The geometric emblem of the company features a large rhombus, formed by four smaller ones. Each of the small rhombuses was composed of five diagonal lines, and in the center of the composition was the small lightweight X-shapes cross. As for the lettering part of the logo, it was executed in a custom font with thick strong bars and small sharp serifs on the upper parts. The horizontal bar of the “A” was diagonally cut on its right, as well as the short bar of the “L”, and these details were balancing the diagonals in the emblem, which was an abstract graphical representation of a microchip.
The logo, created for the company in 2012 only kept one thing from the previous version — the color. The concept has been completely changed, with the graphical emblem removed and the logotype becoming the only hero of the badge. The new logo features a stable uppercase lettering with the stylized letter “S”. The ASML “S” has its upper part smoothly divided from the bottom one, which created a swirl-like image and adds elegance and uniqueness to the badge. The typeface of the inscription was also changed from the sharp serif to a clean and straight sans-serif.
The ASML logotype is set in a modern geometric sans-serif typeface, with the letter “S” stylized. As for three other characters of the inscription, they are executed in a typeface, which is pretty close to such fonts as Submariner Black and Agilita Std Condensed Black, although the contours are slightly modified. The “S” is fully hand-drawn but based on the same font.
The deep blue color of the ASML logo is a representation of power and professionalism. This shade here works as an indicator of expertise and reliability and evokes a sense of trustworthiness and protection.