Chubb is a global insurer of properties, which was established in 1985. When in early 2016 the Chubb Corporation merged with its Zurich-based competitor ACE Limited, the newly-formed entity was incorporated in Zürich, Switzerland. Also, a new brand identity was introduced.
The old Chubb logo was created by the agency Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, Inc., which was established by Raymond Loewy. Loewy was known as “the Father of Industrial Design”. He was a French-born American industrial designer, who left his mark as a designer in a variety of industries and was even featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1949.
What is Chubb
Chubb is the largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company in the world. It works in approximately 55 countries and territories.
The logo was dominated by a geometric emblem. The emblem consisted of a white circle placed inside a rectangle in a rather dark shade of blue. The most notable thing about the circle was its position. Had it been placed in the middle of the rectangle, there would have been nothing special about it.
However, strangely, the circle occupied mostly the right half of the rectangle. The side of the circle touches the border of the rectangle, so in fact, it’s not a closed circle but an open figure. You immediately perceive something strange about this design. At a cursory glance, it might feel like a mistake. Having a closer look, though, we may conclude that there is a deeper symbolic meaning behind it.
One of the possible interpretations is that the circle is the sun. For one reason or another, the sun is typically depicted in the middle of such emblems (take, for instance, the flag of Japan). Yet, in the position chosen for the Chubb logo, the similarity with the sun is more apparent. We can assume that such a logo is supposed to imply that Chubb is a powerful and positive force in the world. Of course, such an abstract logo may have multiple other interpretations.
The type chosen for the wordmark was an austere and heavy sans. It conveyed reliability and stability.
When Chubb merged with Ace Limited, the name Chubb Limited was chosen mostly due to its 130-year history.
While working on the new logo, the logos of both the companies were probably taken into consideration. However, we can only notice something similar to the old logo of Chubb. It is in the structure of the letters.
On the one hand, they are by far lighter, and there are other differences (for instance, the “C” used to have rounded ends). On the other hand, the glyphs still have the same proportions making them look stable, difficult to move. This probably is supposed to convey the reliability and stability the brand promises to its customers, or “quality and strength”, as the press release names these qualities. This part of the image has remained the same.
However, here, the glyphs don’t look stocky or squat. Moreover, there is something techy in these minimalist and sleek lines. Apparently, the company wanted to show it is open to innovation. This idea is supported by the press release stating that the logo is “anchoring us to our future, not to our past”.
The company uses an out-of-the-box approach to the color scheme. While the primary Chubb logo is dominated by teal, other colors can also be used. There are altogether nine versions, which are supposed to symbolize “diversity”, “global presence, many different customers we serve and the many products we offer”, according to Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO.
On the whole, we can say that the Chubb logo does reflect the qualities mentioned in the press release: the typeface makes it “simple, refined, modern”, while the palette is “vibrant and full of life”.