Comfort is a brand owned by Choice Hotels. In most countries, it is a mid-priced hotel chain, while in Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania it offers services in the economy segment.
The Comfort chain, which would soon become Choice Hotels’ flagship brand, was established in 1981. Today, it has more than 1,600 properties in the US and over 2,100 abroad.
The original Comfort Inn logo became a classic one for the brands that belonged to Choice Hotels International. It featured the name of the brand in a plump, rounded serif typeface. The glyphs looked friendly due to their shape.
Above, there was a stylized depiction of the setting sun. The black stripes over the sun could be interpreted as the blinds. So, the picture represented the sun seen from the window of one of the Comfort Inn properties.
The sun was yellow and orange, the text was yellow, while the background was black.
In the fall of 2004, the design was updated. The horizontal stripes over the sun were replaced by waves, which added the “ocean” association.
While the lines on the symbol grew softer, the typeface, on the contrary, grew less friendly. It lost much of its weight, so the glyphs now looked lighter and more angular.
The contrast of the black background and yellow letters was replaced by the combination of blue and white. While the blue supported the ocean theme and looked softer, this combination wasn’t as unique as the one used on the previous emblem.
The logo grew somewhat lighter and flatter. It lost the blackish shades on the letters and the “waves.”
In 2012, the parent company started transforming its properties. The rebranding, which took place in 2018, was the tip of the iceberg. As a result of this process, four brands, including Comfort Inn, were brought under one umbrella.
While the logo may look dramatically different from its predecessor, in fact, you can trace a couple of recurrent motifs.
For instance, the large orange and yellow “C” echoed the sun from the previous emblem (both with the shape and the palette).
Although the color of the word “Comfort” was dark, it was still blue, like the background of the 2015 and 2004 logos.
In addition to the shorter primary logo on the white background, the brand also introduced the full Comfort Inn logo featuring the historic black background.