Festo AG is a German manufacturer of industrial equipment and automation systems. The company was established by Gottlieb Stoll and Albert Fezer in 1925. The firm at the outset was specializing in the production of wood processing machinery. During its 90-year history, the company developed and introduced many types of tools and machinery marked by innovative technology and unique qualities. In 2000, the company’s electrical tools division was transformed into an independent firm, Festool.
The Festo logo has been modified several times during the company’s long history. The meaning of the logo today does not only comprise the names of the two company’s founders, Fezel and Stoll, and the word “tool”, but also bears the association with the highest quality of the innovative machinery, its professional effectiveness, and security for the customers.
In the very beginning, the logo consisted of the partners’ names: “ FEZER & STOLL”. It uses a classic black color and a relatively simple font with straight lines and cuts. It is very similar to Album Cover JNL with the letters having plenty of spacing between them and creating an image of a confident and trustworthy company.
The first version in which the two names were united in one acronym was developed in 1933. It was a circle with the brand name “Festo” made in hand-written letters in the style of the beginning of the XX century. The prominent letter “F” had its upper bar extended upward and to the right, almost reaching the end of the wordmark.
In 1962, the company received a more modern logo, the graphics of which have never been changed since then. It was a concise wordmark with the brand name in block letters and black color on a white background: “FESTO”. The graphics of the letters are very close to the commercial font Venus Rising Heavy. The difference is that the horizontal bars in the letters “F” and “E” are made of the same length and the upper and lower terminals of the letter “S” are bent inwards.
In 1983, the wordmark’s color was changed to sky blue on white background without any changes to the font.
The previous logo was now accompanied by a second line of the same length. It said “Tooltechnic” in black, all uppercase letters. The additional line used a font that resembled Helvetica Neue Pro Extd Bold. The inscription was meant to make it more clear to everyone what the brand focused on, but later it was removed.
In 2000 the new independent brand name of the company got its own wordmark: “FESTOOL”. It has almost exactly the same letter graphics that had been used since 1962, but the color was changed to a bright shamrock green tone.