Most of us are accustomed to the way the word “Forbes” looks on the magazine cover as it hasn’t really changed for a couple of decades. However, before that, there were plenty of alterations. During some periods, the insignia was replaced annually. The magazine experimented with typefaces and style a lot.
Forbes magazine was founded in the fall of 1917. Before the following year started, the magazine used a logo in which the letters were embellished with lots of swashes. In fact, this was very much connected with the Arts and Crafts movement that was very popular in the United States at the time.
The very first logo for the famous magazine was introduced in 1918 and featured a fancy custom inscription “Forbes Magazine” set in two levels. All capital letters of the nameplate were executed in a playful yet classy font, with elongated and curved lines coming out of them.
In 1925 the magazine switched white on the black style to a bold white inscription in a thin black outline, this gave more opportunities for the badge, making it look balanced and stylish on any background.
The redesign of 1925 kept the white outlined style of the logotype but switched the typeface to a more elegant narrowed one. The letters became taller, which made the whole composition more sophisticated and chic. Serifs on the ends of the lines got smoother but their ends — sharper.
In 1930 the magazine starts using a stable black inscription as its official logotype. The ExtraBold serif typeface evokes a sense of reliability and professionalism, being at the same time modern and progressive, which brilliantly reflected the character of the editorial.
The logo, used by Forbes from 1936 to 1938, was written in a custom modern cursive with “broken” year bold and sleek lines. It was an interesting and stylish inscription, though didn’t stay for long, as had no stability and confidence in it.
Another logo, designed in 1938, was written in white narrowed sans-serif letters, with a thin black outline and a delicate gray shadow. This version didn’t reflect the character of the magazine as well as most of the previous designs, so was changed to something new just in one year.
The logo from 1939 was executed in black and placed on white, using a fancy stencil serif typeface for its long sophisticated letters with slightly narrowed contours and elongated smooth ends of the lines. This version of the nameplate stayed with the famous magazine for more than a decade.
The redesign of 1953 switched the typeface of the Forbes logotype to a more traditional and lightweight one. Another change about the magazine’s visual identity was in enlarging the first capital “F”. This made the logo unique and recognizable and also added a touch of power.
For only one year, in 1977, Forbes was using a modern and simple sans-serif typeface for its logotype. The bold black letters featured lean full contours with no serifs and looked too “usual”, but the magazine wanted changes and experiments.
The redesign of 1978 brought us the logo we all remember today, and it became a basement for the one, created later. The new typeface is a bold serif with smooth rounded elements and thin sharp ends of the lines. It looks super chic yet stable and progressive at the same time.
The latest modification (1999) resulted in a more open and sharper lettering. There is more breathing space between the letters now.
The wordmark looks very much like the Publico Headline Bold font. The type was altered, though. The “r,” at least, has been heavily modified.
Typically, the letters are given in white on the magazine covers. However, other versions are also possible.