Garmin is an American brand of automotive, aviation and marine equipment manufacturer. It was established in 1989 and incorporated in 2010. The company is in the top 5 of Forbes America’s Best Large Employers.
Garmin is one of the companies, which prefer not to experiment with design much, but concentrate on quality and technologies. The brand had only one major logo redesign during its history, and it was a graphical reflection of the company’s growth and progress.
The original Garmin logo depicted a bold elegant wordmark with a delicate emblem on the left. Both elements were executed in black and placed on a white background, looking serious, modest, and professional. The inscription in all capitals used a slightly italicized sans-serif typeface with smooth lines and sharp edges of the letters. The custom typeface of the lettering was close to such fonts as Diablo Regular and Ragtime TS Bold Italic, but with its lines modified.
The emblem of the company featured a stylized image of the globe, drawn in black and white, with a striped pattern, which added lightness and volume to the composition. It was a representation of the progressive and fundamental approach of the company and its ambitious plans for global extension.
The redesign of 2006 fully changed the previous concept, adding a modern touch and energy to the brand’s logo. Today the Garmin visual identity boasts a sleek and stylish logotype, which can be used on its own or complemented by a blue geometric emblem, placed above the letter “N”.
The wordmark in all capitals is executed in a sleek and smooth sans-serif typeface with extended letters. The font is pretty close to Praktika around Bold Extended and FM Bolyar font family, but with some lines modified. Executed in black, it looks timeless, yet has a very young and strong mood.
As for the brand’s emblem, it is a simple blue triangle pointing UO and having its angles softened. A symbol of success, growth, and development, the geometric figure evokes a sense of reliability and stability due to the right shade of blue.