Gymboree is a brand of kidswear from the USA, which was founded in 1976. The company had more than a thousand retail stores across America until 2017.
Gymboree boasts a bright and creative visual identity, which is composed of a wordmark and an emblem on its left.
What is Gymboree?
Gymboree is one of the most famous brands of children’s clothing in the United States. Establishedin 1976, Gymboree produces its clothes from bright natural fabrics. The manufacturer specializes in the production of clothing and accessories for children up to 12 years old.
The Gymboree logo, used by the company in the 1980s, featured a colorful logotype in a bold sans-serif typeface with the letters slanted and jumping above the line. Each character in the inscription was colored in one of the following shades: blue, red, green, and orange. It was a very lively and playful badge, brilliantly reflecting the purpose and mood of the brand.
The old Gymboree logo looked far more playful and colorful than the current one. Although the glyphs were very legible and had a classic shape (mostly) and proportions, they were moved above and below the line. As a result, they appeared to be dancing. The vivid palette combined red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple.
On the whole, the style was reminiscent of the circus – there was something clownish about it.
All capital letters of the wordmark are written in a custom typeface with bold lines and rounded angles. Letter “R” of the nameplate is the most interesting element, due to the curved line of its right bar.
The Gymboree emblem is composed of a rectangle, divided into two squares with two contrast circles inside.
The left part features a thin orange framing with a solid orange circle, containing white letters of “Play”, while the right square is colored orange and has a white circle with orange “Music” inscription.
The ampersand is colored orange and placed into a smaller store circle, connecting two squares.
For the icon, the brand used a solid orange circle with the “Gymboree” wordmark in white, placed in the center.
The orange and white color palette of the Gymboree logo evokes a sense of happiness and a playful mood. It is bright and makes you smile, a perfect choice for the kids’ brand.
The bold orange lettering from the primary Gymboree badge is set in a narrowed sans-serif typeface, with the tall characters executed in thick lines with straight cuts. The closest font to the one, used for the Gymboree insignia is, probably, Ardoise Std Compact Bold, but with most of the contours modified.
As for the color palette of the Gymboree visual identity, unlike the original versions of the badge, the current one only uses one shade of orange for the lettering. This hue adds a sense of energy and happiness, evoking a smile and representing the brand at its best.