Kanye West Logo PNG
Kanye Omari West, also known as Ye, is an American rapper, music producer, songwriter, sound designer, and designer. Former husband of TV show star and model Kim Kardashian. Winner of 22 Grammy Awards, former billionaire, and one of the highest-paid artists in the world.
Meaning and history
Kanye West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. Both parents belonged to intelligent professions. Father Ray West was one of the first African-American photojournalists in the United States. Donda, West’s mother, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University when her son was born. She later headed the Department of Philology at the University of Chicago, and when Kanye needed a personal manager, a woman took over those duties.
Kanye started making music in the 1990s. West came to fame when he started working with the rapper Jay-Z. For a long time, he refused to be seen as a rapper, but in 2004 he did release his debut album, The College Dropout. By 2022, Kanye West had 13 studio albums to his credit. He was rated as one of the greatest artists of the XXI century, he became one of the best-selling musicians and the most influential people in the world.
The rapper also has his brand, Yeezy. According to the data of 2021, West’s fortune was valued at 6.6 billion dollars, and the main part of his capital was Yeezy. The brand’s products were released as part of a partnership with the sports firm Adidas. However, in 2022, the company terminated its contract with Kanye West, and the rapper’s fortune declined sharply, and he ceased to be a billionaire. The reason for the rupture of expensive contracts was scandalous antisemitic statements by West.
Who is Kanye West?
Kanye West is a famous American rapper, producer, and designer. Kanye was repeatedly called one of the greatest artists of the 21st century. The musician is known not only for his compositions, and Yeezy Boost sneakers, released in collaboration with Adidas, but also for his scandalous statements.
In terms of visual identity, Kanye West has never been afraid of experiments. The celebrity has changed several emblems throughout the years of his bright career, and also registered several trademarks and insignias for his fashion brands.
1996 – 2002
2002 – 2005
2005 – 2007
The very first official logo, designed for Kanye West in the 1990s, was based on the lettering, set in lowercase with two letters capitalized, “Y” and “W”, emphasizing the musician’s pseudonym, Ye, and his surname. The inscription was set in a stable and bold elegant serif font and executed in black color, which is usually placed against a white background. This simplicity and the use of the traditional font made the logo look pretty much controversial, considering the music genre West performs, and his texts.
2007 – 2008
2008 – 2010
2010 – 2011
2011 – 2013
In 2011 the logotype of the famous rapper was dramatically changed. Now the color got in — the two-leveled heavy sans-serif inscription was set in smooth coral red shade. This hue brought energy and power to the logo, and its clean geometric characters evoke a sense of confidence and brutality.
2013 – 2016
The redesign of 2013 brought more style and uniqueness to Kanye West’s visual identity. It was created by Peter Saville, who has written the name of the musician in a custom sans-serif font, with the “Kanye” enlarged small uppercase “West”, set under it, followed by a solid black dot. The most interesting element of the badge was in its top line — three letters, “A”, “N” and “Y” were merged into one symbol.
2016 – 2019
2019 – 2020
2020 – Today
The logo, created for Kanye West in the 2020s, is the first badge of the celebrity with no lettering. It is a solid blue circle, which is sometimes drawn as a sphere, with a glossy surface and some smooth gradients. The three-dimensional version of the West’s visual identity looks very futuristic and unique, evoking many different associations, from space to ice, or even a lentil candy.
Font and color
The official Kanye West logo today has no lettering on it. As for the previous versions of the badge, they all featured different fonts — from elegant traditional serif in the 1990s, to custom geometric sans-serif with elongated lines and straight cuts of the bars.
As for the color palette of Kanye West’s visual identity, it is based on blue, which gets some white gradients when executed in a three-dimensional style. Blue is a color of cold and mystery, which at the same time is associated with professional confidence and stability.
