One of the most popular social networking services, LinkedIn was created as a means of professional communication for people all around the globe. One of the main aims of the service is to help the users in finding jobs and employees.
Meaning and history
The history of the company began at the end of 2002, but in fact the service started working in the spring of 2003. LinkedIn filed for an IPO at the beginning of 2011, and by June it was already trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Currently, the service has over 400 million members living in more than 200 countries. In January 2017 the company was acquired by Microsoft.
Symbol
The LinkedIn symbol looks absolutely up-to-date and leaves a “web 2.0” impression. Such a logo could have hardly been created in the previous century.
The wordmark comprises of the words “Linked” and “in”. There is a barely noticeable spacing in between the two words. The word “in” is placed in a blue square shape with rounded angles. “Linked” is given in black, while “in” is negative (white).
“Short” emblem
In some cases there’s a need to “reduce” the logo. For instance, if there’s not too much space or the space has a square shape, or it is important to make the logo more readable. In such situations, the word “Linked” is omitted, and only “in” stays. For instance, this approach was used for LinkedIn-branded chocolates, which were square in shape.
Font
The type used in the LinkedIn wordmark is called Source Sans. It can be utilized to communicate any message that has to do with the company. Although the Source Sans font exists in a number of weights, the company recommends to opt for “Light” or “Semi-bold” versions. Also, if you need to communicate key brand messages in longer texts, it is acceptable to use the Source Serif or Source Code types.
Color
The corporate palette comprises three colors: blue, black, and white. The shade of blue, which is called LinkedIn Blue, is the core of the brand’s identity. There may be several reasons why the company opted for blue. One of them is definitely that many people unconsciously associate it with networking and communication via Internet (note Facebook’s choice of colors, for instance). Also, there were top managers from PayPal among LinkedIn creators, so it’s only natural that the color close to the PayPal blue was chosen.
In addition to this, psychological symbolism of blue involves such virtues as intellect, authority, power, and success, all of which resonate with the brand’s identity.
