McAfee is a company, specializing in the development of security software. It was established in 1987 in the United States and is one of the world’s largest and most trusted companies in its segment.
Meaning and history
The most recognizable part of McAfee’s visual identity is its color palette, which was set by the brand at the very beginning of its history, in 1987. Despite the pink and white color scheme, the lines and the style of the emblem were changed several times, but none of the redesigns affected the confidence and strength of the logo.
1987 – 2002
The original McAfee logo boasted a bright rectangular banner in dark pink with white lettering on it. The inscription was executed in a fancy and elegant sans-serif typeface with thin yet strong neat lines and delicate shapes of the letters.
2002 – 2005
The first redesign was held by the company only in 2002, and it was done after the addition of the “Security” part to the name of the software. The new logo featured a bright pink emblem placed in the left from the black wordmark written in two levels with the “McAfee” enlarged and emboldened can and the “Security” in all caps of a sans-serif typeface placed under the main part with a lot of space between the letters.
2005 – 2009
In 2005 the bold pink logotype became the only element of the McAfee visual identity. Executed in an extra-bold sans-serif typeface, the inscription had its letter “M” as the most unique element, as it had a thin white diagonal line coming through it and adding lightness and style to the whole composition.
2009 – 2016
The color palette of the McAfee logo was lightened up in 2009. And the new graphical emblem was introduced in the same year. The icon of the brand now featured a white and gray shield with a red and white letter “M” on it. As for the inscription, it got a bit narrower and neater than the previous logotype and had no additional lines on the “M”.
2016 – 2024
The redesign of 2016 modernized the McAfee logo, which resulted in a modern and very stylish badge, composed of a geometric emblem, placed on the left from a powerful and edgy sans-serif logotype. The emblem of the company now boasts a stylized outlines crest in two shades of red, with its upper part repeating the contours of the letter “M”.
2020 – Today
The logo, introduced by the company in 2020, is a minimalistic version of the previous badge, which fully repeats the style and geometry of all elements. The two differences between the new and the old logos are the color palette (today it is shortened to just one shade of red), and the disposition: the geometric emblem for enlarged and placed above the lettering.
Font and color
The sleek and super modern McAfee logotype is executed in a custom sans-serif typeface, which is most like based on one of the commercial fonts, such as Kontora ExtraBlack and Mazzard H Bold, but with some lines elongated and contours modified.
The combination of different shades of red on a white background represents a powerful and reliable company and shows its energy, progressiveness, and strength. The color palette also makes the logo eye-catching and memorable.