Morgan Stanley is a US investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. It has offices in almost 42 countries and over 57,000 employees.
Meaning and history
1997 – 2000
The bank was known as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, so it was only natural that this name was reflected in the old Morgan Stanley logo. The name was given in an italicized all-caps sans serif. The white lettering was placed inside a long rectangle featuring a vivid and deep shade of blue.
2000 – 2001
The logo became completely different, although the company name did not change. The lettering was now black over the white background. The designers opted for an austere sans serif type. While all the letters were capitalized, the initials were larger than all the other letters. Also, there was a gray vertical line to the left.
2001 – 2006
The lettering was reduced to “Morgan Stanley,” although legally the company was still known under its old name. The first word was black, while the second word was gray. In between, there was a right triangle. It was white with a light blue trim. The company stated it was a “directional triangle” that “pointed toward the northeast, the general direction of financial success.”
The type was completely different from the previous one.
2006 – Today
In September 2009, the company quietly rolled out its new logo. It was not radically different.
While the font was definitely inspired by the previous one, it looked somewhat flatter. More importantly, the light blue triangle disappeared. Both the words now were black. According to the company’s spokeswoman, the new design reflected the “ongoing evolution of the brand and a rebranding under John Mack.”
Colors
The palette of the 1997 Morgan Stanley logo featuring a saturated shade of blue was the most remarkable one. In 2001, the colored surface was very small, while eventually, the logo went black and white.