Natural History Museum Logo PNG
The Natural History Museum in London is not only one of the world’s most known organizations in its industry but also the owner of a commercially successful franchise. Its popularity can be partly explained by the recognizable logo.
Meaning and history
The history of the collection can be traced back to the 17th century, to the private collection of Sir Hans Sloane. Originally, the Natural History Museum was part of British Museum. It was officially separated from it in 1963 but was known as British Museum (Natural History) for almost 30 years after that.
Symbol
The logo falls into two parts: the emblem (the distinctive capital “N”) and the wordmark. The wordmark is given in three lines. The first two are in bold, while the third one is regular.
The most interesting thing about the logo is its ability to be transformed depending on the visual context and situation or event. To achieve this aim, the “N” may be filled with any graphic material, for instance, a photo of a flower, a dinosaur, a shell, a planet etc.
Favicon emblem
The museum uses the first part of its logo, the capital “N,” as its icon. The letter itself is white with a black border, while the background is also white. Interestingly enough, the favicon has a different shape than the “N” of the wordmark.
Font
While at first glance, the wordmark type appears to be a traditional and rather generic one, if you take a closer look, you will definitely notice its unique letterforms. They are especially noticeable at larger distances.
For instance, each of the letters “U” is different from one another. The “U” in “Nature” is bold and has a rounded left end. The first “U” in “Museum” has a rounded right end. The second “U” in “Museum” has a rounded left end, but it is not bold, like its counterpart in “Nature.” We can also point out the asymmetrical “T.” It is possible that such design details symbolize the immense diversity of life.
Color
Typically, the Natural History Museum logo appears in black and white. The palette can be extended though when a pattern or a photo is used as the filler for the “N.”
