Nelvana Limited Logo PNG
Nelvana Limited is the name of an animation studio, which was established in Canada at the beginning of the 1970s. Today the studio, which specialized in the production of animation for kids, has its offices not only in Canada but in several European and Asian countries.
Meaning and history
Although Nelvana is a company with quite a long history, and the number of its logo redesigns is pretty big, the animation studio from Canada managed to find its iconic symbol from the first attempt, so all the further visual identity changes were just refining the constant Nelvana mascot — the polar bear.
What is Nelvana Limited?
Nelvana Limited is the name of an animation studio, which was established in Canada in 1971, and is specialized in the creation of animated content for kids. The company is owned by Corus Entertainment, a mass media corporation, which owns several entertainment media brands.
1971 – 2005
The original logo was introduced in 2005 and stayed in the official use by the brand for more than thirty years. It was a contoured image of a white polar bear, executed in thick black lines. The animal was drawn in profile, facing to the right and with its head up high. No additional lettering was used for this version.
1985 – 2003
Another version of the Nelvana logo was created in 1985. The bear was now surrounded by several elements — an arch, formed by seven solid five-pointed stars, and a logotype, placed under the image of the animal. The inscription was set in all capitals of a smooth and modern sans-serif typeface, which was Horatio STD Bold. The narrowed letters of the wordmark were set on a pretty large distance from each other, just like the stars in the arch, which made the bear the main eye-catcher of the emblem.
1995 – 2005
Another emblem, used by the company from 1995 to 2005 was the original contoured bear, but with black lines replaced by the deep and bright blue ones. Nothing else changed, just the color, but it added some cold and freshness to the badge, making it stand out and being memorable.
1995 – 2005
Last but not least redesign of 1995 created a blue and white Nelvana logo with the contoured bear in the center. The concept was taken from the monochrome version with the starred arch, but some contours were changed. The stars were now drawn in white and placed on a thick blue arch, “covering” the bear. As for the logotype, it also changed the color of the letters from black to blue but kept the initial typeface. Although, the letters got smaller and were now placed between the ends of the blue arch line.
1999 – 2005
The redesign of 1999 slightly brightened up the shade of blue used for the Nelvana logo and changed the typeface of its uppercase logotype. The lettering became bolder and larger in a new sans-serif font, ITC Bauhaus Pro Bold, which had similar letter shapes as on the previous badges, but looked more Stanhope and professional.
2004 – Today
In 2004 the Nelvana logo was completely redesigned, keeping the blue and white color palette and the image of a polar bear, as the main element. The contours of the bear were redrawn, getting thinner and smoother, with some sharp details, making the fur of the animal more “realistic”. The seven stars arch was replaced by a single five-pointed star, contoured in blue and placed above the head of the bear. As for the logotype, it was also contoured and changed the typeface to a bolder and a more elegant Gill Sans ExtraBold.
2016 – Today
The logo was changed again in 2016. The image of the bear and a star was modernized and got more abstract and sleek. The star got a lighter shade of blue and its right part was diagonally cut off. The logotype was enlarged and is now taking the central part of the composition. The lettering is written in the lowercase of a futuristic sans-serif typeface, which is most likely an Ulm Grotesk ExtraBold.
Font and Color
The bold and stable lowercase lettering from the primary badge of Nelvana Limited is set in a heavy sans-serif typeface with arched contours of the letters, straight cuts of the bars, and extra thick lines. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, Nordique Pro Cyrillic Bold, or Zoopla Bold, but with some minor modifications of the characters’ contours.
As for the color palette of the Nelvana Limited visual identity, it is based on a calm and deep shade of medium blue, which looks fresh and clean, evoking a sense of stability and trustworthiness, and showing the company as a reliable and professional one.