Pemex Logo PNG
Pemex is a Mexican public company operating in the oil and gas sector as well as in the petrochemical industry. It was founded in 1938 in the city of Mexico by Lazaro Cardenas, who served as the President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Cardenas created the company by nationalizing the country’s oil industry and through the expropriation of all Mexican and foreign oil firms operating at that time in Mexico. In almost 80 years since its creation, Pemex managed to become one of the world largest oil producers. By 2014, the company reached the 36th line in the Global 500 list of enterprises published by Fortune. Its year turnover in 2013 was at the level of 125 billion US dollars.
Meaning and history
In 1938, Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the country’s oil industry with the support of the oil workers’ union,7 which staged a months-long strike. Every year, March 18 is celebrated as a national holiday. In June of that year the national oil company Pemex was established, absorbing the assets of foreign companies operating in Mexico.
In 1958 Pemex’s status was enshrined in a special law that sharply limited the role of foreign and private companies and contractors in oil production. Since the second half of the 1970s, Pemex began exporting oil and petroleum products to the United States, Canada, and a number of European and Latin American countries.
Today Pemex operates 6 oil refineries and 41 oil refineries and chemical plants. The company’s products are the basis for the production of fertilizers, synthetic leather, dyes, plastics and other products.
1938
The original Pemex logo was a pretty intricate one. There was a stylized flame housing the word “Gas” in its upper part and the word “Pemex” in its lower part.
1942
While the second logo was completely different, it looked even more cluttered. In addition to the lettering “Petroleos Mexicanos,” the design contained the writing “Una institution al servicio del progreso de Mexico.” The text was hardly legible, which seems pretty natural, taking into consideration its length.
1955
The updated version was simpler and better legible. There was a tower with a flag. Next to it, the writing “Petroleos Mexicanos” and “Al servicio de la patrio” could be seen.
1960 – 1970s
The design grew by far more minimalistic. There was now nothing but the word “Pemex” in bold green letters. The wordmark was placed inside a black rectangle.
1981
The black background disappeared leaving only the lettering “Pemex.” This time, it was white with green trim. Some of the glyphs merged with each other forming ligatures. Also, a red emblem appeared. In the center, it had a spiral.
1989
The spiral emblem transformed into a red drop with a bird’s head. The lettering “Pemex” grew cleaner, which made the Pemex logo better legible.
Font and color
The strong and even brutal lettering from the Pemex visual identity is written in a custom sans-serif typeface with geometric shapes of the letters, square lines, and slightly softened angles. The inscription has several unique details, such as an open contour of the “P”, and the elongated bottom bars of both “E”s, which merge into the neighboring letter. The “X” is another signifier of the brand, with its bent ends, it looks like a chain link. The custom typeface of the brand’s logo is close to such basic fonts as TT Lakes Neue Expanded Black and Elephantmen Greater Bold, but with some lines modified.
The green and red color palette of the logo stands for growth and progress, and the thin white details add a sense of loyalty and transparency, along with passion and determination.
