Queen is the name of the legendary British band, which was created in 1970 by Freddie Mercury and two ex-Smile musicians, Brian May and Roger Taylor. The band began with performing hard rock, but later changed its style to pop-rock, which made its name iconic.
The Queen’s visual identity is known and loved worldwide, as its badge, created by Freddy Mercury himself, is full of meanings and represents the band’s style, music, and philosophy as nothing else. Thought the history of the legendary musicians started a few years before the Queen establishment when the band was called Smile.
What is Queen?
Queen is the name of a legendary music band from Great Britain, which was formed in 1970. The most popular member of the band was its frontman, Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. Other members of the rock band were Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon. Throughout its history, the band has released 15 albums.
The predecessor of the Queen’s logo was created in 1968 for Smile and featured a bright and funny image, composed of a smiling mouth with red lips and large white teeth. The yellow star was placed on one of the teeth and was complemented by a rounded custom lettering, also in yellow, placed on the upper right and bottom left corners of a black background of the emblem. It was a cartoonish and playful badge, which quickly became recognizable and loved.
The first version of the iconic Queen logo was introduced in 1973 and featured an ornate animalistic badge, where creatures were placed around the oval crest with the crown on it. In this version, there is a flame on top of the oval and the large bird was drawn in neat and clean lines. This logo was used by the band for only a couple of years, as was redesigned by Mercury in 1975, by adding final touches and a more unique style.
The logo was refined in 1975, by adding more details and touched on animals and other elements. The “Queen” lettering was now placed under the badge, executed in all capitals letters of a classy and elegant typeface with sharp diagonal serifs. The royal and noble feeling was elevated after the redesign of the emblem, and its detailing and specification of each character and line are truly amazing.
The Queen emblem was designed by Freddie Mercury himself, as he was a former student of arts and design at Ealing Art College of London.
The emblem is a very detailed illustration with many hidden symbols. It is composed of the zodiac symbols of all the group’s members, the Phoenix bird and the letter “Q” with the crown inside.
The Phoenix is a symbol of never-ending life, power and passion. The Gueen were passionate about music and the style they were performing.
The zodiacs — two rampant lions for Leo, a crab for Cancer and two fairies for Virgo. The rampant lions are embracing the letter “Q”, which has a crab sitting on its top, the fairies are placed above the lions. And the Phoenix is situated on the top part of the emblem.
The Queen logo resembles the Royal Coat of Arms of England, but its even more regal and impressive. The ornate emblem became iconic and is a symbol of the legendary group, created by one of the greatest musicians in history.