S.C. Johnson is a brand of chemical household supplies, established in 1886 in the United States. The company has several subsidiaries, which operate across the globe and take the leading positions on the global market.
Meaning and history
1886
The initial logo depicted the company’s initials written one over the other in Gothic letters. These were put in the middle of a wisp of cloud, as well as encircled by a crescent moon image.
1888
The next logo was a sort of rectangular brochure depicting the interior of some Southern villa. The company’s name was written above in the elegant letters. The middle was occupied by a list of the company’s products, while the very bottom contained the firm’s address at the time.
1911 – 1939
The 1911 emblem was a black circle with yellow letters inside. These were the initials again, except there were now 2 letters ‘S’ instead of one.
1939 – 1955
In 1939, they simply started using the image of their head office – a big red building shaped like a number of layered blocks. Besides that, they also added a random cloud on the right.
1955 – 1958
In the 50s, the brand also used their building as an emblem, except at a different angle and with the newly-built tower and a globe. Everything was black-and-white.
1958 – 1962
In 1958, they introduced the company’s name as the new emblem’s centerpiece. It said ‘Johnson’s Wax’ in capital, black letters. However, the two words were separated by the imagery that looked like two warped, mirrored diamonds (the car suits) of black and red.
1962 – 1964
In 1962, they just wrote the same thing, except at a more elegant font and with golden letters.
1964 – 1974
The 1964 logo is simply the word ‘Johnson’ as written in the previous design, except with black letters. In the turn created by the first letter’s tail, they also placed the old diamond composition, but in a smaller scale.
1974 – 1988
In 1974, they turned the entire logo black and added the word ‘Wax’ in the same style right below the main word.
1988 – 1999
The next logo was given the letter ‘SC’ right above the diamonds, and was otherwise the same.
1999 – 2018
In 1999, the upper diamond was painted red again. Moreover, they replaced the ‘Wax’ bit with the word ‘Professional’. It was using a more basic, red font than the big word.
2018 – Today
The S.C. Johnson logo is composed of a wordmark with a tagline. The enlarged letter “J” of the inscription is the only decorative element of the company’s visual identity.
The S. C. Johnson nameplate is visually split into two parts — the red one, composed of capital letters, and the black one with only lowercase lettering. Both parts are executed in a smooth and cold sans-serif typeface with its lines curved.
The capitals “S” and “C” are drawn in red and placed above the red “J”, which is the biggest letter of the logo. It looks like a nest for the two letters and is the brightest element of the logotype.
“A family company at work for a better world” tagline is placed under the lowercase part of the nameplate and uses black color for its simple sans-serif lettering, which perfectly balances the color palette.
The black and red color combination of the S. C. Johnson logo is traditional and powerful. Reflecting patriot and strength of the company, red and black duo evokes a sense of professionalism and stability.