Smith Optics Logo PNG
The history of the Smith Optics logo shows that sometimes to make an emblem more modern you just need to look for inspiration… in the older versions.
Meaning and history
Smith Optics is one of the core brands of Safilo Group S.p.A., an Italian company specializing in prescription frames, sunglasses, sports eyewear, and helmets, to name just a few. The list of other brands owned by Safilo also includes Polaroid, Oxydo, and Carrera.
During over 65 years of its history, the brand has gone through at least five logo updates.
Before 2015
The initial pre-2015 logo was the name of the brand, written as if by hand in black letters. They varied in size and were largely misshaped. There was also an image of a closed eye drawn in a similar fashion to the left.
2015 – Today
One of the oldest logos featured the word “Smith” in large gray letters. All the characters were of the same size. Interestingly, the “M” had the shape of a lowercase letter and the size of the capital letter.
Several years later, the brand slightly updated its wordmark by italicizing it. The type and color remained pretty much the same.
The following modification changed the shape of the “S” and “M.” The “S” grew more rounded, while the “lowercase” “M” was replaced by a regular capital one.
This was the last of the series of clean logotypes. After it, the company tried a completely different approach adopting a pretty intricate wordmark, which was not very legible even at larger sizes. Here, the lettering “Smith Optics” looked as if it had been written by a person whose handwriting was pretty poor. As if to make the design even more cluttered, it was paired with an abstract emblem.
Current emblem
The current logo was introduced in January 2015. At the same time, the company re-launched its entire product range.
The shape of the Smith logo is somewhat reminiscent of the older versions featuring the word “Smith” without the italics. This time, the wordmark is black. The gap on the “S” adds a unique touch.
