Telus is a Canadian brand offering a diverse line of telecommunications products and services, from internet access to entertainment and IPTV television. It is headquartered in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area. Its revenue in 2020 was C$15.34 billion. The brand is wholly owned by Telus Corporation.
Meaning and history
The Telus logo presents an unusual combination of a curvy, rather intricate, and light emblem with a heavy, straightforward wordmark.
What is Telus
TCI (Telus Communications Inc.) is a Canadian national telecommunications company. Its main rivals are Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, and Bell Canada. The number of employees reaches 65,600.
1990 – 1996
The company came to life in 1990 under the name of Telus Corp. It was established by the government of Alberta as a holding company. Its aim was to make the privatization of Alberta Government Telephones run smoothly.
One of the crucial events that took place during the first years of the company’s history was the acquisition of Edmonton Telephones Corporation. As a result, Telus attained the status of the only provider of telephone services in Alberta.
1996 – 2000s
The acquisition of EdTel meant that a new, unified brand needed to be developed instead of AGT and EdTel. Also, it needed a more professional logo that would appeal to customers. Telus became known to the public as a consumer brand in 1996.
The logo that was chosen back then was to stay with the company for decades virtually unchanged, with the exception of the palette. We can assume that it turned out to be rather successful.
What was the most striking feature of the Telus logo was the contrast between the light, ethereal emblem and the bold wordmark.
The emblem was made up of two elements. Firstly, there was a long needle in dark blue (or blurple). It resembled the end of an epee. The needle was positioned diagonally, rising upward, which gave the logo an optimistic touch.
Around the needle, a loop could be seen. It was given in a light and vibrant shade of green, which created a vivid contrast with the blue.
The emblem may be interpreted in various ways. One of the interpretations compares the epee with an antenna and the loop with a signal. So, the emblem in this case represents the signal caught by a telecommunications mast. This version creates an adequate link with the type of services the brand provides.
The wordmark, which is placed to the right, may seem too simple. There’s nothing but the name of the brand in a straightforward, rather bold sans. However, due to this simplicity, the wordmark doesn’t steal the limelight. Also, the glyphs convey stability and reliability, which matters a lot when it comes to choosing a telecommunications company.
2000s – present
While the company didn’t experiment with the shape of its logo, there was some playing around with the colors. We can see that the amount of purple has grown, which resulted in a more playful and appetizing tint.
Colors and font
The shade of purple (Hex: #4B286D) used in the Telus logo is saturated and pleasing for the eye. Green (Hex: #66CC00) adds a vibrant accent. The background is pure white (Hex: #FFFFFF).
In the official brand guidelines, Helvetica Neue is mentioned as the company’s primary typeface.