U.S. Bank National Association is operated by U.S. Bancorp. In its turn, U.S. Bancorp is a bank holding company offering a wide range of financial services, from investment and mortgage to payments services, to all kinds of clients. It is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. The number of branches exceeds 3,106.
The company was established in Portland, Oregon, in 1891, under the name of United States National Bank of Portland. However, its roots can be traced as far back as 1864, to the foundation of First National Bank of Minneapolis, around which the franchise was centered.
Taking into consideration such a long history and the fact that the company has been renamed more than once, it is only natural to assume that the US Bank logo has gone through multiple updates. During its early years, it wasn’t a logo in the modern understanding of the word as notable variations were possible. The current version is, however, already an example of an effective logotype. In addition to being sleek and meaningful, it also has a pronounced patriotic feel. This reflects the brand’s ambitions and aspirations, as well as its core values and promise.
The original U.S. Bank logo looked very serious and strong. Executed in a black-and-white color palette, the badge consisted ofstable uppercase lettering and a contoured emblem, outlining the “U. S.” Part of the naming in the shape of a sharp crest. There was nothing bright or unique in it, but each line of each element represented power and confidence.
After the redesign, the mood and style of the U. S. Bank’s visual identity were completely changed. The straight stable letters were replaced by narrowed and italicized ones, the black-and-white color palette — by the dark red and blue one, and the sharp triangular crest was changed to a smooth and solid one, with an eagle on top of it.
Like many modern logotypes, the US Bank logo can be broken down into a wordmark and an emblem. However, in this case, the two parts merge to such an extent that they are perceived as a single whole rather than two separate units.
That is because the lettering “US” is written right inside the emblem. It is given in white over the red background. The emblem is a red shape, which can be described as an arrow with a bold leg or a house turned upside down. Also, it is somewhat similar to a price tag.
However, if we take into consideration the type of services the company provides, it is more likely that we have a modern interpretation of the shield here. Protection and safety are some of the recurrent themes in logotypes of banks or other financial institutions.
What is US Bank
U.S. Bancorp, which is the parent company of US Bank, is the 5th-largest banking institution in the United States. It was established under national bank charter No. 24 in 1863. As of 2021, it is ranked No 113 on the Fortune 500 list.
Most importantly, there is certainly wordplay. Even if the customers don’t realize it consciously, they can perceive it on the subliminal level. The name of the country, “US”, can also be interpreted as the pronoun “us”. The message it sends can be described as “your aims are our aims”, “we will protect your interests” or “we will work together towards a common goal,” etc. Whatever the interpretation, it always suggests that there is a kind of union, in which the customer is stronger than on her own. In a way, it also supports the protection theme suggested by the red shield in the background.
To the right of the shield, there is the word “bank” in dark blue. Although it occupies more space, the most eye-catching part of the design is still “us.”
The icon is a truncated version of the primary logo. On the one hand, it reflects its essence – the red shield housing the word “us”. On the downside, the company has to be very well-known to be recognized by any of these icons as they don’t hold the full name or anything that relates to financial services at all.
The US Bank logo combines two colors: a purplish shade of blue (PMS 2748, hex: OC2074) and red (PMS 193, hex: DE162B).
The clean sans used throughout the logo is a bit bolder than average. Other than that, it looks classic and safe supporting the theme of reliability and protection started by other elements of the design.