The Verizon logo appeared in 2000 when the company received its current name. The previous versions were completely different and featured the old name of the corporation.
Meaning and history
The earliest logotype reflected the original name of the company, Bell Atlantic Corporation, and was adopted around the time when the company was created (1984). The logo consisted of two parts: a stylized depiction of a bell inside a circle shape and a wordmark next to it.
The text would have looked pretty plain if not for the unique letter “A”, which contained an unusual element resembling an ocean wave. In this way, the author of the emblem introduced the “Atlantic” theme to the logo. The emblem could be given in black or blue against the white background.
The 1997 emblem
The second version put even more emphasis on the marine theme. Although the stylized wave disappeared from the wordmark, a more prominent one appeared below it. In addition to this, the “Atlantic” idea was accentuated by the choice of colors: dark blue and aqua, with white letters and lines, bringing to mind the sea foam. Instead of the bold sans-serif font of the first logo, a simple serif one was used. The logotype itself acquired a square shape.
The 2000 symbol
In 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired the telephone company GTE and changed its name to Verizon Communications. With the new name, the need for a completely new logo became obvious.
The San Francisco-based design agency Landor Associates developed a wordmark consisting of the name of the company topped off with an oversized red checkmark with gradient. The italicized lowercased font featured a zooming “z” with gradient. The checkmark and the letter “z” were red, while all the other letters where black. The background was white.
Also, other color combinations with two of these colors could be used (black and white, red and white). The logo was criticized by many designers and even named among the worst logotypes ever made.
New logo
In the current version of the Verizon logo the checkmark has diminished in size, while the gradient disappeared. The first logo update in 15 years was made by the design firm Pentagram.
It was actually more of a refresh than a completely new logo. Michael Bierut, Pentagram’s representative, mentioned that the logotype was not meant to be clever or flashy. Their aim was to establish the brand’s identity without creating visual noise.
One of the positive features of the new Verizon logo is that it can be easily zoomed and reproduced. On the whole, it looks cleaner, neater than the previous one. However, it has also been criticized a lot for its simplicity.
Font
While the previous and the current fonts may look rather similar, in fact they are two independent types. The old logo featured a modified Helvetica Black type, while the name of the new typeface is Neue Haas Grotesk. In fact, it looks very close to Helvetica. The Neue Haas Grotesk typeface was created by Christian Schwartz from the New York and London-based type foundry Commercial Type. Schwartz is a partner in the company and heads its New York office. He is the author of quite a few typefaces used by corporations all over the world. Christian Schwartz also published typefaces with such well-known independent foundries as Font Bureau and House Industries.
Color
Since 2000, the Verizon logo has featured the combination of the black wordmark with red accents. In the current version, the red is reduced to a single checkmark, while the previous logo used the color more generously. In both cases, the background has been white.
Prior to this, the palette included the blue and aqua colors both fitting the old name of the company (Bell Atlantic) and the marine emblem perfectly.
