Victorinox is a famous trademark of knives fabricating company from Switzerland, which was established in 1884 by Karl Elsener. The brand became popular due to making knives for the Swiss Army and today it also designs high-end watches.
The history of the Victorinox brand began in 1884 when Karl Elsener opened a workshop for the production of knives in the Swiss town of Ibach. In 1891, Elzener co-founded the Swiss Association of Master Knife Masters, which tried to compete with his colleagues from the German Solingen. They were unsuccessful, but Carl managed to get an order from the Swiss army for a batch of soldiers’ folding knives. And in 1897, Elsener patented the product that is still known to the world today: the Swiss Army Knife, an officer and sport knife.
In 1909, Victoria Elzener, Karl’s mother and his main assistant all these years, passed away. In her honor, the company was named Victoria. And in 1921, soon after the invention of stainless steel, the current name appeared: Victorinox, from Victoria, and Inoxidable – stainless steel in French.
Today Victorinox is a global brand, together with its iconic logo, the Swiss cross on the shield, it is now registered in more than 120 countries across the world.
What is Victorinox?
Victorinox is the name of a Swiss brand known for creating the legendary army knife. The brand began its history back in 1884, and today it is popular worldwide, and in addition to knives, it also produces accessories and watches, known for their high quality and classy design.
The original logo was completely black. It used the image of an umbrella as the centerpiece, except there was some blank space in the middle. It was in turn occupied by the company’s name in thin serif letters.
The Victorinox visual identity is a tribute to the company’s heritage and its roots. Based on the symbol and color palette of the Swiss flag, the company’s logo is well-known all over the globe.
The Victorinox insignia is Cross and Shield, which first came off in the brand’s visual identity in 1909 in order to differentiate the company’s knives from the opponents. The logo stuck to the label and today it is a truly iconic example of branding design.
The red shield in the white outline has five-pointed angles and its upper part arched. The intense red background is balanced by a thin and fine outline of the white shield’s framing. The Cross is placed in the middle of the shield and has its horizontal bars elongated.
For the company, its logo is very noteworthy and important, as the shield is an image of security, and the cross stands for endurance and positive thinking.
The white and red color palette of the Victorinox logo characterizes the company as powerful and progressive, yet with a strong link to its history and legacy.
The elegant uppercase lettering from the primary Victorinox badge is set in a bold elegant serif font, which looks classy and stable. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, Porchlight SemiBold, or Kaius Pro Bold, but with some significant modifications of the contours.
As for the color palette of the Victorinox visual identity, it is based on a classic black red, and white tricolor, which is a symbol of power, professionalism, and trustworthiness. Moreover, the white cross on a red background is a symbol of the national Swiss flag, so using it in its original color palette also shows the brand as a patriotic one.