Ohio Logos

Famous Logos From Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the US that sits right below Lake Erie. It is well-known for its capital city, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. It became the 17th state admitted to the Union in 1803. It was also the first post-colonial free state admitted to the union. 

Ohio became one of the earliest, most influential industrial powerhouses in the 20th century, and while it has become more of an information- and service-based economy in the 21st century, it remains connected to its industrial roots. Ohio was ranked seventh in GDP as of 2019, third in the manufacturing sector, and second in automobile production.

Many of the state's former industrial centers have branched into new industries with the growing changes of the 21st century. Akron has become a center for polymer and biomedical research. Cincinnati is one of the state's largest mercantile hubs. Columbus is home to technological research and development, education, and insurance. Cleveland houses regenerative medicine research and manufacturing, Dayton is an aerospace and defense hub, and Toledo is a national center for solar technology.

In fact, many of the nation’s most well-known insurance and manufacturing brands originated in Ohio. Here’s a closer look at three of Ohio’s memorable logo designs that reflect this strong connection to industrialization and production.

Kroger

Kroger is the nation's largest grocer and operates more than 2,400 food stores under two dozen subsidiary names, including City Market, Dillons, and Ralphs. Kroger also owns a handful of convenience stores, including QuikStop, 374 jewelry boutiques, including Littman and Barclay, and department stores like Fred Meyer.

Kroger's latest offering includes outfitting roughly 900 stores with gas stations, where food shoppers with store loyalty cards can get discounts at the pump. These additions have kept the brand going strong as times have changed for everyone.

Kroger’s logo has been changed many times over the years. The original logo was created for the first iteration of the Kroger brand, the Great Western Tea Co., in 1883 and was redesigned in 1902 when they officially took on the name Kroger. Another version was introduced in 1939, and they’ve used a version of this one for some time. The company did perform three more refinements before it settled on the one it’s used since 2019.

In 2019, Kroger decided to return to its iconic “smile” logo after several experimental versions. This logo was refined and modernized. To this day, you’ll see the classic Kroger lettering that showcases an arched line of the “K” and “G,” which creates a happy face with the “O.” The current logo is a soft blue and set on a white background. The spacing has been slightly extended, and the custom font features bold lines and cuts.

Nationwide

Nationwide, based in Columbus, is one of the most well-known insurance providers in the whole of America. The Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company group developed from a mutual insurance organization that offered auto insurance and protected Ohio farmers’ property interests. The business gradually expanded and restructured, growing the Nationwide brand throughout the years. In 1955, the Nationwide brand fully replaced that of the original Farm Bureau Mutual.

The renaming occurred when the company opened offices in 20 new states, becoming truly “nationwide.” During the same period, the old corporate branding was replaced by an updated visual identity. The logo changed, and designers experimented with the iconic eagle’s appearance, even abandoning it for an empty blue frame for a significant time.

Today, the eagle has returned, appearing once again in 2014, and the brand is recognized across the country for its blue color palette, eagle, and catchy jingle- “Nationwide is on your side.”

Why did the company go back to the eagle? It’s actually quite the story. The financial institution and marketing agency Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv conducted a study that came back with some surprising results. According to the poll, even after 16 years with the empty square, people still remembered the eagle logo and associated it with Nationwide. Suddenly, executives knew that their eagle competed with the Nike Swoosh in popularity. Combined with the fact that the blue border was 50% less recognizable, this trend pushed the brand to bring back the bird.

Goodyear

Goodyear, an extremely well-known tire manufacturer in the US, is one of the lucky brands that managed to find a unique style and recognizable emblem at the start of its long history. Introduced in 1898, the logo has been only slightly modernized throughout the years, but the concept and style remained true to the original and have become iconic for the tire brand.

The Goodyear emblem has stood the test of time, and even in its beginning, the memorable “Wingfoot” was the chief icon associated with the brand, inspired by Hermes, messenger to the Greek gods, and Mercury, his Roman counterpart, who donned winged shoes (talaria), which gave him his infamous speed.

Frank Seiberling, the company’s founder, decided to adopt the winged shoe as the primary emblem of the brand. According to the story, Seiberling had a statue of Mercury in his home in Akron. Apparently, one day he realized that the god was the representation of the characteristics his tires offered the public, including commerce, reliable speed, and protection of travelers.

In the late summer of 1900, Seiberling held a meeting where the group discussed his idea. Several sketches of different elements of the statue were presented, and of them, the participants liked the sketch with the winged foot of Mercury the best. The next step was placement, and they all agreed that the symbol should be placed right in the center of the word “Goodyear.” That icon has stuck around for decades.